Focus 2001.tif Helga Konigsdorf's Identity as a Gtizen: Redefining the Meaning of Heimlt in the Post-Unification Years Diana A1berghini IiiI he speed and me degree of change represented by the unification ... of the two Ge rmanies left the Eastern Germ.1I1 writer Helg.l. KOlligsdorf in an idelllity vacuum. "n lis resulte3 from the [.leI thaI sud­ denly her identity could no longer be "East Gernun" ,md \\'.1$ nOL )'t!t "Germ.m." During this phase of confusion J.nd disonem;ltion, she found herself reconsidering the meaning of imPOJ1Jnt concepts such as that of Hellll1t Jnd of belonging. The laller are among her Olain concerns in her post-1989 non-fiction writings,! some of which ,1I'C c1ol>e ly J.n.ll)'zed in tltis article, as well as in her first novels published after the H:'~¥~ G/eu/; ,rten Afoka and ImSd)..1ttende; Rewzbo;pE.~ In order to illuStr.il ...... SOCiety IS so strong ,h f 'od refuses to elm wi d h '. ,11 Or a pen she even d' h a .0 e ge [ e r.l.CISt ,\ltltudes which ch,u'J.Cteriz d G unng t e Naz.; years, She justifies the situat. e ernuny of SC'lpeOO.HS even if dt.is . Ian through the recurrent use l>' means aCcUSUlg other Jews: Mall fiih1te sich dem umgebenden K I ,- , ' daB f· all II turKlCIS so verbunden f ur es. was dann geschah. auBerh.11b Iieoende G .. d ' ge linden werden muf1ten. Die Juden Un Osl l> ~lm e nachgesagt wurde, sie br.ichten die Rasse m' ,:n etW.l,h East Gernuny never bec.une: a theme in and of itself Ul her pre-­ Wende wo rks but only recognizable in dte nature of her criticism of the GDR's social hypocrisy. The e,. .. lent to which she identified with the PAnyand her re.ldi­ ness to ACCept compromises in order to protect her sense of belo~ging only become apparent in her It'-mie wrltmgs. Following the d~nuse of ~he ~DR. she states: "1-lit Ersuunen habe ich festgestelh, dJB dle~e PAnel nm s~ e[~v.ls wie l-teinl;\l war. Die einzige Zugehorigkeit in memem Leben, die rue Ul Fr.lge geslelll wurde. Oafur WAr iell zu allw vielen Kom~romiss~n ~reit" (Sdm;eu 119-20). The feeling of .lccep­ lJ.nce she enjo}ed wllhin the SED is probably one of the num reASOns whyshe presented herseU as a candidate of the PDS in the 1990 elect ions. I ~u1d see this ,IS her attempt to keep aJj\-e her sense of belongmg to sOCIety and be able to contribute to it through her membership in a politi­ cal parry As this new e:...'perience ends in failure, Konigsdorf h.ls to accept the (;aCt .tholt s.he ~as to . find other ways to fill the gap. It IS at this POUlt th.il KOlligsdorf s search for the meaning of f{~~lll and idemiry begUlS. Consequently, her rlf'St post-1989 non-fiction wnungs and novels attempt to come to terms with the "Schmerz heinl.ltlos g~w,?rden z.u sein" (Sd:utten 80). At this time she is trapped ~tween re­ SI~lliIl~ herself to n?stalgic feelings and experimenting with the new situ­ auon ill order to "Q.'ln b.lck a sense of belonging. On the one hand, she Helga Konigsdorf's Idemilyas a Gtizen 5 misses the GDp-, although this does not mean thaI she -wants I? go back to the pOlSt. As she rem.trks in the c.ue of Alice, one of the mam charac­ ters in ImSd:uttendes Rcgml.X1jp1S who suffers from Hetllru:Jr. "~nd dageglen hair auch nicht daB sie stch das Verg.mgene um IlIchts 10 der \'(e\t zuriickwiinschte~ DAdurr:h wurde der Schmerl. nur greRer" (85) .. On the other hand, she reacts to her loss of Heum! by tryll1g to repl.lce It wuh d new one: she returns lO Thiiringen. . Konigsdorf first moved to Jena and then to Berlin. where sh~ still lives. Her decision to visit Thunngen in 1990 is mOt ivated hy