The Fall of the Berlin Wall: Stories between East and West

The Peaceful Revolution of 1989 – when protests rose up across the GDR – is one of the most important...

The Peaceful Revolution of 1989 – when protests rose up across the GDR – is one of the most important events of the second half of the twentieth century. Author and political scientist Ingo Juchler takes readers to some of the main locations, from Leipzig, Berlin and Dresden to Potsdam, Jena and beyond. Packed with informative texts on the background to the events as well as numerous photos, this is a valuable source for those wanting to explore one of the most crucial periods of modern German history.

The third novel by acclaimed author Gregor Sander tells the story of childhood friends Thomas and Daniel. After the wall...

The third novel by acclaimed author Gregor Sander tells the story of childhood friends Thomas and Daniel. After the wall falls, they move to Berlin, fall in and out of love, and Daniel disappears to the USA after dealing in illegal art. When he returns out of the blue, he finds Thomas struggling after being left by his wife. Could Daniel have had something to do with it? And have either of them done anything right in their lives? Witty and warmhearted, Sander’s novel is a story of a reunited Germany and, above all, of friendship.

The fall of the wall had a profound and lasting impact on post-war German history. But how did people on...

The fall of the wall had a profound and lasting impact on post-war German history. But how did people on both sides spend that extraordinary day when the Berlin Wall fell? What dreams and fears did they have as the wall came down? And what became of those dreams – and of the nightmares? Civil rights campaigner and filmmaker Freya Klier interviews 23 eyewitnesses, from politicians to former Neo-Nazis and RAF terrorists, as well as those who helped the refugees. By asking them: ”And where were you?“ Klier provides a colourful panorama of German history.

Herbst der Entscheidung is a graphic novel set in Leipzig in autumn 1989. Seventeen-year-old Daniel has left school and wants...

Herbst der Entscheidung is a graphic novel set in Leipzig in autumn 1989. Seventeen-year-old Daniel has left school and wants to go to university but must first serve in the army for three years. His parents are committed to the East German state and want him to do his duty, but Daniel leaves home and ends up joining the Peaceful Revolution in Leipzig. With beautiful black-and- white illustrations by PM Hoffmann, this political coming-of-age story will resonate with young people who are beginning to shape their own views in today’s turbulent times.

In 1977, a young West German girl attaches her address to a yellow balloon and sets it free. She soon...

In 1977, a young West German girl attaches her address to a yellow balloon and sets it free. She soon receives an answer from a girl in East Germany, and a correspondence begins. This beautiful story of an innocent friendship – which becomes more complex as the girls reach adolescence and begin to ask increasingly difficult questions – is based on Stefanie Wally’s own experiences of a childhood friendship that transcended all borders. In 2016, Wally directed the stage adaptation of Akte Luftballon.

Thomas Brussig is a prize-winning novelist whose works have been translated into 30 languages. Set in East Berlin in 1989,...

Thomas Brussig is a prize-winning novelist whose works have been translated into 30 languages. Set in East Berlin in 1989, Beste Absichten tells the story of the members of the band ”Die Seuche“ – the epidemic – who have only one fan (who is also their manager) and are struggling to get their big break when suddenly the wall falls and everything changes. This warmhearted novel is a tribute to the music of a bygone era and an exploration of those pivotal moments when one thing comes to an end and another begins.

Winner of the Max & Moritz Prize for best German-language graphic novel, Kinderland is a story of courage and friendship....

Winner of the Max & Moritz Prize for best German-language graphic novel, Kinderland is a story of courage and friendship. In 1989 in East Berlin, Mirco gets into trouble with the local Free German Youth group. Only the strange new kid at school can get him out of this pickle. Mawil uses personal recollections and careful research to portray life growing up in the GDR, with ”disappearing“ fathers and constant rumours of escape attempts. A moving yet entertaining book that really brings the last few months of the GDR to life.

Christoph Hein is a highly acclaimed author who grew up in the GDR. Verwirrnis takes readers from the post-war years...

Christoph Hein is a highly acclaimed author who grew up in the GDR. Verwirrnis takes readers from the post-war years through to the 1990s as the young student Friedeward battles to come to terms with his homosexuality, and later his lover’s decision to move to the West. Against the backdrop of this turbulent and often dangerous period of history, Hein movingly explores a love that for years defies all odds – and provides a vivid panorama of German intellectual life.

It is the 1960s in East Berlin and Charlotte Groen is following in the footsteps of her father, a committed...

It is the 1960s in East Berlin and Charlotte Groen is following in the footsteps of her father, a committed socialist. Charlotte’s sister, Marlene, yearns for freedom and eventually decides to flee to the West with her boyfriend. Decades later, Theresa Groen is surprised to hear she has inherited a house from her sister Marlene, whom she’d always believed had died as a girl. As Theresa investigates, she uncovers a web of lies and betrayals in this fascinating family story spanning 80 years of German history.

First published in 1986, edited by psychologist Frank Blohm, Geh doch rüber! is a collection of texts by various writers...

First published in 1986, edited by psychologist Frank Blohm, Geh doch rüber! is a collection of texts by various writers about the real life relationships between people on both sides of the wall. As a student, Blohm (himself living in WestBerlin) had been keen to prove that the two Germanys were not completely estranged; following publication of the book, even under a pseudonym, he was monitored closely by the Stasi. In this updated version, Blohm tells the story behind the creation of the book and some of the original contributing authors discus show life has changed over the last 30 years.

On 9th October 1989, the Leipzig police faced 70,000 pro-democracy demonstrators – but failed completely to prevent their peaceful protest....

