The youth word of the year was recently announced – as always by Susanne Daubner. But long before she came to the Tagesschau, she was in the GDR engaged in broadcasting. A look into the well-known news anchor’s eventful past.
Susanne Daubner wanted to become a dancer – but ended up in radio
Susanne Daubner was born on March 26, 1961 in Halle an der Saale in what was then the GDR. Her big dream was always to become a dancerbut she was never able to fulfill this dream. She completed her high school diploma and commercial training.
As she was strolling through Alexanderplatz during her lunch break, a man offered her to try out a microphone because of her great voice. She initially refused until a friend basically forced her to do so. After a few months they got back to me and she was supposed to Record the news for the youth station DT64which she ultimately did.
Here you will find external content from Instagramwhich complements the article. You can display it and hide it again with one click.
Susanne Daubner: “At some point, state security was at the door.”
After some time at the youth station The GDR State Security (Stasi) becomes aware of Susanne Daubner. At 3nach9 she talks about it:
At some point, state security was at the door. I was supposed to work for them and I said, ‘I have to think about it. You can’t decide between the two.’ Then I refused.
However, she emphasized that she would have had the opportunity to refuse because she had no family or friends and therefore could not have been blackmailed. However, when the editor-in-chief of the youth channel asked her to disclose her contacts, she made the decision to flee the GDR.
To escape, Susanne Daubner had to swim through a raging river
It then only took Susanne Daubner three days to flee the East. On the border of Hungary with Yugoslavia and Austria she had to swim across the border river. The news anchor benefited from the extensive swimming training she had enjoyed in her childhood.
Accompanying her was a competitive swimmer from West Berlin who helped her escape to the West. However, neither of them could escape across the river to the west, because the current was too strong at night. Both finally managed to cross the border via a nearby bridge. The escape helper became her future husband, with whom she also had a child in 1990. Daubner jokes:
My child is a one-size-fits-all child of an Ossi and a Wessi. Born in 1990. That was my contribution to German unity.
Susanne Daubner’s path to the Tagesschau
After her escape, she initially worked at the Freies Berlin broadcaster. In 1992 she moved to East German Broadcasting Company Brandenburg (ORB). She worked as a news and program anchor at both stations. In 1999 she finally moved to the Tagesschau team, where she still works today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx1zfRTq6CkWhere Susanne Daubner can be seen outside the Tagesschau
Susanne Daubner can now be seen mainly on the Tagesschau, but she is also a frequent guest on talk shows. That’s how she was at 3nach9 or Inas Nacht as a guest and enjoys talking about her life there. Also in an edition of Who knows something like that? along with it.