The File: A Personal History Essay

Limitations exist amongst her interpretation of East Germany narrowing the audience that Funder attempts to permeate with obscure knowledge stored in the minds of endless victims. The subjective thoughts presented put a taint on the knowledge received, one can only consider her truth with a level of exactness if they too were raised in similar conditions as Funder. Therefore it provides the ability to compare the lifestyle you consider worthy of human activity with the occurrences in East Germany, whilst allowing perspective to be manipulated by experience in the environment Funder observes. The inclusion of judgements and conclusions provides us to interpret the situation further, due to her acknowledgement that we should not necessarily believe her – “You know they want to stop thinking about the past. They want to pretend it all didn’t happen”. Funder’s lack of experience prior to her journey makes her understanding of the past narrow. She is intent on the idea that revealing and using your past to create a future is necessary. The GDR controls the associated people to this day, without an appropriate explanation of the happenings it has left them with the inability to piece together the numerous aspects embedded in their thoughts. The missing parts dominate these

that she had a male, Igor Gentsaryuk, in custody for DUI near the 3700 block of

The Book Stasiland uses the interviews with victims and perpetrators to inform the reader on life in East Germany. To some extent, Anna Funder does paint a black a white picture of her views, separating the victims from the perpetrators. As she despises the GDR/Stasi, Funder still acknowledges that many of the officials were just doing what was told and were reluctant to react, in fear of falling under the stasis harsh rules. Despite this, many of the officials were strong believers in the system, and do not regret life damaged due to their job. The Stories of Miriam, Julia and Frau Paul do highlight how the Stasi’s tough rules, may devastate ones life and Funder recognizes this by sympathizing for the victims. By seeing the effect the

Informers were rewarded by the construction of the wall. Their lifestyle within East Germany was advantageous, as they were secured a state of superiority and their loved ones protected. They had nothing to fear, as they were given importance and a role in the sheltered social construct that was Stasiland. Proponents of Communism like the heavily supported and respected public figure Herr von Schnitzler were proud and protective of the Iron Curtain, and believed that its construction was beneficial for the population of East Germany. This biased view of Funder that The Wall benefitted Informers as they did not have to struggle or fear the manipulation and scrutiny of the Stasi themselves is also exemplified through the character of Herr Winz. Funder senses he misses his past life as he accuses the West of propaganda, obviously implying that Funder won’t provide an objective view of GDR history: ‘I am here to tell you about the excellent work—the masterful work—of the Stasi in counter espionage. That is where I spent my life’. These men’s views, professions, purposes and very existence were defined by the wall.

‘Stasiland’ is a non-fiction text written by Anna Funder and follows the personal recounts and experiences of those who lived throughout the GDR prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall. While the book primarily revolves around the conversations and reflections which Funder holds in relation to these stories, it is the authors remarkable use of symbolism which enables her to go beyond mere conversation delve into the complexities of not just other’s but her own experience in Stasiland. The use of physical motifs such as Hagen Koch’s Stasi plate are representative of the unrelenting oppression and control

After finishing this memoir, there is no denying that the main character, Augusten Burroughs, has a problem. From a very young age his alcoholic tendencies (coupled with other drug use) have caused hardships for both himself and those around him. As he aged, so his alcoholism increased. In Dry: A memoir we get to see Augusten’s challenging journey from a life revolving around alcohol to sobriety. As previously mentioned, it is undeniable that Augusten did have a problem. But, does this automatically mean he is clinically diagnosable with an alcohol related disorder? Unfortunately, in this case, the answer is yes. Augusten Burroughs is not only diagnosable for clinical substance dependence, but could be considered the poster child of the

Funder uses statistics sparingly, usually in great effect to impress the reader and add shock value to her research. She uses this omniscient voice as a means to convey the realities of the GDR and how oppressive it was. With facts and research contributing as background material in Stasiland , Funder chooses to demonstrate concerned involvement with the people which she interviews by making personal reflections as she investigates, thus adding a framework of rationality to her findings. Through Funder’s subjective descriptions of the ‘newly unified Germany’ , Anna herself becomes her own character ‘having Adventures in Stasiland’. As a foreigner, Anna depicts the former East Germany as a place which ‘made people feel small’ , though her insightful descriptions of the physical remnants of the communist government, additionally Anna gives personal descriptions of the former GDR’s citizens. This first person narration by Anna enables the reader to imagine the effects of the GDR’s rule, but also evokes an emotional response through Anna’s telling of the horrific stories of former East Germany’s people. These ‘portraits’ which Anna aims to uncover are told in her subjective voice, connecting the victims of the regime with the reader, and the narrator, to uncover the consequences of a ‘lost’

