Friendship and East-West conflict

Jeans and Coca-Cola, anti-Vietnam protests and the Cold War: America was the role model for a generation and nevertheless triggered criticism.

The tensions between East and West had the entire world holding its breath – and many eyes were on Germany.

Peter Schneider wrote "The Wall Jumper" in 1982. Looking back, it almost seems prophetic, yet it is also a historical reflection. It also remains a text about German-German sensitivities in a nearly forgotten time.

Winner of the German Book Prize, translated into many languages: Uwe Tellkamp's monumental work revives a vanished world in Dresden's bourgeoisie during the late GDR period, offering a major novel about society.

Was the GDR really the better Germany? Does standing up for your own political ideals pay off? Christa Wolf has her qualms — and yet she defends the moral advantages of socialist daily life.