Opposition of the GDR became the Federal Commissioner for SED victims

Chair of the Bundestag’s Cultural Committee, Catherine Bode The negotiations between the parliamentary blocs have recently stopped. Now, the head of the SPD’s parliamentary group, Rolf Mutzenic, has written to his group colleagues that they have succeeded in reaching an agreement with the coalition partner on a joint candidate. The proposal must now be submitted to the other parliamentary blocs.

According to the information in her biography, the 59-year-old Zupke works as a social educator for people with mental illness. In May 1989, East Germany was instrumental in exposing fraud in local elections in the German Democratic Republic. She regularly appears as a contemporary witness in schools and educational institutions.

After the Stasi Records Authority is dissolved, the commissioner is supposed to take care of the victims’ concerns. Zupke must be elected by the Bundestag, and the position must be located directly in Parliament. In November 2020, the Bundestag decided to appoint the position after the Stasi Records Authority was dissolved. Authority Chairman Roland Jahn will be adopted on June 17th. The state security papers of the GDR will be managed in the future by the Federal Archives.

Catherine Bode, head of the Bundestag’s cultural committee, told dpa on Friday that she assumes parliament will elect Zubki next week. Speaking of a good proposal, Zupke knew the problems and could give the new office its own profile.

The Federation of Associations of Victims of Communist Tyranny has repeatedly called on someone to become an ombudsman who has experience working with different groups of victims. “We are not aware of any experiences (Zubeks) in this area,” club president Dieter Dombrowski said on Friday. Historian Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk told the German Liberation Network (RND) that despite its historical merits, Zupke “has practically nothing to do with re-evaluation, and certainly not with important legal issues for this job”.