Bruni de la Motte was born in 1951, in the small village of Besenstedt, Thuringia, in a country that no longer exists: The GDR.

A bright and passionate student, she read English and Russian at Potsdam University, where she was taught by British émigré to the GDR, Marguerite Morgan, and mentored by Professor Leonard Goldstein, a refugee from McCarthyism in the USA.

In the GDR, she helped organise events in support of Allende’s Chile, a campaign for the release of Angela Davis and took part in the X. World Festival of Youth and Students in East Berlin, held under the motto: For antiimperialist solidarity, peace and friendship – a credo to which she herself remained faithful until the end. 

After completing her doctorate in 1974, she went on to teach English literature at Potsdam University. She published papers in a number of academic publications, including on feminism as reflected through women writers in 19th century English literature and the depiction of women in Shakespeare’s comedies.

She married British journalist John Green and moved to Britain just before the demise of the GDR. That saddened her considerably and she felt “her country” had been demolished in her absence. She never felt comfortable in the united Germany with its revanchist politics, demonisation of the GDR as a “Stasi State” and its treatment of former GDR citizens who clung to socialist values.

As a German specialising in English literature, it was almost impossible for her to find work in UK academia, so she freelanced as a journalist for a time, writing for various German language newspapers, reporting on the social and political scene in Britain. Her work included two in-depth interviews with Tony Benn and with Harold Pinter for the newspaper Neues Deutschland. She also wrote articles for the Guardian and New Statesman about her experiences of living and working in the GDR. She also wrote a number of pieces for the Morning Star.

She has given a number of interviews about her experience growing up in the GDR and contributed to podcasts. Together with her partner, John Green, in 2015 she co-authored a short history of the GDR and its demise (“Stasi State or Socialist Paradise?”), which is still popular among students of the period looking to balance the common misconceptions of most other books about the GDR.

In 1990, she took the decision to change career and began working for Unison, the public service trade union. There, she progressed rapidly from secretary to become a national officer, working in the union’s department responsible for the Education sector, work which she found challenging, rewarding and useful.

After retiring from Unison in 2016, she became a trustee of the Marx Memorial Library and played an active role there. She was involved in the organising of the Marx 200 conference in 2018 and was elected to the editorial board of the Library’s journal,Theory and Struggle, where she edited the book review section.

From its inception, she encouraged the work of the Internationale Forschungsstelle DDR (IF DDR) with her experience and advice. We were proud to have her as an advisory board member at Zetkin Forum. With the onset of the cancer, which eventually took her life, she had to resign from her various tasks and positions in 2025.

After retirement, she became an avid gardener in her small West-London garden, ensuring that there was a something in blossom at all times of the year, reflecting her love of flowers and bright colours. Among her friends she was known for her love of vibrant clothing and flamboyant patterns, always dressing in bright, long dresses and radiant scarves, chunky necklaces and showy hats.

She remained a committed socialist, feminist and internationalist – even weeks before her death she was still trying to politicise the nurses in the NHS hospitals, discussing Palestine and the evils of government cuts.

Bruni passed away on February 4, 2026. We will miss her encouragement, her steadfastness, and her warm smile.