On 9th October 1989, the Leipzig police faced 70,000 pro-democracy demonstrators – but failed completely to prevent their peaceful protest. It was a key turning point in the end of the GDR. As one of the ”Leipzig Six“ freedom fighters, Bernd-Lutz Lange helped write a radio appeal to ensure the protests remained peaceful. They did. 30 years on, together with his historian- son Sascha, Lange looks back at those demonstrations and with the help of Stasi files reveals the lengths the socialist state planned to go to in order to prevent its citizens from fighting for freedom.

In this updated and extended edition of the seminal work Chronik der Wende (first published in 1994), Bahrmann and Links...

In this updated and extended edition of the seminal work Chronik der Wende (first published in 1994), Bahrmann and Links use photos, documents and eyewitness accounts to explore the events of the year from 7th October 1989 to 3rd October 1990, when Germany was reunified. March 1990 saw the only democratic vote in GDR history, after which the victorious East German conservative party alliance, supported by West German chancellor Helmut Kohl, pushed through their plans to reunify Germany without delay. This is a vital record of the end of the GDR and the technicalities of reunification.

Set in the 1990s in a newly reunified Berlin, Der Gott der Stadt by author and theatre director Christiane Neudecker...

Set in the 1990s in a newly reunified Berlin, Der Gott der Stadt by author and theatre director Christiane Neudecker is a tightly plotted literary novel – and a study of evil. A group of fiercely competitive students at an elite acting school are staging a play based on Georg Heym’s obscure Faust fragment when they find a body on the stage. It is 16th January and the same date that Heym himself drowned decades earlier while ice-skating. What is the cause of this uncanny death? Is it murder, suicide, or even a pact with the devil?

Jana Hensel, bestselling author of Zonenkinder, has spent years researching the life of East Germans and the GDR, producing numerous...

Jana Hensel, bestselling author of Zonenkinder, has spent years researching the life of East Germans and the GDR, producing numerous articles, essays and interviews. Her new book explores the situation 30 years on from the fall of the wall to show how the former East Germans see themselves today. Drawing on personal experiences and those of some prominent East German citizens, such as Angela Merkel, Hensel provides a captivating account of a unique country – which disappeared.

Caroline Labusch, a scriptwriter and playwright, first brought this true story to life as a theatre project in 2015, then...

Caroline Labusch, a scriptwriter and playwright, first brought this true story to life as a theatre project in 2015, then as an award-winning radio play. In spring 1989, in East Berlin, a young couple hatch a plan to fly over the wall in a homemade hot air balloon. But the day after the escape attempt, West German police find the man’s body in a garden. There is no trace of his wife. More than 25 years later, Labusch reopens the case – and discovers the story of a tragic flight to freedom, and a love that is put to a heartrending test.

Hans-Hermann Hertle is an award- winning historian and political scientist. First published in 1996, and now expanded and updated, this...

Hans-Hermann Hertle is an award- winning historian and political scientist. First published in 1996, and now expanded and updated, this book covers the events of 9th and 10th November, when SED Politbüro member Günter Schabowski inadvertently announced at a press conference that the wall would open ”sofort, unverzüglich“ (”immediately, without delay“) instead of the next day, as planned. Thousands of East Germans stormed the wall and entered the West. Using thorough research and hundreds of eye witness interviews, Hertle paints a vivid picture of the events of that extraordinary night.

Director and screenwriter Dirk Kummer grew up in East Berlin. This story follows the lives of two boys whose friendship...

Director and screenwriter Dirk Kummer grew up in East Berlin. This story follows the lives of two boys whose friendship is threatened by the harsh reality of life in communist East Germany. When Jonas leaves the country, Fred is left alone to deal with the loss of his best friend. The strict censorship laws seem set to stop them writing to each another until Fred’s retired neighbour, whose mail is not scrutinised quite so closely, saves the day. Alles nur aus Zuckersand is a universal and moving story of the unbreakable bonds of friendship.

How has literature responded to German reunification? In the first comprehensive overview of the canon of ”reunification literature“, Born is...

How has literature responded to German reunification? In the first comprehensive overview of the canon of ”reunification literature“, Born is able to demonstrate how German unity was the dominating theme of German literature in the 1990s. Featuring voices from both sides of this debate, he charts the evolution from political writings to more reflective, personal accounts. The result is a highly original and fascinating insight into a subject that has become a crucial and popular topic for writers over the last three decades.

In March 1982, the GDR passed a law that allowed women to be called up for military service. But not...

In March 1982, the GDR passed a law that allowed women to be called up for military service. But not everyone was happy to fall in line – seven women, among them Almut Ilsen, organised a petition, marking the start of the group ”Women for Peace“, which would become one of the longest-running opposition groups in the GDR. 35 years on, 18 of the women look back at the action they took. Ilsen and Leiserowitz present their personal take on the events alongside previously unpublished photos, documents and extracts from Stasi files.

Matthias Friedrich Muecke’s autobiographical story is set in Pankow, East Berlin, during the 1960s and 1970s. Two boys swear to...

Matthias Friedrich Muecke’s autobiographical story is set in Pankow, East Berlin, during the 1960s and 1970s. Two boys swear to always remain best friends, and as they grow up under the authoritarian regime they support each other through thick and thin. But the desire for freedom and adventure will have disastrous consequences. In this atmospheric and heartfelt true story, Muecke not only writes of his own childhood memories but illustrates them with his own black-and-white drawings. It was a fairytale childhood, shaken by fear, in a long- forgotten era.