Zeitzeuge

Tim Eisenlohr

Berlin, Berlin
* 1973

True freedom is not something a person can give or take from you. True freedom only emerges in your mind.

Biografie auf Deutsch
Themen
  • Opposition/Bürgerrechtsbewegung
  • Mauerfall 9. November 1989
  • Staatssicherheit
  • Ausreise/Ausbürgerung
Sprache
  • Englisch

Biographical information

1973 Born in Berlin's Mitte district
1980–1983 Attendance at the 'Arkadi Gaidar' polytechnic secondary school (POS) in Niederschöneweide, Berlin
1983–1989 Attendance at the 'Erich Weinert' polytechnic secondary school (POS) in the Berlin district of Treptow
1987 Arrest during the raid of the environmentalist library (Umweltbibliothek - UB)1989 Departure for West Germany
1989–1993 Attendance at the Waldorf school 'Rudolf Steiner' in Berlin's Zehlendorf district
1994–1995 Civil service at the 'Sonnenhalde' institution for children and adolescents requiring special emotional care, a facility complete with an adjoining special needs school; working in horse-riding therapy.
1997 Examination as IPZV trainer (trainer for Iceland horses)
1995–2006 Work as trainer and riding instructor in Iceland, Switzerland as well as several German states
2006­–2017 Living and working on the North Sea island of Amrum, continues to work with Iceland horses
Since 2018 Living and working in Berlin

Profile

Tim Eisenlohr spent his childhood and adolescence in Berlin, becoming politically active at an early age. At school, he frequently got into arguments and conflicts with teachers and the administration for asking critical questions and committing provocative acts such as hanging an NVA (National People's Army) calendar upside down or wearing Christian symbols. He left the Ernst Thälmann Young Pioneers at the wage of twelve. During a holiday youth camp organised by the Evangelical Church he heard about the Umweltbibliothek (environmentalist library) in Berlin, referred to as the UB, where he began volunteering in 1987, mainly at the issuing counter and in the production of environmentalist leaflets and magazines. In the night of 24/25 November 1987, fourteen-year-old Tim was arrested along with six other UB staff members. Following an eight-hour interrogation at Stasi headquarters, he was among the first to be released. He continued his activities at the UB until 1989. In the summer of that year he left the GDR for West Berlin with his family. His parents had applied for an exit permit years prior, hoping to find a better treatment for his mother's cancer. Here he joined 'Peace Bird', a children's and youth organisation advocating for nuclear disarmament, as well as Amnesty International where he soon founded his own youth group focussing on Romania and Sri Lanka. Beginning with his civil service, he ended his political activity and devoted himself to working with Iceland horses. He spent a total of one-and-a-half years in Iceland and some time in Switzerland, after which he worked as a trainer in several German states. He has lived on the island of Amrum since 2006.


Videointerview

Tim Eisenlohr erzählt, wann er sich das erste Mal als "DDR-Zeitzeuge" gesehen hat, wie Zeitzeugen "Brücken ins Heute" schlagen können und was Schülerinnen und Schüler an seiner Lebensgeschichte besonders interessiert. Das Interview wurde auf der 3. Regionalkonferenz am 29.11.2013 in Berlin aufgenommen. Gefördert von der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien. Das Interview führte Miriam Menzel von der Kooperative Berlin.

Bericht

"Gegen den Strom" - Tim Eisenlohr berichtet von seiner Jugend, von Opposition und und Staatssicherheit. Pernzlauer Berg Nachrichten, 8.10.2014

MfS-Aktion "Falle" gegen die Umweltbibliothek: In der Nacht vom 24. zum 25. November 1987 ist die Ost-Berliner Umweltbibliothek Ziel eines Überfalls des Staatssicherheitsdienstes. Auch Tim Eisenlohr wird damals verhaftet und acht Stunden lang verhört. Der Artikel auf www.jugendopposition.de schildert den Hintergrund der Aktion und erzählt, warum er sich für die Stasi als folgenschwer herausgestellt hat.

Interview

"Für mich war klar, ich verrate nichts" - In dem Gespräch erinnert Tim Eisenlohr sich an seine Verhaftung im November 1987. Er erzählt auch von seinen Erfahrungen in der Schule, von der Reaktion seiner Eltern und geht auf seine Gründe für die Beteiligung an der oppositionellen Arbeit ein.