GDR dictatorship: the victims are still suffering

The shadow of dictatorship lingers long, according to Evelyn Zupke, a former civil rights activist from East Germany, who spoke on Wednesday at a site steeped in historical significance, the former Stasi interrogation prison in Hohenschönhausen, Berlin. There, she presented her annual report to Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU). The SED, the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany during the DDR era, is represented through its current victims' commissioner. The usual setting for such meetings is the Reichstag, the seat of parliament. However, this time, instead of the customary protocol, Klöckner and the entire Bundestag presidency were guided through the basement vaults of the former communist secret police's prison. Accompanying them was Mario Röllig, a former prisoner who was incarcerated in Hohenschönhausen after a failed escape attempt in 1987. During the tour, they learned firsthand about the physical and psychological torture endured by those imprisoned there. Approximately 10,000 individuals were held in Hohenschönhausen before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, marking the end of the dictatorship. According to experts, the total number of prisoners and victims across the DDR ranges between 170,000 and 280,000. Klöckner assured that the people who suffered under the arbitrary rule and violence of the SED state would not be forgotten. She stood beside Zupke, who added that many continue to suffer health consequences from their imprisonment and repression, both physically and mentally. Those affected can apply for the victim’s pension introduced by the Bundestag in 2007, which has been increased annually by the same percentage as the statutory old-age pension since that year. Currently, nearly 37,000 formerly politically persecuted individuals benefit from this, receiving up to 417 euros per month. Zupke expressed satisfaction with the hardship fund established in 2025 for those facing particularly severe financial difficulties. Zupke cited an example of a man who could not tolerate the confined spaces of trains and buses due to traumatic experiences during his imprisonment in a DDR jail. He received an electric bicycle, allowing him to regain mobility and participate more fully in social life. According to Zupke, over 300 people have already received funds from the hardship fund since its launch in November 2025. “These individual stories move me,” she said, adding that half of those affected by SED injustice live today on the brink of poverty. The hardship fund is funded partly by government resources and receives six million euros from IKEA. The Swedish furniture company produced some products in the DDR during the dictatorship, including work done by prisoners. Zupke hopes other companies will follow IKEA’s lead. She urged firms that have hesitated to take action toward those forced to work in DDR prisons for their companies. “It is never too late to approach these people,” she said.