Eyewitness

Dr.GudrunPrengel

"Sure, I was dreaming. We danced on 4 November 1989… and it was great. And then I carried on dreaming for another five years."

Gudrun Prengel, 2021

Who is Gudrun Prengel?

Studying and working at the Humboldt University, 1960s to 1990s

Looking back at the period after 1990: A rough time

What was good in the GDR?

What is really important today

After graduating in Nordic Studies and German in Greifswald, Gudrun Prengel worked for a brief period in radio in East Berlin, and from 1968 to 1977 at the Humboldt University. From 1978 onwards she worked at various institutes of the GDR Academy of Science, including the institute of sociology and social policy. From 1989 to 1994 Gudrun Prengel was politically and professionally active in the district of Friedrichshain. She carried out several social science studies on topics such as pensioners, poverty, and housing, providing essential groundwork for social policy in the district. After her retirement in 1994, she returned to work in the department of urban sociology at the Humboldt University.

"We have a democratic state, it is a state of law, we need to defend it, it is not invulnerable, and it is our joint thing."

Gudrun Prengel, 2021

Contemporary witnesses