Vera Lengsfeld
Encyclopedia
Vera Lengsfeld is a German
politician
, civil rights activist and representative of the German Christian Democratic Union
(CDU).
. Her father was an officer in the Stasi
, the East German secret police
. After leaving school she studied Philosophy
at Humboldt University Berlin. Following her studies, she worked as a lecturer and researcher at the National Institute of Philosophy in the Academy of Sciences of East Germany. From 1975, she was a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
(SED). After a party procedure she was transferred to the Institute for Scientific Information. In 1981 she left the academy and went to work as an editor.
She became a born-again Christian in 1981, and was active in various civic organizations in East Germany (GDR). She was the co-founder of Pankow Peace Circle in the autumn of 1981, the Environment Library Berlin; Profession group and the Church from Below in 1986. Their commitment included the organization of numerous events of the peace and environmental movements in the GDR, including a "Peace laboratory", "Peace Conference", "Environment Seminar", "Human Rights Seminar," "Church from Below". She was a member of the Continuation Committee for the delegates meeting of the peace group members, who gathered under the title "Specifically for Peace" a year. She was co-organizer of the first human rights seminar held in 1986 in Berlin.
Due to public protests against the stationing of Soviet nuclear missiles in East Germany, she was expelled from the SED
in 1983 and her profession. In the following years she earned her living as a beekeeper and translator. In 1985 she graduated with a Theology
degree.
In January 1988 she was arrested in advance of the demonstration in honour of Liebknecht
and Luxemburg
in East Berlin
carrying a poster declaring "Every citizen has the right to express his opinion freely and openly" and detained in Berlin Hohenschönhausen prison
. She was put on trial by the city district of Lichtenberg
on the grounds of "attempted riotous assembly" and although given a custodial sentence she was instead allowed the option of leaving the GDR on a temporary visa effectively deporting her from the country. In February 1988 she went to Cambridge
in the United Kingdom
where she studied Philosophy of Religion at St. John's College
. On the morning of 9 November 1989 she returned to East Germany.
she resumed her work as a civil rights activist and served as a member of the Constitutional Commission on the reunification of West Germany and East Germany. At this time she joined the Green Party of the GDR and at the 1990 election
was elected to the member of the GDR parliament until its dissolution on 2 October 1990 as a member of the coalition between Alliance 90 and The Greens (A'90/G). Then at the first election
after German reunification
she was elected to the Bundestag
and was re-elected in the 1994 General election
. However in 1996 A'90/G decided to enter into alliances with the Party of Democratic Socialism the successors to the former SED
. A civil rights activist rather than a leftist, Lengsfeld together with other civil rights activists such as Guenter Nooke and Ehrhart Neubert defected to the CDU
. She was re-elected at the 1998
and 2002
elections as a CDU
list candidate in her home state of Thuringia
. However for the 2005
election she stood in a single member constituency instead and lost her seat. For the 2009 election she ran in the Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg - Prenzlauer Berg East constituency
, the only constituency in the Bundestag to be represented by her former party Alliance '90/Greens. With CDU
having finished a distant fourth at the previous election she was thought to have no chance of success and in the event she finished a distant fourth, slightly increasing the CDU
vote share.
In August 2009 she produced election posters featuring photos emphazing her bust
beside Angela Merkel
's with the slogan We have more to offer. The posters were featured on Japanese television and in Brazilian and Peruvian newspapers. Some of the posters were reportedly stolen as souvenirs according to the AFP
news agency.
parliamentary group of the district assembly of Berlin's Pankow
district.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, civil rights activist and representative of the German Christian Democratic Union
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
(CDU).
Early life
Lengsfeld was born in SondershausenSondershausen
Sondershausen is a town in Thuringia, Germany, capital of the Kyffhäuserkreis district, situated about 50 km north of Erfurt. On 1 December 2007, the former municipality Schernberg was incorporated by Sondershausen....
. Her father was an officer in the Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
, the East German secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
. After leaving school she studied Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at Humboldt University Berlin. Following her studies, she worked as a lecturer and researcher at the National Institute of Philosophy in the Academy of Sciences of East Germany. From 1975, she was a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
(SED). After a party procedure she was transferred to the Institute for Scientific Information. In 1981 she left the academy and went to work as an editor.
She became a born-again Christian in 1981, and was active in various civic organizations in East Germany (GDR). She was the co-founder of Pankow Peace Circle in the autumn of 1981, the Environment Library Berlin; Profession group and the Church from Below in 1986. Their commitment included the organization of numerous events of the peace and environmental movements in the GDR, including a "Peace laboratory", "Peace Conference", "Environment Seminar", "Human Rights Seminar," "Church from Below". She was a member of the Continuation Committee for the delegates meeting of the peace group members, who gathered under the title "Specifically for Peace" a year. She was co-organizer of the first human rights seminar held in 1986 in Berlin.
Due to public protests against the stationing of Soviet nuclear missiles in East Germany, she was expelled from the SED
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
in 1983 and her profession. In the following years she earned her living as a beekeeper and translator. In 1985 she graduated with a Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
degree.