Anna Funder’s investigative account of the traumas experienced during the totalitarian governance of the GDR (German Democratic Republic), Stasiland, presents an historical account of life under the communist regime and behind the Berlin Wall, an historical account which manifests in the personal stories, descriptions of the remnants of the East German government. Funder presents interviews of victims of the GDR to create a tangible account of the power held by the government. She further conveys the historical importance of the former Stasi operatives to be powerful in presenting a complete depiction of East German society. However, it is also through Funder’s presentation of the former East Germany to be permeated by its history that creates her powerful portrayal of East Germany.

After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Germany was split between the Allies (France, Britain, and the United States) in the west and the Soviets in the East. Similarly, Berlin, although in East Germany, was split between the Allies and Soviets. In order to stop people from escaping the communist control of the “German Democratic Republic” (as the Soviets called East Germany), a wall was built around West Berlin seemingly overnight on August 13th, 1961. A secret police force known as the Staatssicherheitsdienst, (shortened to Stasi) kept information on every East German citizen through a vast network of spies, and also had the responsibility of discovering and ending plots to escape into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). Anna Funder’s memoir, Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall takes a unique look at stories of both the victims, and the Stasi themselves, trying to piece together what really happened in behind the Wall.

Throughout the GDR the Stasi were always omnipresent in the lives of many East Germans. Some East Germans felt

The term “Covert Action” brings with it a connotation of shadowy figures wrapped in secrecy and intrigue. It also brings with it a substantial amount of moral questions as to “what is right.” The use of covert action has been widely publicized since the early seventies, but trying to find out the truth to these events has been difficult to say the least. What is even more difficult, is historically recording these events into categories of successes or failures. These operations are difficult to dissect because of their secrecy and although events have been recorded, some facts simply aren’t apparent. This paper will seek to identify the complex issues associated with covert operations.

The investigation will answer the question, how did the German disadvantage in covert intelligence due to the Double-Cross System impact the Western front of World War II. It will focus on the time period of World War II (1939-1945) in Germany and Britain and the effect of British counter-intelligence on the course of the war, specifically: D-day, the V1 and V2 London bombings, tactical plans, and technological developments. The investigation will involve the examination of military documents from the time period and books using such evidence, including The Double-Cross System in the War of 1939 to 1945 by John C Masterman and A Short History of the Second World War by Basil Collier, relevant for analysis of the Double-Cross System and its effect.

On February 10, 1936 the Nazi Reichstag passed the “Gestapo Law” which said that the affairs of the Gestapo were not open to review by the administrative courts, The Gestapo was now above the law. Now any person at any time could be arrested and imprisoned for no reason whatsoever. Despite its small size of about 40,000 the Gestapo were extremely efficient at dealing with “enemies of Germany”. The problem for citizens living in Nazi occupied Europe was that no one knew who the Gestapo informants were,

Assembling a time capsule that will contain three of my most priced possession’s is quite exihilarting. However, the three significant items that will be enclosed for years and years will contain personal belongings of myself for other’s to see and connect with. To clarify, the time capsules that I have seen through videos or movies all contain things such as the clothes from that era, newspaper articles, and love letters. However, mine would be a case of CD’s, a video recording, and a binder filled with my journal entries. To clarify, by putting a case of CD’s inside a time capsule is based on what the songs make me feel. It will contain a small sentence in front of the CD and it will say somethiing like, “Music to listen to when you have

I remember myself sitting near a little block with letters and my mother teaching me the name of each of them. She starts to sing me a song to help me to memorize the alphabet. It is so funny singing the ABC song. At that instant, the door opens, and my father enters the room. That is the first thing carved in my memory, and each time when I think about it, I conclude that we are the best family in the world.