Former GDR civil rights activist Gerd Poppe is dead

The former GDR civil rights activist Gerd Poppe has died. The 84-year-old died on Saturday, as historian Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk confirmed to the German Press Agency. According to Kowalczuk, he and Poppe's family were by his side until the end.

"The most liberal fighter's heart I know has just stopped beating forever. My friend, my great role model Gerd "Poppoff" Poppe fought for four weeks - he has now lost this last battle," wrote Kowalczuk on Platform X. The historian called Poppe a "mastermind of the freedom revolution of 1989". Born in Rostock, Poppe died just four days after his 84th birthday.

Foreign policy spokesperson for the Greens

Poppe had been involved in opposition circles since the 1960s. In 1985, he founded the opposition group Initiative for Peace and Human Rights (IFM) together with Bärbel Bohley and Wolfgang Templin. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, he was a member of parliament for Bündnis 90, first in the freely elected Volkskammer and then in the Bundestag after reunification. From 1994, he was foreign policy spokesman for the Bündnis 90/Die Grünen parliamentary group. Four years later, he did not run for the Bundestag again, but became the Federal Government's first Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid. He held the post until 2003.

The Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship wrote in an obituary that Poppe was one of a small group of men and women who had persistently rebelled against the communist dictatorship in the GDR since the 1970s - "with words, with attitude, with personal risk". "He was a co-founder of opposition groups, was arrested and refused to be intimidated. Poppe stood for an opposition that was non-violent, principled and forward-looking," the foundation wrote. After 1990, he did not withdraw, but took responsibility.

The Green politician Katrin Göring-Eckardt wrote on X Poppe was a "wonderful, clever and always friendly fighter for freedom". The Greens have a lot to thank him for, especially his realistic approach to foreign policy. "He will be greatly missed and his advice will be especially missed in these fragile times when freedom is under threat everywhere," emphasized the former Vice President of the Bundestag.