In January 1988 she was arrested in advance of the demonstration in honour of Liebknecht
Karl Liebknecht
was a German socialist and a co-founder with Rosa Luxemburg of the Spartacist League and the Communist Party of Germany. He is best known for his opposition to World War I in the Reichstag and his role in the Spartacist uprising of 1919...
and Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg was a Marxist theorist, philosopher, economist and activist of Polish Jewish descent who became a naturalized German citizen...
in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
carrying a poster declaring "Every citizen has the right to express his opinion freely and openly" and detained in Berlin Hohenschönhausen prison
Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial
The Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial is a museum and memorial located in Berlin's north-eastern Lichtenberg district in the locality of Alt-Hohenschönhausen, part of the former borough of Hohenschönhausen...
. She was put on trial by the city district of Lichtenberg
Lichtenberg
Lichtenberg is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen.-Overview:...
on the grounds of "attempted riotous assembly" and although given a custodial sentence she was instead allowed the option of leaving the GDR on a temporary visa effectively deporting her from the country. In February 1988 she went to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
where she studied Philosophy of Religion at St. John's College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
. On the morning of 9 November 1989 she returned to East Germany.
After German reunification
After the Fall of the Berlin WallBerlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
she resumed her work as a civil rights activist and served as a member of the Constitutional Commission on the reunification of West Germany and East Germany. At this time she joined the Green Party of the GDR and at the 1990 election
East German general election, 1990
Legislative elections were held in the German Democratic Republic on 18 March 1990. It was the first—and as it turned out, only—free parliamentary election in East Germany, and the first truly free election held in that part of Germany since 1933...
was elected to the member of the GDR parliament until its dissolution on 2 October 1990 as a member of the coalition between Alliance 90 and The Greens (A'90/G). Then at the first election
German federal election, 1990
The 12th German federal election, 1990 was conducted on December 2, 1990, to elect members to the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany...
after German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
she was elected to the Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
and was re-elected in the 1994 General election
German federal election, 1994
The 13th German federal election, 1994 was conducted on October 16, 1994, to elect members to the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany.-Issues and Campaign:The SPD let its members elect a candidate for Chancellor against Helmut Kohl...
. However in 1996 A'90/G decided to enter into alliances with the Party of Democratic Socialism the successors to the former SED
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
. A civil rights activist rather than a leftist, Lengsfeld together with other civil rights activists such as Guenter Nooke and Ehrhart Neubert defected to the CDU
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
. She was re-elected at the 1998
German federal election, 1998
A German federal election was conducted on September 27, 1998, to elect members to the 14th Bundestag, the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany.- Issues and campaign :...
and 2002
German federal election, 2002
The 15th German federal election, 2002 was conducted on 22 September 2002, to elect members to the Bundestag of Germany.-Issues and campaign:...
elections as a CDU
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
list candidate in her home state of Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
. However for the 2005
German federal election, 2005
German federal elections took place on 18 September 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany. They became necessary after a motion of confidence in Chancellor Gerhard Schröder failed on 1 July...
election she stood in a single member constituency instead and lost her seat. For the 2009 election she ran in the Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg - Prenzlauer Berg East constituency
Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg - Prenzlauer Berg East (electoral constituency)
thumb|right|300px|Location of constituency in BerlinBerlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg- - Prenzlauer Berg East is one of the 299 single member constituencies used for the German parliament, the Bundestag...
, the only constituency in the Bundestag to be represented by her former party Alliance '90/Greens. With CDU
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
having finished a distant fourth at the previous election she was thought to have no chance of success and in the event she finished a distant fourth, slightly increasing the CDU
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
vote share.
In August 2009 she produced election posters featuring photos emphazing her bust
Breast
The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues...
beside Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
's with the slogan We have more to offer. The posters were featured on Japanese television and in Brazilian and Peruvian newspapers. Some of the posters were reportedly stolen as souvenirs according to the AFP
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
news agency.
Personal life
She was married to poet Knud Wollenberger, however in 1991 they divorced after Wollenberger was exposed as a Stasi spy. Wollenberger, whose Stasi code name was "Daniel," had met, dated and married Lengsfeld on orders from the Stasi. Lengsfeld later said that she felt betrayed that anyone could marry and have children under those circumstances. Her son Philip is treasurer of the CDUChristian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
parliamentary group of the district assembly of Berlin's Pankow
Pankow
Pankow is the third borough of Berlin. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was merged with the former boroughs of Prenzlauer Berg and Weißensee; the resulting borough retained the name Pankow.- Overview :...
district.
Published works
- Virus der Heuchler. Innenansicht aus Stasiakten, Espresso/Elef.Press, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-88520-435-5
- Mein Weg zur Freiheit. Von nun an ging’s bergauf. Langen Müller, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-7844-2857-6.
- Neustart! Was sich in Politik und Gesellschaft ändern muss. Umdenken lohnt. Freiheit und Fairness statt Gleichheit und Gerechtigkeit. Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-7766-2490-6.