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Stasiland

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Stasiland

By: Anna Funder
Narrated by: Denica Fairman
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About this listen

Anna Funder’s Samuel Johnson Prize-winning Stasiland is an Australian classic, the definitive account of tyranny and resistance in the former East Germany.

In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell; shortly afterwards the two Germanies reunited and East Germany ceased to exist.

Anna Funder’s best-selling Stasiland brings us extraordinary tales of real lives in the former East Germany. She meets Miriam, who tried to escape to West Berlin as a 16-year-old; hears the heartbreaking story of Frau Paul, who was separated from her young baby by the Berlin Wall; and gets drunk with the legendary ‘Mik Jegger’ of the East, once declared by the authorities - to his face - ‘no longer to exist’. And she meets the Stasi men themselves, still proud of their surveillance methods. Funder’s powerful account of that brutal world has become a contemporary classic.

©2002 Anna Funder (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing 20th Century Europe Germany Modern

Critic Reviews

"Funder is a superb interviewer...she truly excels in the rendering of her sessions with former Stasi employees." (Sunday Times)
All stars
Most relevant  
Fascinating. It’s easy to forget this all existed and in my lifetime too. It’s good to learn and be reminded from a real life experience point of view.

I learnt so much

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An excellent book that led me to consider how I might have lived had I found myself a citizen of the GDR. It offers profound insights into real people's responses to circumstances.

A penetrating view of life behind the iron curtain

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The East Germany we all grew up with brilliantly laid bare with progressive anecdotes from all walks

Stasi Brilliant

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I feel this is one of those books that everyone should read. it is really well written. The author makes it feel personal. The collected stories of what happened to people living in East Berlin before the wall came down and how those experiences impacted them should not be swept aside. If we don't want history to repeat, then we, and more so, the victims of the Stasi, need to know and remember what actually happened. The narration is excellent.

Not only a good read - an important read

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Very interesting personal insights into the East Germans lives at that time and mostly how the Stasi operations worked

Storyline

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Having been in Berlin in 1990 and experiencing firsthand the unforgettable feeling of walking from west to east (moving from a vibrant colour photograph to an old sepia photo of a time long since past) I couldn’t wait to listen to this book. I did not disappoint - incredible story-telling and a valuable reminder of the consequences of extremes,

A compelling read…

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Finder is a genius at taking the most menial interaction a master class of relevant and insightful description, skills which she doesn’t need in this modern classic. Books like this help us remember. Her characters are nobodies, but represent everyone in the GDR. Her ability to get the truth, frame the story and tell it, is second to none. She is marvellous and so is this book.

This book is a modern classic

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Anna has interviewed and brought to life the personal stories of peoples lives who lived in East Germany whilst it was a communist state , the German Democratic Republic and where their lives are now. I found it utterly captivating and many times I listened in disbelief the torment the state inflicted on individuals. Astonishing as well was those who to this day worked for the state and long for the old days.. still fanatical .
The stories are beautifully told and superbly narrated.
It seems so relevant now as we grapple with China . It’s made me think of the State controlling The individual and how sinister this can become .
Well done Anna .. a wonderful book , I absolutely loved it. Thank you .

Could not stop listening to this captivating account of the peoples lives under communism

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I enjoyed this book so much for the narrative of the non-fiction content and the subject matter. Such an excellent story/history telling.

Top notch

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Well written with a great sense of humour about the hideous Germaness on display in how the GDR operated. Anna Funder goes deeply into the petty cruelty humans are capable of but never loses a sense of compassion for victims and alao for the perpetrators.

Being W German by birth this book touched me deeply.

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