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Joachim Gauck

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Joachim Gauck
Joachim Gauck (2008)
Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Archives
In office
1990–2000
Succeeded byMarianne Birthler
Member of the German Parliament
In office
3 October 1990 – 4 October 1990
Member of the GDR People's Chamber
In office
18 March 1990 – 3 October 1990
Personal details
Born (1940-01-24) 24 January 1940 (age 84)
Rostock
Political partyNew Forum/Alliance 90 (1989–1990)
Non-partisan (1990-)
ProfessionPastor

Joachim Gauck (born 24 January 1940 in Rostock) is a German Protestant theologican, jurnalist and politician. Coming from a strict anticommunist family, he choose to study theology and was one of the organisators of the eastern German Kirchentage (Church congresses). After a quick political career during Die Wende in Eastern Germany, the co-founder of the New Forum was elected member of the People's Chamber for the Alliance 90 in 1990. Following the Reunification of Germany he became the first Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Archives, serving from 1990 to 2000. Later he was active as a journalist and talkshow host. His nomination as the candidate of the SPD and the Alliance '90/The Greens for President of Germany in the 2010 election received widespread attention.

A founding signatory of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism, together with Václav Havel, and the Declaration on Crimes of Communism, Gauck has called for increased awareness of communist crimes in Europe and the prosecution of communist criminals.

Life in East Germany

File:Belomorkanal.png
Gauck's father survived a Soviet Gulag concentration camp in the 1950s

Joachim Gauck was born into a family of sailors in Rostock. His father was an experienced ship's captain and distinguished naval officer (Captain at Sea), who after World War II worked as an inspector at the Neptun Werft shipbuilding company. Following the Soviet occupation at the end of World War II, a totalitarian communist regime was established in East Germany, backed by the Soviet Union. The family was a victim of Soviet persecution. When Joachim Gauck was eleven years old, in 1951, his father "disappeared", after being arrested by the communist Soviet occupation forces.[1] He was falsely accused of espionage for receiving a letter from the West and also of "anti-Soviet demagogy" for being in the possession of a western journal on naval affairs and deported to a Gulag in Siberia, where he was severely mistreated. Till 1953, the family knew nothing about what had happened to him and whether he was still alive. Only in 1955, he was freed, following a state visit of Konrad Adenauer to Moscow, who negotiated the release of prisoners of war and political detainees.[2]

According to Joachim Gauck, his political activities were inspired by the ordeal of his father,[3] and he stated that he grew up with a "very reasonable anti-communism".[4] Already in school in East Germany, he made no secret of his anti-communist position, and he steadfastly refused to join the communist youth movement, the Free German Youth. He wanted to become a journalist, but because he wasn't a communist, he wasn't allowed to study journalism. Instead he became a pastor in the Protestant church in Mecklenburg and as responsible for church congresses and youth activities. The Stasi described Gauck in their file on him as an "incorrigible anti-communist" ("unverbesserlicher Antikommunist").[5] Gauck was never directly involved with oppositional groups.[6] However his activities have been monitored by Stasi officers between 1974 and 1988. November 1988 the Stasi assumed no further monitoring would have been necessary. [7]


Gauck has four children, three of whom were able to leave East Germany and emigrate to West Germany in the late 1980s. He is legally still married to his first wife but has been separated from her till 1991.

Anti-communist activism

Joachim Gauck attending a press conference of the International Society for Human Rights, where he lectured about the Stasi campaign to discredit the Society

He became a member of the New Forum, a democratic opposition movement, in 1989, and was elected as its spokesman. He also took part in major demonstrations against the communists. In the free elections on 18 March 1990, he was elected to the People's Chamber of the GDR, representing the Alliance 90 (that consisted of the New Forum, Democracy Now and the Initiative for Peace and Human Rights), where he served until the dissolution of the GDR in October 1990.

On October 2, 1990, the day before the dissolution of the GDR, the People's Chamber elected him Special Representative for the Stasi Archives. After the dissolution of the GDR the following day, he was appointed Special Representative of the Federal Government for the Stasi Archives by President Richard von Weizsäcker and Chancellor Helmut Kohl. As such, he was in charge of the archives of the former communist secret police, the Stasi, and tasked with investigating communist crimes. In 1992, his office became known as the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Archives. He served in this position until 2000, when he was succeeded by Marianne Birthler.

Gauck served as a member of the Bundestag, the Parliament of Germany, from 3 October to 4 October 1990 (the 1990 People's Chamber was granted the right to nominate a certain number of MPs as part of the reunification process). He stepped down following his appointment as Special Representative of the Federal Government. As such, he was the shortest serving Member of Parliament of Germany ever.

