Reading Between The Lines: Behind the scenes in East Germany

Header image for Interrobang article
Read this if: You're interested at a more personal look at the lives of a citizen and their oppressors living in a highly-surveyed police state.

The fall of the Berlin Wall and reuinification of Germany ushered in a new era for the country and ingited hopes for the citizens of the (ironically Facist) GDR (German 'Democratic' Republic) Soviet bloc. Finally, the people of the free world could hear of the Eastlanders' plights, and understand what life was like, living under the eye of a supposedly benevolent dictatorship.

Or so they thought.

Stasiland: True Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall frames the land of the former Soviet Bloc six years after the fall, its disenchanted citizens living in a world uncaring of their personal tragedies, with the few known stories of the crimes against humanity perpetuated by the regime being used for nothing more than cheap political manipulation. Written by Australian journalist Anna Funder, the book is, in a sense, semi-autobiographical, with the author occasionally attempting to get in touch with her German roots. For the most part, though, the gonzo approach follows Funder seeking out the various residents of former East Germany to satisfy her need for a personal, human element to the well-travelled stories of life in the high-surveillance dicatorship.

The stories are told from two sides; the regime's detractors; those who truly suffered under the tyranny of the dimmunitive, bespectacled Erich Hoenker; and from the perspectives of the former officers of the Stasi, the regime's secret police. Akin to Russia's KGB, but disturbingly numerous in comparison, the Stasi had their hands, eyes and ears on the most private affairs of East Germans' lives, save for the thoughts in their heads. Quite simply, they were unrivalled in surveillance and sheer size. It is estimated that the Third Reich's Gestapo had an agent for every 2,000 citizens, the KGB an agent for every 5,830 citizens, and the Stasi, well, had SOMEONE, whether an official or civillian informant (who may or may not have been blackmailed into becoming one) per every 63 citizens.

The Stasi of Funder's book vary from the highly loyal (there existed a secret network of former officers who, in a sort of morbid brotherhood, sought to suppress their misdeeds through buyouts or blackmail), ideolgical and proud politicos to the more educated, bitter and surprisingly self-aware former employees who are forced to live in a reuinified Germany that hates them for what they saw as a 9-to-5 job, the same as anyone else.

Everyone was a potential Stasi informant, but despite this air of mistrust deliberately created to supress organized dissent, stories of (often vain) attempts of human smuggling over the wall are certainly not short in numbers. The stories of the regime's survivors offer more than enough tales of tragedy, bravery, betrayal and sheer amazement at the unironic spoonfeeding of propagandic terminology (with unemployment offices in the GDR being called "Employment Offices" because no one is ever unemployed, but rather, is between employment) and suppression of free expression. It also serves as a somber reminder that there exist similar regimes in this day, with people being forced to live as such (or likely worse).

The reader will get a good helping of the Stasi and East German government's various methods of suppression, espionage and propaganda, such as 'The Black Channel' (a TV channel dedicated to 'critiquing' the so-called imperialist Western TV). Dissent is a common theme throughout Stasiland. Even the political fanatics displayed disgust at the overbearing and exaggerated GDR propaganda.

While there are plenty of books detailing the tragedies of living in totalitaria, the book's offering the default, 9-to-5 villain's alternate perspective is what makes the experience so refreshing, almost akin to a villain song in a Disney musical. Stasiland is an unforgettable read.

Reading Between The Lines explores books that you may have missed out on that are worth your while. If you have a book to suggest, email Eshaan at e_gupta@fanshaweonline.ca.