Arthur schnitzlers most popular book is dream story. If these stories were the only ones funder recounted, the book would lack balance. In 2004 stasiland won the bbc samuel johnson prize, the most prestigious nonfiction award in the united kingdom. The fact that she works in a feminist book store suggests that she is still holding onto the event that she endured and still longs for a sense of justice. Chapter 12 page 121 this is how the man with the ridiculously noble name became the media face of the regime. In order to understand the extent of state surveillance and its impact upon ordinary people, funder interviews a range of citizens, including accidental victims, unwilling informers and stasi operators obsessed with power and control. Stasiland by aussie author one of the main things that kept it alive for that length of time apart from the berlin wall was the ministerium fur staatssicherheit or stasi as it was commonly known. This 47page guide for stasiland by anna funder includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 28 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. It tells the story of what it was like to work for the stasi.
And others who worked for its secret police, the stasi. Funder wants to create portraits of people, east germans of whom there will be none left in a generation. The wicked reality of communism has, over the past twentyfive years, been deliberately erased from western education and, more broadly, from the western mind. As she despises the gdrstasi, funder still acknowledges that many of the officials were just doing what was told and were reluctant to. The black chanel aired until the very end in october 1989. The spys the limit guardian first book award 2003 the. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. To some extent, anna funder does paint a black a white picture of her views, separating the victims from the perpetrators. Stasiland character quotes at caulfield grammar school. Jun 01, 2003 elie wiesel spent his early years in a small transylvanian town as one of four children. The book stasiland uses the interviews with victims and perpetrators to inform the reader on life in east germany. Stasiland and over 8 million other books are available for amazon kindle.
Stories from behind the berlin wall enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. With the hated symbol of the enforced division between east. The stasi, of course, were the east german secret police. A range of edited notes from students dr jennifer minter, english works notes most of the stasi operators were indoctrinated by the state about the virtues of socialism and were encouraged, by mielke, the most feared man in east germany to hang on to power at all costs. Internationally hailed as a classic, it is fascinating, entertaining, hilarious, horrifying and very important tom hanks and a heartbreaking, beautifully written book. Her book poses although it cannot definitively answer the question of whether some innately authoritarian streak in german culture and. Anna funders penetrating and dispassionate stasiland really begins with one significant date. See all books authored by arthur schnitzler, including traumnovelle, and eyes wide shut, and more on. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one.
Anna funder stasiland pdf stasiland by anna funder is a book about individuals who resisted the east german regime, and others who worked for its secret police, the stasi. Stories from behind the berlin wall, by anna funder. Stasiland tells true stories of people who heroically resisted the communist dictatorship of east germany, and of people who worked for its secret police, the stasi. The book provides some big picture passages to describe stasi methods and organization, as well as the. Anna funders conversations with the former stasi men for there were few women who worked for the secret police are usually tinged with the bizarre. Stories from behind the berlin wall by anna funder.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. For decades, the stasi, headed by erich mielke, conducted surveillance on an astonishing number of eastern german people, and sponsored a. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Stories from behind the berlin wall, won the 2004 samuel johnson prize. Jun 07, 2003 stasiland by anna funder 304pp, granta. He was the only one of the family to survive what francois maurois, in his introduction, calls the human holocaust of the persecution of the jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens.
He still emphatically holds his views, and she finds him quite ridiculous and closed minded. It describes how those who did so now come to terms, or do not, with their pasts. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. At the point when the divider fell, the federal republic of germany immediately subsumed its eastern partner. Stasiland demonstrates that great, originalreporting is still possible. Anna is the author of the book, a journalist who traveled to germany in work interest. Jan, 2018 anna funders stasiland, written in 2002 but covering the authors journeys through the former east germany in 1996 and 2000, is a partial corrective to this erasure of memory. For decades, the stasi, headed by erich mielke, conducted surveillance on an astonishing number of eastern german people, and sponsored a substantial network of informants.
Funder also shows that those in a position of power also effortlessly alter and manipulate their ideology in a way that reflects a need to hold onto power at all costs. Another common motif in the book is the idea that many suffered after the fall of the wall of berlin. In a country where the headquarters of the secret police can become a museum literally overnight and in which one in fifty east germans were informing on their fellow citizens, there are thousands of captivating stories. Claire tomalin, guardian books ofthe year annafunder delivers a prizewinning and powerfully rendered account of theresistance against east germanys communist dictatorship in these harrowing, personal tales of life behind the iron curtainand, especially. Some readers have criticised funders gonzo approach to the book. There, she decided to study the stasi and the people who were affected by the stasi and she began interviewing people who had connection with the stasi or people who once worked for them. The australian anna funder was working in television in berlin in the mid1990s when she became interested in the stasi the former east german.