herde~lre to regain that sense of belonglng which the lti'en'k hAd s·wepl .twa),; It IS nOt her intention to move there perlTUnentiy. GIven the speed And extent 01 the changes of 1989-90, Konigsdorf believes th3lthe best WdYtO under­ stand the Weste rn world IS to proceed step' by Slep, st;lnmg from ~null units: "WlJ" sind nicht relf fi..ir die Idee von EuropA. [ ... J Wir mi.issen um erst einricittcn, und dazu brauchen wir uberscl1J.ubare Ki.ume. Am einhchstell C.l es jetzt furuns mit-l1lliringen, Mecklenburg und dell,mderen Lindem" (Ddemm 47). . . Koniosdon discusses her journey bJck to 111linn~en l!1lhe esso:lY ,;"nluringen, dU mein lieb Heim.u!.tnd" from the collection A ItS de", 01 lemm eve OXI.1r1! nudJeJI,' but she .llso fictionalizes it in the novel GleuL 1rJxIlAfoka.l~ The re.lsons behind t1us trip.lS ~I~ J.S the conclusion O~l its outcome are essemiallythe same in J.ll of her wntUlgS. Nevenhelt!ss, s~1cc fiction gives her the opportunity to mtroduce chdrdcle.r.. J.nd Slll.ulIom which help herto bette r illustrAte the emotiom she expcnenceJ dll!lIlg her stay, I v.'lll m.tmly refer here to the novel. , In Glad) ,del Afnka, the main c1lJr,lCter's deciSion to return. to Thiiring.en is, AS in Konigsdorf's own ca~e, mOli~aled by her hope to f~ld a plAce to which she CJ.ll relate. She bebeves t.1u~ could help he~ to flild some c1.lrity .lnd undersundlllg of wlMt h.lS JUSI .happened: [ ... J III dieser Zeit, in der es kci.nen festen PW1l.."1. mchr g.lb, III der !T1.J.1l VOI~ den Strudeln um und um gerissen wl.lrde, brJ.uchle nun eUlen On, cler ZlI eUlem gehon" (28). \'Vhile tills is an altentp~ t~ regain ~h~ feeling of ho~ne, she nevertheless very soon realizes thal It IS ullreJhstlc to expect tillS from Thi:iringen for tWO main reasons. Smce the region used to border with B.lV".a.ria the derruse of the CDR completely changed its lopogr.lphyand the atti:lIde of the people. NOl onlycoliid one now w.lnde r into B.tVJn,l without even realiz.UlO it. blll the removdl of the border abo had JJ\ tmpJCI on the locals. Before 1989 there were son1e people living in lhe 6 FoolS t»l Germall Studies area who smuggled persons o r valuables into \,(/est Germany. Those who wanted ,to flee from the C DR c hen brought with them their precious possessions, olhers smuggled an- works and the like into the West. Some­ lUnes it happened that people or valu<1bles never nude it to the other side (A/nka 88), This provoked a climate of mistrust, which has now been replaced by~~eerf\llness (A/nka 29). Although Konigsdorf views these changes as pOSitiVe, they nevertheless I'nake it more difficult for bel' to recognize her bome region: the present image of Thiirinoen does 11m match her memories. t> . I-fowe,,-et, if on dte one hand this difficulty preVenLS her from f~lin~.c?mp.le[~lyal ho~, on the other hand she has. the impression of hemg einheul11scher als die Onsansassigen" (Afi'lka 29). Since she had not been there for a long time, she remembers the region e>mcdyas it was when she left. For e:-.-ample, she kno~ country pdths which have been a.ban~oned ~: ~orgot~en for many )ea~. Tills indicates that she is expe­ nencmg Thunngen Ul a dl((erent time frdOle than the locals. While she is still irrune~ed in the past and remembers things as theyv.