Karl-Heinz Gerstner

Karl-Heinz Gerstner
Born	15 November 1912 Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany
Died	14 December 2005 Kleinmachnow, Brandenburg, Germany
Alma mater	Frederick-William University, Berlin
Occupation	government lawyer diplomatic assistant journalist
Political party	NSDAP SED
Spouse(s)	Sibylle Boden-Gerstner (1920-2016)
Children	Daniela Dahn Sonja Gerstner (1952-1971)
Parent(s)	Dr. Karl Ritter (natural father: 1883-1968) (legal father through adoption: 1880-1945)

Karl-Heinz Gerstner (15 November 1912 - 14 December 2005) trained as a lawyer and then worked during the war for the German diplomatic service in Paris. Following the war he was released from internment as a Soviet prisoner of war after producing a number of affidavits testifying to his helpfulness to members of the French Resistance during the course of his time at the German embassy in occupied Paris. He was then able to reinvent himself as an East German journalist.

Controversy later emerged, and has persisted, as to the nature and extent of his parallel career as a Stasi informer.

Karl-Heinz Gerstner was born in the Charlottenburg quarter of Berlin. His natural father was the diplomat Dr. Karl Ritter (1883-1968) who later became an ambassador. However, his legal father was actually his step-father, (1880-1945), an academic who taught Economics and hoped that his adopted son would grow up to become a statutory auditor. He attended the Kaiser-Friedrich Gymnasium (secondary school) in Berlin between 1917 and 1931. In 1921 he became a member of the and scouting organisations, remaining a member of the latter till 1930. At school, he later recalled, a love of the French language and culture was awakened in him. It was also during this period that he won a public speaking competition staged for Berlin school children by the Library of Congress in Washington. His prize was six months abroad during 1928, as a pupil at the Tabor Academy, a prestigious private school in Massachusetts.

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