The ruling classes and social tastemakers in the west at the time that communism fell, and for decades before and since, had and have a lot of sympathy for. Stasiland seperates victims and perpetrators essay. Giles macdonogh is gripped by personal histories of stasi rule in anna funders stasiland buy stasiland at. The problem if it is one with reading history, is that it can get very technical and makes for a heavy read, this however is beautifully written and a triumph in. Stasiland presents the story of german reunification through a representation of personal experiences drawn from interviews and research undertaken by anna funder. I usually like to include a quote from the books that i feature in the book of the week series. Schnitzler maintained that his show was truthful, and continued to support several gdr policies. A number of them are unrepentant of their role in the former gdr. She was placed in solitary confinement for a month no calls, lawyers, books.
Stasiland audiobook anna funder stories from behind the. Stasiland study guide from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. In his books which, like stasiland, are hard to categorize, blending elements of the novel, memoir, and personal essaysebald deals with themes of memory, guilt, and trauma, often set against the backdrop of 20thcentury german history. Anna funders bestselling stasiland brings us extraordinary tales of real lives in the former east germany. Annas early visit to west berlin left her wondering long and hard about what went on behind the wall. In stasiland, anna funder recounts the challenges faced by east german citizens living in a communist dictatorship.
Her spouse, charlie, was later apprehended and died under questionable scenarios in a cell under the stasis watch. In the context of the fall of communism, and with a focus on the role of the stasi in the lives of east germans, funder confronts the reader with characters traumatised by the past and dislocated in the. The stasi used every method both legal and illegal to try and keep the people subdued including an army of informers who would track your every move. The berlin wall falls and the history of a country that had become a microcosm of the cold war is changed irrevocably. Chapter page 1some quotes before this nothing angers me. Enemy of the state at age 16, investigating husbands death, catalyst for funders book. I came across anna funders book stasiland while researching germany in particular berlin from 19451990 and i have to say it is one of the best books i have read on any subject. Arthur schnitzler was born at praterstrasse 16, leopoldstadt, vienna, capital of the austrian empire as of 1867, part of the dual monarchy of austriahungary. Stories from behind the berlin wall, which has been published in twenty countries and translated into sixteen languages. Buy stasiland book online at best prices in india on. Interestingly, the wifes maiden name is on the door showing how reviled he is.
Schnitzler would retire to zeuthen, where he died of pneumonia on 20 september 2001. Nov 24, 2010 anna funders conversations with the former stasi men for there were few women who worked for the secret police are usually tinged with the bizarre. True stories from behind the berlin wall and over 1. At this point, i should describe the book, though its broad subject is. Stasiland a range of edited notes from students dr jennifer minter, english works notes most of the stasi operators were indoctrinated by the state about the virtues of socialism and were encouraged, by mielke, the most feared man in east germany to hang on to power at all costs. The text contains a series of individual accounts of experiences with the stasi including those who were perpetrators and those who felt its consequences. Insight text guide ruth thomas stasiland insight text guide has highly visual character map with notes on each character and their relationships. We see how the drive to create a new society not bedevilled by the iniquities that is, the inequalities of capitalism or imperialism as many of the stasi men call it resulted in the creation of an authoritarian society where freedom was minimal or. He was the son of a prominent hungarian laryngologist, johann schnitzler 18351893, and luise markbreiter 18381911, a daughter of the viennese doctor philipp markbreiter. Arthur schnitzler has 411 books on goodreads with 50382 ratings. Sebald, especially the emigrants 1992 and austerlitz 2001. She meets miriam, who tried to escape to west berlin as a sixteenyearold. Stasiland is the result of a series of interviews undertaken by anna funder after the fall of socialism and the reunification of germany.
Stasiland is a 2001 nonfiction novel by australian journalist anna funder. It is about individuals who resisted the east german regime. Arthur schnitzler books list of books by author arthur. Stories from behind the berlin wall by anna funder isbn. Ive been in a place where what was said was not real, and what was real was not allowed, where people disappeared behind doors and were never heard from again, or were smuggled into other realms. Husband of miriam, was a teacher and does not submit to the authorities of the regime. Stasiland by anna funder is a book first published in 2003. Miriam suspects that her partner was killed by the stasi. Stasiland bears an interesting resemblance to several of the works of w. Stasiland by anna funder meet your next favorite book.
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