The novel interweaves stories from people who lived behind the berlin wall, offering a very human look at the lives affected by the cold war and the stasi. Gilbert opened his wardrobe to the musky smell of all his old uniforms. She meets miriam, who tried to escape to west berlin as a sixteenyearold. Berlin wall, 196189, a barrier first erected in aug. Still, being a secondhand witness to history is a role that more of us will face as the fall of the berlin wall passes into its 30th, 40th, and 50th anniversaries. As the 20th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall approaches, here are. Finalist for the 2011 niea book award in the thriller category. This lively and thoughtprovoking book is a must for experiencing divided berlin not just with politicos such as willy brandt. It incorporates primary sources, including videos and pictures, to help you understand this significant topic in world history. A world divided, 19611989 on the morning of august, 1961, the residents of east berlin found themselves cut off from family, friends, and jobs in the west by a tangle of barbed wire that ruthlessly split a city of four million.
Funders stasiland is an anomaly on this list, written by an australian who lived in west berlin in the 1990s. Top 10 books about the berlin wall as the 20th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall approaches, here are 10 books that best illustrate the damage it caused. The revolutionary legacy of 1989 oxford university, 2009, an anthology edited. The author manages to make readers feel they are taken back in time to post wwii germany. Books about the wall this page lists some books about the berlin wall and contains links to online bookstores who have them on offer. The berlin wall was an awkward thing, outlandish and unloved, a barrier planted clear across the middle of the largest city between paris and moscow. The report was published just two years after construction began on. Ian mcewan, who wrote another fine cold war espionage story sweet tooth, is a great fan of another haunting book, peter schneider s the wall jumper. For the fifth of our ten great books set in series, we have chosen berlin.
The story of the most successful tunnel escape in the history of the berlin wall an abandoned bakery, some shovels and a few buckets were all. In berlin, a peter hacks renaissance the new yorker. Seidel was a bicyclist in east berlin who was being groomed for the olympics. This occasionally moving history of the berlin wall details many hundreds of escapes into west berlin and many failures.
This textbook outlines the rise and fall of the berlin wall and the key themes around the time. Better than any other cold war novel before or since, john le carres gift is to immerse the reader. Anna funders bestselling stasiland brings us extraordinary tales of real lives in the former east germany. The role of literature in bringing about the fall of the. Some quite literally hop the wall more than once throughout the duration of the novel, while others are wall jumpers in more figurative, albeit. Intertwined throughout is the story of harry seidel, who became known as the pimpernel of the wall. List of books and articles about berlin wall online. Stories from behind the berlin wall, is anna funders debut nonfiction masterpiece, that not only peers over the iron curtain but immerses its readers in the former east. The people must have felt a combination of anger, frustration and at times, hopelessness. I was inspired by some classic berlin thrillers by len deighton and john lecarre in writing my own novel about the wall, the german club. On the 30th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall.
The day before the berlin wall, 2010, alternative history. All around them were the sounds of rejoicing as the surviving russian soldiers, waving their guns in elation and lifting their voices in shouts of relief and joy, swarmed out of the destroyed city like ants. These books can generally be ordered via amazon and, but we recommend you support berlins fantastic local bookshops by ordering there they can have any title ready for you within a day or two, at no extra cost. I had forgotten the details of the building of the berlin wall, especially the sudden entrapment of the people overnight with rolls of barbed wire. The new yorker offers a signature blend of news, culture, and the arts. The berlin wall 1961 1989 begins with a brief history of berlin, the origins of how the city came to be and the characters who ruled it before moving on to the purpose of the book the berlin wall from its inception, construction, operation and sudden fall on 9 november 1989.
