Bodo Ramelow had relatives in the former GDR and was therefore there often to visit.
The Trade, Banks and Insurance Union sent him to negotiate between the state-owned companies and the Treuhand.
The Treuhandanstalt was founded in the late phase of the workers 'and peasants' state.
It was supposed to privatize the GDR companies and "ensure efficiency and competitiveness" - on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Many GDR citizens hoped for an economic miracle and "blooming landscapes", as the then Chancellor Helmut Kohl had promised them.
But millions of workers were simply laid off overnight.
The Treuhandanstalt and the companies and banks commissioned by it, such as Goldman Sachs, were responsible for this.
For many East Germans, the trust became the epitome of the cold face of capitalism.
Bodo Ramelow also experienced the arrogant behavior of the West Germans in the negotiations and more than once observed how East German companies were ripped off.
It was not until 1999 that Ramelow gave up his career as a trade unionist and joined the PDS, the successor party to the SED - now the Left.
"If someone had told me in '99 that I am sitting here as Prime Minister today, I would have thought it was madness," says Ramelow, looking back on his move after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In an interview with SPIEGEL editors Susanne Beyer and Andreas Wassermann, Bodo Ramelow explains what, from his point of view, really happened back then.
She is particularly concerned with the case of the Bischofferode potash mine.
Bodo Ramelow speaks of a "tragedy" and cites the fate of the Kali miners as an example of the East German trauma Treuhand.
Curious?
Then just click on the play arrow at the beginning of the article and listen to the new episode of our podcast SPIEGEL Live - The Conversation.
For the first time in months, the SPIEGEL Live event took place in front of an audience.
80 guests attended the conversation on September 14, 2020.
It was recorded in cooperation with the Dresden State Theater.
Icon: The mirror
