From witnessing oppression to investigating resistance
Wolf Gruner understands oppression. Born in East Berlin mere months before construction of the infamous wall that would divide the city for the next three decades, he grew up behind the Iron Curtain.
Over the years, he witnessed the oppression of political dissidents and experienced discrimination against artists critical of the state. As one of them, he wrote poems and stories and came to detest how the government used persecution as a political tool.
He also experienced racism: His first romantic interest was a woman who was half Vietnamese and often bore the brunt of racist insults. Revolted by the attacks, Gruner began to grow curious about the motivation behind them and decided to study history. As a student at Berlin’s Humboldt University, he wondered how racism might play a role in mass violence such as the Holocaust.