The riotous and laughoutloud novel about klaus uhltzscht, the aspiring teenage nobel laureate of east berlin, who claims to be historys missing link, the man who breached the berlin wall. It was the most dramatic example of the political architecture of modern times. Christopher isherwoods compelling fictionalised autobiography defines the wild and wicked berlin between the wars and hitlers rise to power. It is an unorthodox book, and a funny one, following. Here are five utterly captivating books that will open your eyes to life behind the berlin wall. In december 1963, the atlantic monthly published a 43page supplement on berlin, the broken city. How that state ended is expertly parsed in these last three books, starting with the fall of the berlin wall. The berlin wall split many families in two, which is part of the reason why escape attempts were so common. Over 60 writers, novelists and nonfiction writers, with excerpts from some of the best books on berlin. All along the tauentzienstrasse, men, women and boys are hawking postcards, flowers, songbooks, hairoil, bracelets. The first edition of the novel was published in 2003, and was written by anna funder. When the first barbed wire barrier went up, seidel immediately began snipping his personal escape. Winner of the 2011 stars and flags book award for historical fiction. Prussia held his little brother close in his arms, before turning round to escape from germanys stony glare.
Stereotypes disappeared overnight, and the maps of a continent had to be redrawn. Wall jumper tells their stories in what might be the best wall fiction. The berlin wall my part in its downfall it was an event that changed history, bringing the cold war to a sudden, unexpected end and seeing the collapse not just of communism but of the soviet union itself. Berlin wall, a hetalia axis powers fanfic fanfiction. A selection of fiction books set in berlin score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Genre, original language, author director, publisher producer. Books with german titles are written in german, and books with english titles in english, unless noted otherwise some have. A longtime resident and journalist explores aspects of berlin since 1989, including the stasi legacy, the debate about how to preserve sections of the wall, the citys frenetic club scene, thorny urban planning issues, and the ongoing ber airport debacle. Top 10 books about the berlin wall books the guardian.
Nielsen, edge of eternity by ken follett, cloud and wallfish by anne nesbet, black dogs by i. Ive been reading david downings station series of books which are set in berlin in the period leading up to, during and just after the second world war id highly recommend them and im interested in reading more fiction set in berlin during the ddr andor around the. The main characters of this non fiction, history story are. Berlin now the city after the wall peter schneider, 2014. The 20th anniversary of the fall of the infamous berlin wall offers a chance to reflect on the german capitals long and often troubled past. With the anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall just around the corner, theres no better time to do a bit of reflecting about what this divisive structure meant for the city and the people who lived there. Drug use, prostitution, depression, domestic violence, and suicide all make a jolly appearance.
Strict border regulations meant that if your family member died trying to escape across the wall, you werent even allowed to attend their funeral. This slim novel feels both poetic and journalistic. The dead would often be buried anonymouslyas was the. Lou reed was apparently quite bummed with the finished version of berlin which was slated in the us, but this rock opera about two doomed lovers in the shadow of the berlin wall has become an absolute classic. Germany watched as he began packing his clothes into a small brown beaten suitcase. The starting point for me is frederick taylors the berlin wall because of its masterful detailing of events leading to the walls construction and demolition. Peter schneiders charming 1989 novel the wall jumper is alive with all these resonances. Books that offer perspective on the fall of the berlin wall, 30 years later. This book was an excellent example of historical fiction. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 288 pages and is available in paperback format. Judgment in berlin is a 1984 book by federal judge herbert jay stern about a hijacking trial in the united states court for berlin in 1979, over which he presided from the end of world war ii in europe in may 1945 until the reunification of germany in october 1990, berlin was divided into four sectors. What are the best books recommended about berlin wall. Reviews of our favourite fiction and nonfiction books about berlin.
This work aims at analysing and understanding the role that literature played in bringing about the fall of the berlin wall in the 1980s, focusing on specific themes and authors that contributed to the end of an era and to the beginning of a new life for the reunited germany. East germany decided to topple the berlin wall in a. Behind the berlin wall chapter 1, a hetalia axis powers. Throughout the 28 years during which it endured, time. Norman gelb, writing before the wall came down, tells how the wall grew from the confusions of the postwar years.
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