He refused the position of President of the Federal Agency for Civic Education as well as offers to be nominated as a candidate for parliament by the SPD. Voices inside the Christian Social Union of Bavaria proposed him as a possible conservative presidential candidate (against SPD career politician Johannes Rau) in 1999,[8] and his name was also mentioned as a possible candidate for CDU/CSU and FDP in subsequent years. For instance the Saxon FDP state party proposed him as a liberal-conservative candidate in 2004, before the leaders of the parties agreed on Horst Köhler.[9]

In 1998, he contributed to the German edition of The Black Book of Communism, writing an additional chapter on the German Democratic Republic.

Joachim Gauck was invited to hold the main speech during a commemoration ceremony at the Landtag of Saxony in memory of the Reunification of Germany and the fall of the communist regime in 2007.[10] All parties participated, except the far-left party Die Linke (the successor of the East German communist party), whose members walked out in protest against Gauck giving the speech.[11]

Joachim Gauck was one of the initiators of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism together with Václav Havel

Joachim Gauck is a founding signatory of both the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism (2008)[12] and the Declaration on Crimes of Communism (2010),[13] both calling for the condemnation of communism, education about communist crimes and punishment of communist criminals. The Prague Declaration proposed the establishment of the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism, that was subsequently designated by the European Parliament. In 2010, Gauck criticized the political left of ignoring communist crimes.[14]

Gauck is a supporter of the idea to etablish a Centre Against Expulsions in Berlin.[15]

On the occasion of his 70th birthday in 2010, Gauck was praised by Chancellor Angela Merkel as a "true teacher of democracy" and a "tireless advocate of freedom, democracy and justice".[16]

The Independent has described Joachim Gauck as "Germany's answer to Nelson Mandela".[17]

Gauck is a member of Atlantik-Brücke, an organisation promoting German-American friendship. He is also the chairman of Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie, an organisation combating left-wing and right-wing extremism, and that promotes coming to terms with the legacy of the two totalitarian regimes in German history, advocating democracy.

Presidential candidate

On 3 June 2010, Joachim Gauck was nominated for President of Germany in the 2010 election by the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Greens.[18] Gauck is not a member of either the SPD or the Greens (although his former party in the East Germany eventually merged with the Greens after reunification)[19] and has stated that he would have accepted a nomination by the CDU as well.[20] Gauck once described himself as a "leftist, liberal conservative"[19] and after his nomination, stated: "I'm neither red nor green, I'm Joachim Gauck".[21] The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung described him as a liberal conservative.[22]

Gauck is widely respected across the political spectrum[23] and is very popular also among CDU/CSU and FDP politicians due to his record as an upstanding, moral person during the communist dictatorship as well as his record as a "Stasi hunter" in the 1990s.[24] His main contender, Christian Wulff, and politicians of all the government parties, stated that they greatly respected Gauck and his life and work.[25] Jörg Schönbohm, former Chairman of the CDU of Brandenburg, also supported Gauck.[26]

The only party that in principle rejected Gauck as a possible president was The Left, which interpreted the nomination of the SPD and Greens as a refusal to cooperate with Die Linke,[27] a party which contains internal factions that are considered extremist by federal authorities.[28] CSU politician Philipp Freiherr von Brandenstein argued that the election of Joachim Gauck would prevent any cooperation between SPD/Greens and the party The Left for years to come: "Gauck has likely made it perfectly clear to Gabriel that he will never appoint any of the apologists of the communist tyranny as government members".[26] The Left nominated their own candidate, former journalist Luc Jochimsen, and chose to abstain in the third ballot.[29]

In the election on 30 June 2010, Gauck was defeated by Christian Wulff in the third ballot, with a margin of 624 to 490.[30]

Personal life

Since 2000, his partner has been Daniela Schadt, a Bavarian journalist.[31]

Selected publications

  • 1991: Die Stasi-Akten. Das unheimliche Erbe der DDR. (= rororo 13016) Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1991 ISBN 3-499-13016-5
  • 1992: Von der Würde der Unterdrückten (contributor)
  • 1993: Verlust und Übermut. Ein Kapitel über den Untertan als Bewohner der Moderne (contributor)
  • 1998: Das Schwarzbuch des Kommunismus – Unterdrückung, Verbrechen und Terror (contributor), Piper Verlag, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-492-04053-5
  • 2007: Reite Schritt, Schnitter Tod! Leben und Sterben im Speziallager Nr. 1 des NKWD Mühlberg/Elbe (contributor), Elisabeth Schuster (ed.), German War Graves Commission, ISBN 978-3-93659-202-3
  • 2007: Diktaturerfahrungen der Deutschen im 20. Jahrhundert und was wir daraus lernen können (Schriftenreihe zu Grundlagen, Zielen und Ergebnissen der parlamentarischen Arbeit der CDU-Fraktion des Sächsischen Landtages; Band 42), Dresden 2007
  • 2009: Die Flucht der Insassen: Freiheit als Risiko (Weichenstellungen in die Zukunft. Eine Veröffentlichung der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.). Sankt Augustin-Berlin 2009. ISBN 978-3-941904-20-0
  • 2009: Winter im Sommer - Frühling im Herbst. Erinnerungen. München: Siedler 2009 ISBN 978-3-88680-935-6