-ere before she went awa,y, they live only in the present: "\'(rah rend bei ihnen die Gegenw.trC aUes uberdeckte, erlebte ich ei.ne sells.l.Il'le Gleichzeitigkeit der Ereignisse" (Afnka 29). r •• ' As pan of the attempt (Q recreate th.lt feeling of Haul1t which Korugsdorf longed for and to recstabbsh her connection to the region the prougOrUst of Gtezd) 1¥ix::Jl Afnka COntJ.Cts some old acquaintances: One of these is Fricka, the former hea,d of the Pa11e;kol1trdlkollmmw who comnbuted to the f~rced coUectivlulion of the villdge farms (70). The faCt th~t s~e pa)s Fnck.1 a visit seems 10 be quite significant, as she expects to fEnd 10 her a conversation partner nostalgic for the p.St: some­ one to wh~m she does not need to explain past behaviors and convictions and who,like herself, finds it difficult to come to terms with the u--ansfor­ mation.s. E ~en if Fricka is the.one wh? is reOlUy in need of soliddrilydue to the 1S0latiOn now surround1Og her 10 the village, the fact thOlt the tv.'O wo~~ share the same s.dness dbout what happened 10 their dre.ms and aSP.Jratlons gives them b~dl ~he feeling of still belonging to a commwuty. TI~ mutu~1 \Ulde.rstandlng IS, for instance, exe mplified by the fact tim dunng therr meetmg they ~fer to soculism as "die Sache" (70). They know theyean ~ honest wuh each mher and that their jUStifiCdtions for how they acted III the p,ast dre understood and Olccepted. More impor­ uml)\ theyean show theu' pnde in past achievements, AS demonstrated by Helga Konigsdorl's ldemityas a Gtiz.en 7 Fricka, who gives her guest a poem she had published in an old news p.­ ~~ . " However the main character's encOlUlterwith Fncka and her vISa to 111uringen in g~neral u1tlllUtely ledd to many new questions a~ut her POlSt and thus deepen her idemit y crisis. lltis new vortex of questions to which the protagonist o f Claw »hn Afnka 15 drawn corresponds to Ko nigsdo rf's personal expe rience. In her ~utobiog:a.plllcal essa)' "111uringen, du mein heb l-Ieimadand" she descnbes her ViSit to the cem­ etery and to old acquaintances 0lS well as her chil~hood ~nemo.ries all com­ bined with her new impressions of the regIon. Neither III the novel nor in reality does post-llVenie 111iiringen Ill.nch nostalgic memories: it cannm be the Hevmt Konlgsdorf as well as her character Ildd hoped to find (DJe111w 41). _ ' All the same, the journey to Thtiringen is impolum bec.llIse It convinces Kon.iosdorf that since it is nm possible to n;crc.lte the same o feeling of home she had experienced before 1989, it is high time to ac­ knowledge the WeJ):ieand move o n, l-lence, while the prot.tgollbt o~ Glerd) nbm Ajnkfl keeps wandenng .lrotllld in sem:h of a new Heulllt wl~..:h s.hc will never find, Konigsdorf is able to acceptlhat her new rel.llionsillp with her homel.md is now "venr.lUt und zugleich fremd" (DJemw 43). The demise of the GDR certamly represents an end, but can .llso be seen as a newbeginmng. It is with rhe optinlistic observation " Imrnerwieder beginm etwas Neues" (DJermn 43) th.n Konigsdorf concludes her e:.say about her journey to Thtiringen. Konigsdorl's experience in Thiiringen also hdps her to . undersu.nd thal before looking for identification or d Sense of beionglllg in politics or in a geographical place she has to come to terllls ~lh the U/'elrk on all individual level. In order to Jo tltis, first she mliSt defme her rel.nionsillp to her past. This is why, after trying to fill in the gap left by the loss of the GDR with instant alternatives, she Starts formulating con­ cepts of identiryin which the focus is on the individual and l~lS/h~r expe­ riences. 11tis is a very significant stage in her personal evolullon smce she gains self-confidence and the courage [ 0 recognize who she is .md where she comes from. Therefore, as she ledms to focus more o n her indepen­ dent self, Ihe identity s lle progressively builds fo r herself CJ Il certainly be influenced byextemal events bm nOt swept awa), On these grounds, she puts forw'ard a concept of individual iden· tilywhich has to be flexible, as one should adjUSt cominuous lyone's relJ.