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Gerti Tetzner was born in Thuringia in 1936. She studied law in defiance of her father, who had co-founded a Nazi Party group and was a former member of the SS. After working as a notary, she was on course to become a judge - until she realised she would be required to pass judgement on those who had fled the republic. Refusing to do so, she found a way to resign. She went on to study at the Leipzig Institute of Literature, where she forged connections within literary circles and was a member of the Weiberrunde, Christa Wolf's iconic literary circle. Her debut Karen W. (1974) was both a critical and commercial success and was translated into multiple languages. Drawn repeatedly to Denmark, Tetzner met the celebrated writer Tove Ditlevsen. However, when her second novel was in progress and set to be published by the West German publisher Luchterhand, the Stasi came knocking. The project was abandoned, and Karen W. gradually faded into obscurity. Today, at the age of 88, she lives in Berlin and has recently returned to writing. |
