Author and former GDR exile

You were born in East Berlin in 1945. After attending the university, you worked for an East German publishing house, and in the early 1970s you became a full-time writer. Your novels and short stories have been successful in both East and West Germany. Throughout the 70s, your writing became more and more critical of the political and social status quo. However, you never entertained the idea of leaving East Germany and moving to the West. As your literary fame grew, you were invited to give readings in West Germany, and journalists would frequently ask why you chose to live in East Germany rather than defecting to the West. For you, East Germany, though far from perfect, was your country: a Germany which had the potential to develop a society not based on social injustice and war. You considered yourself a contributor to this process. (See: Peace, and Wage and Price Policy in East Germany).

After a lecture series in West Berlin in 1981, the East Berlin border guards would not permit you to reenter East Berlin. You were expelled from East Germany when your last novel, which thematizes the environmental abuses committed in the name of productivity, was considered to be subversive to the East German state. In addition, you had been supportive of literary figures such a Wolfgang Biermann, who himself was expelled in 1976. You suspect that some of your East German friends may have spied on you through the STASI, and that is what led to your expulsion.

You settled in West Berlin, just a couple of blocks from your old apartment, and your subsequent books and TV scripts have been highly successful in the West. Despite your professional success, it was very difficult to adjust to living in the West, and you often felt stereotyped by Westerners. You still considered yourself an East-German writer living in exile. However, once the Wall came down in 1989, you became optimistic about the possibilities for the two Germanies, and you joined Neues Forum. You are somewhat dismayed by the rapid changes since too much is being given up too quickly. Like the West German author Günther Grass, you do not believe in the historical necessity for or justification of a united Germany.

You are awaiting access to your STASI files which will provide you with the names of the people who spied on you. There is one friend in particular that you think may be responsible for your expulsion, but you cannot bring yourself to discuss this issue with her. You are so glad you can see her on a daily basis that you don't want to endanger your rekindled friendship. Especially since many of your former East Berlin friends no longer trust you and see you as a traitor to socialism. You are also considering moving back to former East Berlin, but you are afraid of how you will be received.

*Additional off-site links -

East Berlin

• Berlin
• Historical Information on Berlin

Stasi

• Effects of Stasi
• Stasi Personal Account
• The East German Secret Police (Stasi)
• More on the Stasi
• Biography of Erich Mielke, long-time Head of the Stasi
• Access to Stasi Files 1
• Access to Stasi Files 2

Biermann

• Biography (In German)
• Opposition in the GDR

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