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80 years of TLZ: Gerlinde Sommer honors founder Hermann Becker in Weimar
On September 24, 2025, the Thüringische Landeszeitung in Weimar celebrated its 80th anniversary with a speech by Gerlinde Sommer.
80 years of TLZ: Gerlinde Sommer honors founder Hermann Becker in Weimar
On September 24, 2025, the 80th anniversary of the Thüringische Landeszeitung (TLZ) was celebrated in Weimar. Editor-in-chief Gerlinde Sommer highlighted the role of readers in today's media landscape and spoke about the continuous change that the press is facing. How tlz.de reported that numerous guests gathered, including descendants of the founder Hermann Becker. His daughter Ruth Strauß and granddaughter Jutta Strauß were present, while Ruth Strauß was immortalized in the Golden Book of the city of Weimar the following day.
The TLZ was founded in September 1945 by Hermann Becker, and the first issue appeared on September 24th with an impressive circulation of 50,000 copies. Becker was a well-known banker and politician from the LDPD who campaigned for democracy and freedom of expression. The difficult conditions of his time also included his arrest by the Nazis in 1933, which laid the foundation for his later activism. Despite the severely limited circulation figures, which were only 17,000 copies in 1947, Becker continued to fight for his ideals and the newspaper. This is how the reports described it wikipedia.org.
The history of the TLZ
The founding of the TLZ was by no means an easy matter. Hermann Becker, who was born in Plauen on April 8, 1905, campaigned for freedom of the press throughout his life. His challenges increased in 1948 when he was arrested by Soviet intelligence and later exiled to Vorkuta. Becker spent almost eight years in prison and was not released until 1955. During this time, the TLZ continued to be a symbol of resistance against oppression and censorship, such as thueringer- Allgemeine.de emphasized.
The ceremony celebrating TLZ outlines not only their passionate history, but also their future. Gerlinde Sommer emphasized the values of independence and cosmopolitanism that the TLZ embodies. The editor-in-chief is convinced that the newspaper will continue to act as an “assault weapon of the resistance”. This statement was supported by numerous people present, including Prime Minister Mario Voigt, who described the TLZ as the “newspaper of freedom”.
Significance for the present
The ceremony was rounded off by Ulrike Lorenz, President of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, who spoke about the social upheaval when the GDR joined the Federal Republic. Her speech made it clear how much the past shapes today's media landscape. Michael Tallai, Managing Director of Funke Thüringen, emphasized the essential role of a free and independent press in a democratic society.
The anniversary was also celebrated with a birthday cake, which symbolically represented the community and cohesion among the readers and employees of the TLZ. The future is promising, and the TLZ remains a central voice for freedom and democracy in Thuringia.