Gregor Gysi: lawyer, politician, author, presenter and family man. Photo: Joachim Gern
Gregor Gysi shaped left-wing thinking and became one of its most important protagonists. On Sunday, November 10th, at 8 p.m. in the Papenburg town hall, he will read from his book “One Life is Too Little”. In it he talks about his diverse roles as a lawyer, politician, author, presenter and family man.
His autobiography is more than just a personal story; It is a history book that makes the shocks and extremes, the designs and disappointments of the 20th century tangible in a very personal way. No other German politician has been as reviled as Gysi, but hardly anyone has fought through the thicket of hostility so successfully and achieved recognized prominence in the process.
In “One Life Is Too Little” Gregor Gysi talks about his childhood and youth, describes his path to becoming a lawyer, and gives insights into his relationship with dissidents and the areas of tension at the top of the party and parliamentary group.
What is particularly fascinating is the turn that his life took in the fall of 1989: the lawyer became a politician. “I never wanted to just run away,” explains Gysi, touching on a central aspect of his being – the ability to endure contradictions. His life and family history lead from Russia to Rhodesia, through the everyday life of a court with murderers and thieves, and combines praise for Lenin with the Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing.
Journalist Hans-Dieter Schütt will moderate the event.
It’s amazing what has to happen in order for your own life to emerge at some point.
Gregor Gysi
About Gregor Gysi
Born in 1948, lawyer and politician. Son of the GDR Culture Minister Klaus Gysi and nephew of the Nobel Prize winner for literature Doris Lessing. 1967 Joined the SED. Represented Robert Havemann, Rudolf Bahro and other dissidents as a lawyer. 1989-1993 party chairman of the PDS. 1990-2002 and 2005-2016 Member of the German Bundestag and parliamentary group leader of the PDS and the Left Party. He has been President of the European Left since December 2016.
Image sources
- PM Gregor Gysi: Joachim Gern
