Carl Lederer: A novel about the fall of the Berlin Wall and the search for freedom

Carl Lederer: A novel about the fall of the Berlin Wall and the search for freedom

On July 8, 2025, everything revolves around a new novel in Bremen, which impressively stages the turbulent period of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In his work, the author Cordt is devoted to the life of Carl Lederer, a communist who tells his personal story in the middle of the upheavals of the late 80s. In a total of 31 chapters, the novel Carl's career illuminates and grabs the events around the fall of the Berlin Wall in a captivating story that plays in Berlin. Junge Welt reports that the story of Carl Lederer's childhood in Bremen extends to his time in East Berlin, which draws an impressive picture of the time.

Carl begins his life with the loss of his mother at the age of 15. This formative experience not only affects his youth, but also his political beliefs. During his studies at the Franz Mehring Institute, he experienced both the joys and the dark side of life as a young communist. The tram blocks and the influence of drugs, especially LSD, shape its experiences. Music, especially in the jazz club "Lila Eul", becomes a retreat where Carl discusses his thoughts with friends.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in the literature

in November 1989, at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Carl goes in search of Mara, a woman who plays a key role for him. The novel not only represents fictional Stasi reports, but also takes a critical look at the political conditions of the GDR. Schnibben focuses on repression and contradictions that Carl's life through. The complex relationships with women, including Frances, also get special attention, which symbolically stands for Carl's inner conflicts.

The developments in reality meanwhile were no less dramatic. Historians and contemporary witnesses appreciated November 9, 1989 as a turning point, while on May 2, 1989 the first steps for dismantling the "Iron Curtain" took place in Nickelsdorf and Hegyeshalom. The Federal Center for Political Education quotes Joachim Jauer, who sees this day as the decisive moment of the fall. Despite the uncertainties that the citizens felt when crossing the wall, the rush at the border crossing between East and West Berlin was overwhelming on the evening of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

a mass crowd and its consequences

With a real departure, the fall of the Berlin Wall led to the reunification of Germany. Reports describe the chaos at the Invalidenstraße border crossing, where people parked across, got off and ran hastily to the border. Already on November 9th there were fears and hopes in the air. eyewitness reports describe how people were illegal and without ID in the Weddinger district in Weddinger and the border guards did not know how to deal with the situation.

There was no official border crossing on the Brandenburg Gate itself, but only the wall that people came to a moment. The next morning, many of the wall crossers in the media were shown, with their experiences testified by hope of freedom and change. The novel von Schnibben, which reflects these feelings, at the same time indicates the deep questions associated with the fall of the wall and reunification.

Overall, the book shows the turbulent reality of life of the people in the GDR and their longing for freedom. Even if the criticism of the lack of design of the material and the development process of the characters are an important element, Carl's story in Schnibben's novel remains a moving examination of its own history in connection with the great political upheavals.