- 8 FoolS a l German Studies tionship to the oUls ide \\IOrid. However, this does nOt imply instability. On the contrary, the essence of identity, which is the individual and his/ her SlOre o f experiences, is able to renew itself constamly; in a way that through every new experience it reaches a new balance and finds a new su bility in an ongoing and enriching process. In Konigsdorf's \\lOrds: Wu- milssen WlS ihr [der \'(fell] stellen, und wihrend wir das tun , beg reife n wir zu gleich , d aB dies d e r We g iSl, Ide nti tdt zuriickz.ugewinnen. Wahrend wir tastend unser Verhliltnis lour Au&mvelt neu bestimmen, finden wir uns wied er lind zugleich audl neu. DaJUl entgegen allen Wunschprognosen bleibcn wi ,' und unsere Erfahrungen . Und die bringen wir ein. (DzlemIl'l 83) 11lls politically and culLur.l.lly independent concept of ident1tycan be vie'wed as Ko nigsdorf 's reactio n to the cris is she h.ld suffered because o f her fo rmer equatio n o f a utOpian, socialist G ermanyv.ith the embodiment of her political values. Therefore, this concept o f identity functions as a measure of self-protection she adopts in order to nuke sure tlu t m the future she will not lose sense o f who she is. In additio n, this concept of identity serves to counteract the demo nization of the G OR which started at Lhe l ime of the We'111e. This is neilher o ne o f the laSt t r ACes of the commitment Ko nigsdo rl felt to wards the CDR, no r the need to d efend a p roject in which she had inves ted a lot o f energy. It is nuinly her fear o f the consequences the humiliations inflicted upon Eastern Gerrru.ns in the process o f unification could h,we that mOliv.ltes her to st ress the significance o f every experience. Here, she points o ut that previous his torical examples show how collective humilia­ tio ns can o ften lead to the resurgence o f feelings of into ler.l.Ilce as ,1 Illeans o f compensating for the loss of self-confidence. Hence, as a res po nse to l~l~ :'<'eS lern G erman c.ond~mnatory altitude towards the GD R pas t, KOlllgsdo rf recaUs the sItuation of G ermanyafterthe Second Wo rld War when I.he COWlt?W.tS given a chance to Start .Ifresh. Now she encourages reflectio n o n this aspect of German history as she is convinced th.n the social and political experiment which was carried out during the fo rty years o f the G OR's existence should be viewed. as an e>.."perience from which both Elistern and \'('estern Gernuns could learn. Thus, the importance o f an identiry based on experience lies in the fact that it guarantees continuity and renewal a1the same time. In this l-Ielga Ko nigsd o rl's Idemityas Ol G tiz.en 9 sense, the Eastern G ermans need not reject their past; neil~ler as a group no ras individuals. On the contraf)~ theyshould learn fro~ 1t and have the courage to change. Only in !.his way willlhe past stOP bemg a burden and become a form of richness: Ehe er sich versieht , hat der Mensch, der e~n nocl~ Kind war, eine Biographie, und nichts ist alls ioschba r, l1I.ch~ W1ederholb~r. Er schleppt alles, was war, wie eine Keu e Illit sich. Aber e~ 1st nicht nur eine Behinderung, sondern auch del· Schatz semer Erlahrung. (DJemm 84) Although her defin ition o f identity as based o n one':; expe~encc helps K onigsd orl to define her relationship to her ~DR-pasl ~nd g~U1 new self­ confidence, it does not entirely solve the question of her Id entity and .sense o f belo nging to the new environment in which she lives. In fact , m the post- 1989 years, her identity as a citizen does not ~eem to be ~lOre. dea rly dermed than during the U'/e1d:>, as she is still expenn~ntmg wuh dif ferel~l conceptS o f identity. Nevenheless, v.