Honours

References

  1. ^ "Der Herr der Akten erzählt sein Leben". ZDF (in German). 16 October 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  2. ^ Witt, Jan. "Joachim Gauck – Oppositionskandidat für das Amt des Bundespräsidenten". randomhouse.de (in German). Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  3. ^ „Wir Deutsche können Freiheit“, Interview, Ostseezeitung Rostock, 23/24 January 2010
  4. ^ Eckhard Jesse, Eine Revolution und ihre Folgen: 14 Bürgerrechtler ziehen Bilanz, 2000
  5. ^ Nachrichten. "Joachim Gauck – eine patriotische Ich-AG". News.de.msn.com. Retrieved 30 June 2010. [dead link]
  6. ^ Norbert Robers: Joachim Gauck – die Biografie einer Institution, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89487-365-5.
  7. ^ Robers 2000, p. 56.
  8. ^ "Bundespräsidenten-Kandidat Gauck: "Ich kann zählen"". taz. 5 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  9. ^ Das Gupta, Oliver (8 June 2010). "FDP-Politiker Zastrow - "Gauck ist ein Liberaler wie wir"". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Sächsischer Landtag feiert Tag der Deutschen Einheit – Festredner Joachim Gauck: „Freiheit wagen – Verantwortung leben"". Landtag of Saxony (in German). 3 October 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  11. ^ "Kandidaten für das Amt des Bundespräsidenten: Warum „Die Linke" Joachim Gauck nicht wählt". Bild (in German). 4 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  12. ^ "Prague Declaration - Declaration Text". praguedeclaration.org. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  13. ^ "Declaration on Crimes of Communism". crimesofcommunism.eu. 25 February 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  14. ^ Schneibergová, Martina (3 June 2008). "Gauck in Prag: Auch Linke im Westen brauchen Nachhilfeunterricht - Radio Prag". Radio Prague (in German). Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  15. ^ "Zentrum gegen Vertreibungen". z-g-v.de. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  16. ^ "Presidential Vote 'Could Turn into a Disaster for Merkel'". Der Spiegel. 7 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  17. ^ Paterson, Tony (30 June 2010). "Anti-communist pastor who could turn out to be Merkel's nemesis". The Independent. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  18. ^ "Koalition präsentiert Wulff als ihren Kandidaten". tagesschau (in German). 7 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  19. ^ a b Siebert, Sven (4 June 2010). "Rot-Grün setzt auf Joachim Gauck". Sächsische Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  20. ^ Kleine, Rolf (4 June 2010). "Kandidat Joachim Gauck: Für die CDU würde ich auch antreten!". Bild. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  21. ^ "Auftritt des Kandidaten: "Ich bin weder rot noch grün, sondern Joachim Gauck"". Die Welt (in German). 4 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  22. ^ Carstens, Peter (5 June 2010). "Die FDP hatte keine Wahl". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  23. ^ "Merkel nominates Wulff for president". Thelocal.de. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  24. ^ Solms-Laubach, Franz (4 June 2010). "Kandidaten-Poker um das Präsidenten-Amt: Wackelt Wulffs Mehrheit?". Bild. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  25. ^ Draxler, Alfred; Baldauf, Angi (4 June 2010). "Kandidatfür das Amt des Bundespräsidenten Christian Wulff: Ich will Mut und Optimismus verbreiten!". Bild (in German). Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  26. ^ a b "Der Krimi um die Präsidentenwahl". Die Welt (in German). 6 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  27. ^ "Die Linke sieht ein Signal gegen Rot-Rot-Grün". Die Welt (in German). 5 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  28. ^ "Verfassungsschutzbericht 2008 p. 167 ff". Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  29. ^ "Bundespräsidentenwahl: Linke Jochimsen zieht Kandidatur zurück". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  30. ^ "Merkel candidate Wulff wins presidency on third attempt". BBC News. 30 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  31. ^ "Joachim Gauck: Sein Liebespfad nach Nürnberg". Nürnberger Nachrichten (in German). 7 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
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Political offices
Preceded by
 Member of the People's Chamber
18 March–3 October 1990 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
 Member of the German Parliament
3–4 October 1990 		Succeeded by
Civic offices
Preceded by
First Commissioner
 Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Archives
1990–2000 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Candidate of the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Alliance '90/The Greens for President of Germany
2010 		Succeeded by
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