After it was discovered that Miriam, a sixteen-year-old girl, was engaged in the distribution of pamphlets criticizing the police for their brutality toward the unarmed protestors, she was declared an enemy of the Stasi State.
She attempted to cross the Berlin Wall by leaping, but was apprehended and held captive for 18 months. She suffered psychic torture from sleep deprivation while she was in solitary confinement. She met her husband Charlie after completing her prison sentence. Charlie was also detained and inexplicably passed away in a Stasi prison. The inspiring story of Miriam's bravery and tenacity is captivating. In the entire book, she comes out as a character that fights for justice and is against the poor treatments driven by the state.
Charlie’s story
Charlie met Miriam after her 18-month prison term, and they became husband and wife. It hardly took long before the German secret police “Stasi” started spying on him because they believed he was working hand in hand with Miriam to spread information about the state. He was declared an enemy of the state due to his engagement in various subversive acts. Charlie was later captured on suspicion that he was trying to leave the country and detained in the Stasi remand cells where he mysteriously and tragically died. According to information from the jail, they claimed that he hanged himself. His body was never found, and Miriam presumed that her husband died from misadventure and was cremated in the Southern General Cemetery and its door was left open.
Stasi headquarters
Stasi headquarter was the working office of the Minister of state security and was located at Lichtenberg locality in Berlin. Erich Mielke was the head of the German secret police and provided surveillance on the East Germany civilians and was on the frontline in sponsoring networks of informants. His rule was marred with arrests of innocent citizens and the use of excessive police force. Wolf, on the other hand was a former Stasi agent whose active role was to suppress any effort by the East Germany civilians to paint a negative picture of his colleagues. He was also a part of the surveillance team.
Julia story
Julia owned the apartment where Miriam stayed during her time in Berlin. Her relationship with an Italian man barred her from gaining any sustainable employment being excellent in languages. After pressuring the Stasi officers by threatening to report them to their head, they gave her some short-term work. She was later arrested for her continuous resistance and opposition to the Stasi officers. After her release from jail, she was raped by a mysterious man, who was later brought to justice. She later moved to San-Francisco to avoid the Stasi-induced trauma that marred her life in East Germany.
Lipsi and the reason behind its creation
Lipsi is a dance that was mainly done by the civilians in East Germany. The dance was created in 1959 by the East Germans and was an alternative to the western rock and roll dance. It, however, received a lot of criticism from the youth. The lipsi dancers stood for the humorless and the domineering nature of the East German government and were always driven by the urge to compete with the Western entertainment.
Description of Ostalgia and Sudel-Ede justification of his behavior
Ostalgia is a term that was mainly used to refer the life in the Eastern side of Germany. It was a description of nostalgia as an emotion that was experienced by the civilians in East Germany. Sudel-Ede was a nickname for Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler. He was a journalist and the East Germany chief propagandist. He tried to justify his behavior of ruining some of the good entertainment accessed by East Germans by claiming that he was doing that for their better good. His behavior was the reason behind the secret despise that he received from the Eastern Germany civilians. Later in his old age, he feels that capitalism has played a key role in the destruction of the beloved country and that the cruelty in the East Germany side was greatly exaggerated. His decision to change his sides of argument is influenced by the Stasi’s size and power.
Frau Paul’s story
In the book, just like Miriam, Paul is a symbol of defiance, and she witnessed the rise of East Germany and the building of the Berlin Wall. Her decision to move to the west was guided by her urge to escape the brutality in the East and also take her ill child to hospital. However, before the deal matured, she was arrested in the company of her friends by the Stasi officers. Her son was later taken to the West for medical treatment, but she could not reunite with him due to the looming prison sentence. Rather than pursuing a move to the west, she carried on with resistance directed to the Stasi cruelty, and this earned her jail terms.
Hagen Koch’s story
Hagen Koch was a former Stasi worker that was directly involved with the building of the Berlin Wall. His father, Heinz Koch was a soldier in the Second World War and tried successfully tried to run for mayor position during the early communist eras. Despite winning the elections, he was arrested and jailed by his opponent. On August 13, 1961, Hagen was partially responsible for the mapping out and building of the Berlin Wall. Later on, he saved as a Stasi officer but became exhausted with the level of cruelty and brutality that was promoted by the officers towards East Germany. Upon resigning from the Stasi force, as a sign of rebellion, he stole a plastic plane that would serve as his main achievement. The government has in the last twenty years unsuccessfully tried to recover the plate. He currently keeps secret documents and maps of the Berlin wall. He is also involved in tours around where the wall once stood. Heinz died in 1985 and Hagen was banned from attending the funeral.
Totalitarian regime, SED, and GDR
A totalitarian regime is one where the government is centralized and where dictatorship is fully promoted. Citizens in this system of governance are required to have a complete subservience to the state. Those that oppose the government are arrested, tortured, imprisoned or to the extreme murdered. The SED commonly known as Socialist Unity Party of Germany was a political party in East Germany formed in 1946. It was a dictatorship because it suppressed any form of reform that was raised. The GDR was focused on reforms and economic growth and played a major role in the fall of the Berlin Wall. Most people in modern-day Germany want it back because of its ability to focus on issues and reforms.
