Gisela Steineckert

Gisela Steineckert (born 13 May 1931) is a German writer known for her books and song lyrics. She has also written numerous radio plays and several film scripts. In terms of published output she was particularly prolific before 1989, but her professional career has nevertheless outlasted the German Democratic Republic. A member of the East German arts establishment, she served as national "President of the Entertainment Committee" following the retirement, in 1984, of Siegfried Wagner. Her unforced support for the East German system before reunification has drawn hostility from writers and artists who found themselves persecuted by the régime: Bettina Wegner dismissively opines of her supervisory duties with the October Club (state sponsored song performance association) during the 1980s that Steineckert was the chief censor ("Das war die Oberzensorin"). Life Provenance and early years Giesela Steineckert was born in Berlin, her parents' second daughter. Her mother, who was in domestic service, subsequently had two more children and survived several abortions. Her parents were not married, but her father remained in the picture till 1940. He worked as a tailor. He was a drinking man, and sometimes violent. War returned in 1939: Gisela and two siblings were evacuated to Upper Austria. Soon after this they were joined by their mother and the youngest child. The father had been conscripted into the army and sources indicate that for the first time his children lived without hunger or the fear of paternal violence. They attended school in Austria: their school results began to improve.