"the most

perfected
surveillanc
e state of
all time."
Interestingly,
Funder
revisits
Germany
again in her
novel All That
I Am.

STASILAND
Revision Session

What is it about Stasiland?

Funders exploration of the human story behind

this disturbing part of German history
A longing to understand how they could have
turned on each other in the way that they did
(remember Orwellian and 1984)
She has great feeling for the German people (the
German word is Mitgefhl), shown also by her
interest in their Stickelbrick language and by the
rigid mentality.
She also has great sympathy for them. Two
tragic events in the space of a century.

Continued

She shows tremendous sympathy for the victims of

the Stasi, and seeks to understand the perpetrators.
Interestingly, she finds little remorse from those
perpetrators. Many defend the ideas still, whilst
others see it as a joke (Herr Bock).
Her voice is very evident in the text this isnt a
dispassionate exploration, its a personal story from
the first chapter.
Her outsiders perspective means that she has neither
the pain nor the guilt nor any reason for wanting to
skim over the truth.
Read reviews to see how others view her text.

Bits of reviews

gradually a picture of the world behind the Wall

develops. As Julia, Funder's landlord, says (p144):
For anyone to understand a regime like the GDR,
the stories of ordinary people must be told.
She allows ex-Stasi operatives an equal chance to
reflect on their achievements, and findsto her
dismay and oursthat they have learned nothing.
Stasiland is a brilliant account of the passionate
search for a brutal history in the process of being
lost, forgotten and destroyed
Remember to go through the book club notes!

The stories

She chooses to interview people to try to find

out what really went on and how people are
dealing with it even today. Everyday people
woth unknown stories. She finds many
examples of great bravery and heartbreaking
tragedy here. What can we deduce from this?
People tell stories facts and figures cant.
She also describes Germany itself, and how it
is changing (or not changing) in order to deal
with the past.

Berlin, Winter 1996

The start of Annas journey (link to

Berlin, Spring 2000 which is one of the
final chapters)
The toilet attendant who can now travel
but wont (but would like to see the Great
Wall of China)
Her fascination for Germany
Basic info on the Stasi

Miriam

Considered the tragic hero of the text,

she appears in more chapters than any
other character (except perhaps Julia)
Miriam shows how a 16-year-old girl
could come to be considered an enemy
of the state.
This chapter also tells how Anna came to
undertake this project and the attitude
of her boss reflects the attitude of
everyday Germans.

Bornholmer Bridge

This chapter outlines Miriams failed

attempt to escape (although almost
successful). Remember that she is still
16 at this point. Bornholmer Bridge is the
spot she chooses for her attempt.
This is followed by her torture (lack of
human rights) and the crafting of a
ridiculous story that they buy initially
(showing the paranoia of the regime)
Anna cannot believe they buy the story
she sells them in order to get some

Charlie

This chapter is named after Miriams husband who

saves her after she is changed by prison, and
shares many of her political views.
Charlie dies in custody in suspicious circumstances.
She explains the strange behaviour of the funeral
parlour.
Miriam has cut herself out of photographs with him
Miriam also details how she and he could not work
and could barely survive a kind of blacklisting.
They apply to leave several times. She is deported
suddenly after his death.

The Linoleum Palace

This refers to the apartment Anna rents from Julia.

It is sparsely furnished, and Julia comes in
irregularly to take more stuff. She compares it to
Germany, which goes on despite times of the
complete absence of joy.
She describes how no-one knows what to do with
the Palast der Republik (GDR Parliament) and
Hitlers bunker.
She thinks of Miriam and puts an ad in the paper
to speak to Stasi men. We find later she is overrun
with responses why do you think this is?

Stasi HQ

Anna visits the Stasi museum (the old

Stasi HQ) on Normanenstrasse
She describes their methods and how
the Stasi evolved as a reaction to Nazism
Details the plans to detain all people
under suspicion into ghetto-like areas
(ironic after Nazism)
Also details how the wall came down

The Smell of Old Men

Anna details the downfall of the Stasi

after the wall comes down
She watches a video where a
psychologist says that the need to
inform is a part of the German psyche,
akin to their need for order and
thoroughness and stuff like that.
A cleaner talks to her about the fact that
there were no womens toilets in the
Stasi building it was run by old men
alone.

Telephone Calls

Miriam calls Anna to thank her, but

remains at a distance.
She is also called by Herr Winz, who is a
part of the Insiderkommittee, a group of
ex-Stasi men.
He joyfully tells her how many spies and
informers they had.
He also says capitalism is on its way out
and gives her a copy of the Communist
Manifesto.
Anna finds him comical and out of

Julia has no story

But she does! She says her family went

through Internal emigration - they kept
their thoughts private.
She talks about her (and her fathers)
initial belief in the GDR, and mentions
some positives such as a lack of
prostitution.
She disappears (in form) before Anna
can get much out of her.

The Italian Boyfriend

This is Julias real story. She had an

Italian boyfriend, and was thus under
surveillance. She could not continue to
study where she wanted and couldnt
find a job.
GDR fictions (in the unemployment
office). You are not unemployed! You
are seeking work!... There is no
unemployment in the GDR!