~l period is that her main diffi.cult y now seen"\!. to be def uung the enVIron­ ment to wh.ich she wantS to relate, AS ~ he const.tlllly Alt.;rs ~he pa~mete l"s of this definitio n. Indeed, sometimes she place~ henod f U1 rei.mon 10 a small community, other times she sees hen.clf as belo nging to the \\'Orld as a whole. . After her experience in Thi.iri.ngen, Konigsdo,i show!> d w ~ l~e IS still convinced of the .tdv.mtages o f .t snull community. 1 n her opmlo ll, cemral.izJtio n has created eno rmoUS bureaucratic organi2Jtio ns wh~re the individ ual feels degraded to the staWS o f a numbe r. Ac:ordmg to Ko rugsdo rf, this is also dle case o f lmified Gernuny. wll1ch gIVes I~e.r the inlpress ion o f being a society ma.rked by lhe alien.lllo n o f the .C lllZ~ !1S fro ill the federal governme nt. She o bserves that. d~s fee~g o f Alien,llIo n is especially experienced by the least fOl1.lIn,lI e Wltl~n SOCI!!t); ",:,ho ll.eed to feel a sense o f protection that can o nly be ~n via ~ shared Idenuty. In this framework., she proposes that some SOCIal serVices, such as for ~x­ ample the care o f the elderly lind of c.hi~~ren , educatio n o r the UltegrJ.uon of foreigners should be the responSibility o f the lOCAl govemmelll. By providing a remedy ro the people's alienAtio n, Ko rugsd o rl also ho~ to prevent the resurgence o f nationa~t.ic f~l~lgs (Retll f1lg 120) . ~ ex­ plains why in her pest-U'm:1e non· rlCt lOn wnungs she st.t rtS explo nng Ide:J.s 10 FOO6 ()OJ Germall Studies about decentr.liz:.nion as an attempt to give her fellow citizens a sense of belonging and a sense of tradition. Her suggestion to create smaller com­ munities therefore seems to be a response to lhe anonyrnity and lack of transparency which charJ.cr.er1ze contemporary society. Meine Vision ist eine demokratische Wehordnung. Eine De,mokr.nie, ( . .. ] in der clem einzelnen, durch moglichsl wettgehende Dezentralisienmg def politis chen und sozialen Strukturen, wieder Gberschaubare Zugehorigkeiten angebOlen werden, in denen er niChl xur 3ustauschbaren Nunmler wird sondem im Gegenteil, ~ es auf ihn ankommt. (RerutJJg 121 -22) At the one end of the spectrum of Konigsdorf's Attempts to regain a sense of fimlUl is that of identification v,.~th a small community; at the mher end is the adoption of an imemationaJ Attitude. Such an attitude is evident in most of the essay.; in UI:er die lOtu:rziifj,dJe Rewmg der \t'/EJ'L Here Konigsdorf deals with issues of global relevance, such as environmental­ ism, a.nd tends to present herself as a citizen of the 'WOrld mher dun one with a specific nAtlonal identity. 111e idemity she assumes in these ess.l}'S is based on universal and hum.ullstic va~~ that ~derline the imponance of hum.m LJe indepen­ dem from political, SOCial or culluml differences which divide hununkind uno groups. TIle nuclear threat of the 1980s convinced Koniosdorf of the. nt~~essity of an international eHon to put an end to the Cold War, which IS the reason why in the novel Respckdael" Ul1tJ11f;she promOtes the "Mobilisienmg der Humarul3t" (94) as the key to solving the world from seU-deslnlction. Similuly. as the ecological threat of the 1990s d1so en­ dangers the entire globe, she again puts forwArd the view