The Berlin Wall Symbol in Stasiland

The central symbol of Stasiland—and of Cold War Germany—is the Berlin Wall. For almost thirty years, the Wall divided East and West Berlin, and stood as a symbol for the divide between Western, capitalist society, led by the United States, and Eastern, Communist society, led by the Soviet Union. At various points in the book, Funder characterizes the Wall as a “scar,” cruelly cutting families in half and causing an inestimable amount of pain and damage. Ultimately, the Berlin Wall doesn’t just symbolize the lengthy, morally ambiguous conflict that was the Cold War—it’s also a poignant symbol for the devastation caused by the Cold War, and the deep emotional wounds with which many Germans live even in the 21st century.

The Berlin Wall Quotes in Stasiland

The Stasiland quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Berlin Wall. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Authoritarianism and the East German State Theme Icon

‘Have you travelled yourself since the Wall came down?’ I ask. She throws her head back. I see she is wearing purple eyeliner which, at that angle, phosphoresces.
‘Not yet. But I'd like to. Bali, something like that. Or China. Yes, China.’

Related Characters: Anna Funder (speaker)

Related Symbols: The Berlin Wall

Page Number and Citation: 3

Explanation and Analysis:

Klaus worked for years in the west as a sound-man in the theatre. After the Wall came down, he found out that ‘we'd become a cult band in the GDR—our records were more expensive than a Pink Floyd album’.

Related Characters: Anna Funder (speaker), Klaus Jentzsch (speaker)

Related Symbols: The Berlin Wall

Page Number and Citation: 191

Explanation and Analysis:

The Berlin Wall Symbol Timeline in Stasiland

The timeline below shows where the symbol The Berlin Wall appears in Stasiland. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...was unable to visit him, since he lived on the other side of the Berlin Wall. Skeptical, Funder asks if the woman has traveled to the other side since 1989. The... (full context)

Funder visited Leipzig in 1994, five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. The city was at the heart of a “turning point” in German... (full context)

...caught a train to Berlin, hoping that she’d be able to escape over the Berlin Wall. (full context)

...Weber was released from prison in East Berlin, and tried to get past the Berlin Wall, to no avail. Dejected, she prepared to board a train back to Leipzig. However, she... (full context)

...and West Germany. Within hours of the announcement, East Germans had rushed to the Berlin Wall to cross into West Berlin. The next day, “people from east and west were climbing,... (full context)

...The woman mutters that there’s no unity in the new Germany—some people even want the Wall back. She draws Funder’s attention to a smudge on the wall, where a Stasi officer... (full context)

...and Julia explains that there were no homeless people before the fall of the Berlin Wall. She tells Funder than men look at Funder because she’s clearly foreign—apparently, she’s too pale... (full context)

...and Funder are the same age, which means that Julia was 23 when the Berlin Wall came down. She’s currently studying Eastern European languages at Humboldt University. Her parents, Irene and... (full context)

...first broadcast in 1960. In the years leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall, von Schnitzler was much despised: one of his main jobs was providing live commentary for... (full context)

...West German broadcasting. Later, in 1965, von Schnitzler announces that the building of the Berlin Wall is a “humane” act that will guard East Germany from invaders. In another tape, von... (full context)

...Funder asks von Schnitzler if he still believes—as he claimed in the 1960s—that the Berlin Wall was a humane, life-preserving thing. Furiously, von Schnitzler shouts that he still believes this, because... (full context)

...and drink beers. Suddenly, Julia tells Funder something: just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, she was raped. (full context)

After the Wall fell, Julia explains, she attended a wedding. That night, she met a man in her... (full context)

...painted a line in the streets of Berlin, marking the future location of the Berlin Wall. Funder visits Koch in his apartment, which Koch jokingly calls the “Wall Archive,” since it’s... (full context)

...Koch chose to elope with the woman in 1961, the same year that the Berlin Wall was completed. By August, the East German army had begun building the Wall, separating friends... (full context)

...to the station where, years ago, Miriam almost made it into West Germany. Where the Wall used to stand there’s now a stretch of grass. Funder walks along the grass, remembering... (full context)

...in West Berlin as a “sound-man in the theater.” After the fall of the Berlin Wall, though, he discovered that his band had become a cult phenomenon in East Germany. (full context)

...was difficult, and Torsten had many health problems as a baby. In August, the Berlin Wall went up, and that same day Frau Paul learned that she no longer had access... (full context)

...pension and claims to live “for the day.” He tells Funder he’s glad the Berlin Wall is no more—if it were still around, “It would remind me that it could come... (full context)

...“a cheap and nasty world golden.” The man goes on to describe how the Berlin Wall used to run near the Heine statue—however, he insists, people had nothing to fear from... (full context)

Funder finds that a portion of the Berlin Wall has become a tourist destination—“airbrushed for effect.” At the Wall, Funder runs into Hagen Koch,... (full context)

...of Germany behind glass.” One museum, the Contemporary History Forum Leipzig, contains samples of the Wall and interactive displays of important episodes in Berlin history. Funder is the only person in... (full context)

...This would mean that she’s barely old enough to remember the fall of the Berlin Wall. Funder thinks about how the girl is the same age that Miriam was when she... (full context)

The Berlin Wall Symbol Analysis

The Berlin Wall Quotes in Stasiland

The Berlin Wall Symbol Timeline in Stasiland