Why a Booktrail?
1975: When Berlin was very clearly East and West…and the wall stood inbetween
Stasi Child
What you need to know before your trail
Oberleutnant Karin Müller is called to investigate a teenage girl’s body at the foot of the Wall. Tragic yes, but a case she’s dealt with before. However this time it’s different – it seems as if the girl was trying to escape from the west, which is not the direction people tend to flee in.
Müller is a member of the People’s Police, but in East Germany her power only stretches so far. The Stasi want her to discover the identity of the girl, but go no further. An instruction which when issued in
1970s Germany is weighted down with double meaning. What is this really about and has the crime scene been staged?
This is not a regime that tolerates a curious mind.
Travel Guide
DDR Germany
The Stasi Child tour of Berlin
DDR Museum – The museum which retells the story of the era in the novel. When East Germany was a sign of confinement, control and torture.
Alexanderplatz – The people’s special remand prison was in Keibelstrasse close to this square. Criminal investigations were generally the preserve of the people’s police (VOPO) they had their remand prison in what used to be Keibelstrasse HQ close to Alexander platz
Hohenschönhausen – The Stasi HQ – The Stasi Police had their headquarters here on the other hand. It’s now a museum but used to be an East German prison and interrogation site, as wellas being a memorial to political prisoners. An impressive if imposing place to visit.
Streetview Maps
A) Berlin - Berlin Prenzlauer
B) Berlin - Elisabeth Cemetery
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
Stasi Child is a very unique novel – I found it gripping throughout despite the bleak subject matter and the level of detail to create the city and its landscape very impressive and therefore very realistic. I know a little of German history and the language but it was still very useful to have the author note and glossary of terms used and especially the explanation of the legal and government system at the start of the book.I like it when the author takes the time to set the scene as it were. Not all books need this of course but here it’s more than useful and allows the novel to start with a bang.
The level of detail doesn’t just help to create the scene but to show the helplessness and normalcy still inherent at this time – Müller notices that the victim’s fingernails have been inked in with pen in a childish attempt to put on nail varnish. That tells you so much about the situation in one sentence than a whole paragraph on the war ever could.
The landscape throughout is bleak as are the characters themselves but both Müller’s story, her husband’s, and that of the girl in the ‘detention centre’ Three different shades of grey in a bleak black and white world.
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: Stasi Child
Author/Guide: David Young Destination: Berlin Departure Time: 1975
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