He made Kohl and Gorbachev laugh and did a lot for German unity. Gregor Gysi has become a German citizen – a change through rapprochement.
This interview was first published in March 2019 – on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has been updated.
The 50s
Mr. Gysi, you grew up in Johannisthal in East Berlin. Is there a certain smell, a sound that you associate with your childhood?
No noise, no smell either, but: silence. At Johannisthal, one would never have thought of living in a big city. There was something cozy about that. We also said: “We’re going to the city” when we went in the direction of Friedrichstrasse.
Was Berliners made at home?
From my father occasionally, from my sister and me anyway, but not from my mother.