Major N

He attempts to make Julia inform on her

boyfriend, but she has already broken up
with him.
He has a lot of detail about her personal
life which alarms her, including her mail.
He threatens her, but she tells her family
and miraculously fobs him off by
threatening to write to Mielke. This
shows us that some Stasi officers went
beyond duty and spied on people
without instruction.

The Lipsi

Named after a dance manufactured by

the GDR with no bodily contact. She sees
the video (along with the Black Channel)
at Stasi HQ.
Goes towards Orwellian thought control.

Von Schni

Anna interviews Karl-Eduard von

Schnitzler, who hosted the Black
Channel which produced propaganda
demonising the West.
He still emphatically holds his views, and
she finds him quite ridiculous and closed
minded.
Interestingly, the wifes maiden name is
on the door showing how reviled he is.

The Worse You Feel

Anna asks Miriam over for lunch. She

reveals the story of her rape, showing
the mistakes made by both sides of
Germany.
This leads Anna to go drinking with Klaus

Herr Christian

A charming man, who treats his Stasi

past like a game. Anna says he treats
her like a co-conspirator.
The difference is he was never
ideological.
He is also punished by the regime for
keeping secrets (an extra-marital affair)

Socialist Man

We meet Hagen Koch, once a true

believer due to his upbringing. (Mielkes
cartographer)
He talk about the them and us
mentality better to be one of us, than
one of them
He talks about his father who is
blackmailed into joining the party (under
threat of further imprisonment) and as a
teacher must bring up his son according
to GDR ideals. Hagen becomes a poster

Drawing the Line

Koch talks about the need for the wall

(they were robbing us blind) and how he
began to question the regime after his
marriage. They disapproved of this and
attempt to split them up.
Hagen is brought up on trumped up
charges and his wife is threatened with
the loss of their child if she does not
support the party
Eventually he discovers the truth and
they remarry he faces disciplinary

The Plate

Hagen resigns from the army when he is

not allowed to attend his fathers funeral
as a western relative is attending.
In defiance, he takes a plate
congratulating his unit on their work.
Their determinedness to get it back,
even years later, shows the
smallmindedness of the party.

Klaus

Annas drinking buddy Klaus talks about

his experiences as a rebellious rock star
with the Stasi
Renfts lyrics challenge the
establishment and criticise the East
German government
They are banned and told they no
longer exist.
Many are later arrested and imprisoned.
Pannach dies of a rare form of cancer,
that appears to be caused by radioactive

Herr Bock of Golm

This Stasi man was in Spezialdiziplin (a handler

who recruited informants).
He talks (impressed with his own cleverness) at
the process of choosing someone to be an
informer (use of blackmail)
He also demonstrates how well Stasi men are
doing in the new system successful rather
than being held accountable.
He also behaves strangely upon her leaving,
enjoying her discomfort at being stuck in the
dark with him.

Frau Paul (Rhrdanz)

The initial story shows how people and

families were separated by the wall her
sick baby Thorsten was in a hospital in
West Berlin.
She tries to leave unsuccessfully herself
and becomes embroiled with a group
helping people leave East Berlin.

The Deal

Eventually she is picked up by the Stasi.

A real story of genuine heroism she has
a baby stuck on the other side of the
wall, and refuses to give up a West
Berliner to stay out of prison and see her
baby. These are the hidden stories of
East Germany.

Hohenschnhausen

Frau Paul details her prison stay and the ridiculous trial.
The prison was so secret that they could not receive
visitors there they were transported out to see them
on limited occasions.
She talks about tortures she and other inmates
experienced. And how none of the men that performed
these was ever brought to justice.
The man she protected talks about his regard for her.
(Michael Hinze)
She talks about Mauer in Kopf but also in a way that
represent a fear of it all happening again. Because
they havent seen the change or accountability needed.

Herr Bohnsack

A Stasi man who outed himself, before he was outed

A spy who travelled to the West to spread
disinformation. He was cultured and elite and
gives examples of Mielke being an idiot.
He destroyed files without permission when the wall
came down
He has now been ostracized and harassed for his
actions by the old Stasi men. But is not portrayed in
any way as a hero.
Anna leaves (calls Miriam) to be with her sick mother

Berlin Spring 2000

Anna returns to Germany after her

mothers death. She tries to get in
contact with Miriam (no luck) and Julia
(who has moved to America)
She sits in the park and encounters a
group of old men romanticising how
good things were in the GDR. Anna
thinks this is unrealistic.
if you didnt buck the system, then it
wouldnt harm you. Anna says from
what she can tell this isnt necessarily

The Wall

A drunk sobs that he doesnt want to be

Germany anymore!
Hagen Koch is running a tourist bus
exploring the history of the wall. He
wants to remember the past.
This chapter also shows how things have
changed since Anna was last here.

Puzzlers

Anna visits the Nuremberg Puzzle

Women. The public has a romantic idea
about them but what Anna finds is a
harsh reality it is underfunded and
understaffed and the harsh reality of 375
years worth of work makes her feel sorry
for Miriam for whom there may never
be any truth or justice.

Miriam and Charlie

Miriam bookends the text

She has moved and seems a little more
at peace
She bemoans the existence of Ostalgie
parties, and her boss tells her that she
needs to conform to the culture of the
station. This reminds her of the past.
Miriam has lost faith that she will find
out the truth about Charlie. So its not
over for her nor for many East
Germans. I think this is what Anna