Paradise and Purgatory
On 10 April 1981, 23-year-old Matthias Domaschk boards a train to Berlin. He wants to go to a birthday party there. But he never arrives, because the packed train is stopped in Jüterbog, Matthias and three other people from Jena are arrested, interrogated and taken to the Stasi prison in Gera. Two days later he is dead. The book grippingly recounts Matthias Domaschk's last hours, and the case is meticulously recreated on the basis of Stasi files. But the book tells much more. In flashbacks, it creates a portrait of a group of young people who rebelled against the lack of freedom in the GDR.
Reading and discussion
Peter Wensierski, journalist and author, Berlin
Moderation
Dr. Stefan Wolle, Academic Director DDR Museum, Berlin
