Dr. (h.c. mult.) Joachim Gauck

Former pastor, theologian, parliamentary delegate, leading resister against atheistic oppression, and governmental commissioner – service in the “two kingdoms” comes into clear focus in the work and life of the [Rev.] Dr. Joachim Gauck. And it is most fitting that he receives the WITTENBERG AWARD on November 9, the anniversary of the opening of the infamous “Berlin Wall” in 1989.

After studying theology, Dr. Gauck served as a Lutheran pastor in “East Germany” in Lüssow and Rostock-Evershagen. He become known for his courageous criticism of the East German govern-ment, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), a leader of the Church’s resistance to its atheistic dictatorship. As the Communist government collapsed he helped found “The New Forum.” These actions and his innate integrity to the demands of the Gospel, to his people, and to a vision of hope, propelled him to the political stage and his election, before German unification, to the first freely-chosen Volks-kammer (People’s Chamber) of the GDR as a delegate of the “Citizens Movement.” There he was elected to chair the Special Parliamentary Committee for the Oversight of the Disso-lution of the Ministry for State Security.

On the recommendation of the Volkskammer he was appointed on October 3, 1990 – the “Day of German Unity” – by the President and the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany as “Spe-cial Commissioner of the Federal Government for the Documents of the former State Security Service Related to Individuals.” In 1991 he was appointed for a five-year term as “Federal Commis-sioner for the Documents of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic” and was reelected in 1995 for a second term which ended on October 2, 2000. – So dutiful in his response to his nation’s call for reconciliation and protection of the rights of people, and so thor-ough in his accomplishments and duties in this sensitive area – the Com-mis-sion continues to be known popularly as the “Gauck Commission.”

Since leaving the Commission, Dr. Gauck has been engaged in writing and lecturing. In January 1991 he was called to be the German Member of the “Administrative Council of the European Of-fice for the Observation of Racism and Hostility Against Foreigners” in Vienna.

On October 3, 2002, the “Day of German Unity,” he delivered, here in Washington, by invitation, the principal address at the German Historical Institute.

He has received numerous awards for his dedication to public service: 1991, the Theodor Heuss Medal; 1995, the Federal Cross of Merit (1st Class); 1996, the Hermann Ehlers Prize; 1999, the De-gree Doctor of Divinity (h.c.) from the University of Rostock, the Imre Nagy Memorial Medallion, and the Dolf-Sternberger Prize; 2000, Cicero Prize for Rhetoric, the Wartburg Prize, and the Great Federal Cross for Service with Star; and in 2001, the degree Doctor of Philosophy (h.c.) from the Uni-versity of Jena, and the Erich Kästner Prize.