Stasiland Analysis

Funder shows that the victims of the Stasi were never fully healed following the collapse of the
East German regime. Discuss.
When we go through a traumatic event, none of us ever truly heal. Anna Funder demonstrates this right through Stasiland showing the reader that the victims of the Stasi were never fully healed following the collapse of the East German regime. She does this by sharing stories of ‘human courage’ with the reader, showing that some of the people involved, such as Herr Winz want to return to the German Demographic Republic, whereas others, Such as Julia would never want to return to the GDR due to the traumatic and damaging things that happened.
During her interviews, Anna Funder uncovers victims who were never fully healed because they cannot “destroy
Herr Christian knew it was immoral, and only continued because of his own benefit. He had very little choice.
However he did not want to be punished for his affair with his son’s teacher. Herr Christian is still dwelling on his past has he wanted to become a professional boxer but he was in a car accident.

However, amid her “adventures in Stasiland”, Funder finds that some victims achieved
“internal victory” and have fared better accordingly. Klaus Renft was a rebellious rock star with The Stasi. Klaus shows character of how he approaches the topic. He seems to have moved on and accept it happened. In his chapter he gives the thought of ‘you can’t cry over spilt milk.” Funder presents him as a survivor and “he seems incapable of regret, and anger evaporates him like sweat.” Renft shows a wide understanding about what has happened under the Stasi’s surveillance. He believes that ‘the Stasi have been punished enough” and it should be seen as a victory. Funder portrays Klaus as a character who does not dwell on the past and learns from it.
Stasiland seeks to acknowledge that “history is made of personal stories”. Through