th.1.t it no longer makes sense to ~p ~p p.1ittnun, and I bines. . h ! Set Konigsdorf, Afrika, and Koni~sdod, Sdl.ltlt11. ro my knowledge, I e secondary litera[ur~ on these tv.? novels, IS ralher lll~ted, Nevcrthek~s., I ,\\'O\IIJ like lO draw :;menl}()n to Georgllu Pauls iuucle whIch dcaJ~ ..... llh tht: theme of lesbianism in Afi1ka, Dennis Tate's and EvJ. KaufmJ.nn's revIews of SdAllleJI, and Kaufmann. . d· J See Ko nigsdo rf, UlIgt~. l1tis novel deal~ "':Ith different tl:cmes. h IS a IS' cussion of thc role which science should play Mthm ,model'n ~oclet y, lh~ concepts of resisunce ~nd responsibility and female em;u\clpallon's Lssues. Ii LS also ~hc personal account of a female prougonist, who, af.ter dIscovering to be suffenn? from a fatal illness, (:ng.agesl~ a process of seif-rcappr.J.1sal a~d ch:anges her pel' spect ive on life. Wilh specifiC re.&ard to the JCWlSh dlemc l!l U"Jl11~ see also O'Doherty. For Olher reviev.'S of U1Jf}1~ see: Auer, Q'lUsen, F~ed" ~mnlcr, Hibinger, K auf nunn, uuckner, Melchert, Schlenstedl 44· -1 8, Schmitz.- Koster, and Susak r' . -, ~-, d • In this novel, there are many parallels belwt!en the .ICliOlliU ma:erl.... e[ a1. "Helga Konigsdorf: 'Respektloser Umgang. Rev. of , '''Rcspeh1.\oser Umgang," by Helga KOnigsdorf. Der Gllfio-8..1I11119 (\990): 107-27. [ f R I Haines, B. "Aber jetzl wird geplauden: Helga KomgsdOl und dlc SJ.L1 te evo u [ion." Pdilirs & 5mer.y m Genlill/); A IISf'1-1 air! Sum~e"mJ3 3 (199 1) 55 60. 1 u " H.amnler, K. "Mobilisierung der Humanit:it." Rev. of ~Respek~ oser IllgJllg, by Helga Konigsdorf. Neue Dl.1r!$dJe LUI!I:7Iur 35.8 ( 1 %:7): 138-42 .• Kaufmann, E. KEI-cihicn aus Nahdistanz..~ Nelle Dc:llsdxduemllir H.1 (199j): 129-31 "H.J.tung ~ehmen: Zu Helga Konigsdorls Ercihlung 'Re~peklo~er Umgang.'ft Rev. of "Respektloser Umgang,: b}' Hc.~ga KOO1gsdorf. Ed. S. ROnisch. DDR.Luemllfr'86 uIlGesrn;fdJ. Berlm: AufbJu, 1987 . 278-87 . . . '. MRette sich \vcr k.1I1n.~ Rev. of Die £ r!S£»t"u~ der GrqsmQfl'J" by Helga Konigsdorf. Ni'J£ Desr!$dJe L U/!Ia/IU 4'.~ lI997); 129-31. . Konigsdorf, Helga. 1989 aIer E in MaIL'll Sd)()'ixu: £ II¥! Oila~ tillS BriJfl'J~ GaiicbLer~ Texter/. Berlin: AufbJu, 1990. AdlaI DDR: ?rachelll! eV-r:.; A bsdJials. Reinbek Ro\\'Ohh, 1990. A It> demDileml1l wr a"7rrE IlJIdX!lc A llji.;;cze lin:{ Rru.:n H.unburg: Luchtcrhand, 1990. Die E 1£5~~ der Grr{fll1I1te'f. Berlin: Aufbau, 1997. GleidJ Td:enAfrika: EJztihlung. Bcrltn: Rowohh, 1992. , . __ Rl3pmtioseJ" UJlynfI ErLiih/mrg. 1986. Frankfun. a.M.: Luchtcrhand, Ins. __ _ : imSdxlfteudes Rt;P.~: Ramll Berlin: Aufbal~, \993. __ _ . (}!£r die IfIrwzifr)tdJe REftung.~ 117dL· E SStC)5. Berl m: Aufbau, 1 99~. _ . _. Unu..,..~ md) DeulSdJltun VIx,,(lIe SdT1.lie"fin~ICI~ em ydk Zll )(~n Prackdle eill!S A uforll(hs. Reinbek Ro~\Qhh,. 199:> . . ~ Zuriick in die Alltagsgeschichte." InterVIew Wllh G. Gaus. Nelle [kulsdJe Literalltr 42.5 (1994): 78·92. _. T.. • , Lauckner, N. A "TIle Treatment of the Past and !'uture u: Helga KOJ;l1gsdorf s 'Respektloscr Umgang:' 'Sich der Erinnc.n:ng 'M!lhe~~oder fur dIe Zukunft antreten? Mil der Vergangenh~ lt 1111 Bunde. Rev. of "Respektloser Umgang," by Helga Komgsdori. Ed. fvt. Gerber. Sm:ll/;::' mCDR OdmremriSociIry 10 (1991): 1, 1·63 . Lejeune, P. Le paae aJtt~lphiqle. Paris: Seuii, 1980. 13-46. n Melchert, R.. ~Rcspektloser Umgang." Rev. of ".Respektloser UmgJng, by Helga Konigsdorf. KriLik 87. H.Jle: MiueldeUlscher Vcdag, 1988, 106-08 16 Foots az German Studies Mittma.n'Yvr."L?Cat~g a Public Sphere: SOI11t Reflections on Writers and '-1}t1uUhkeu In the COR.M Ed. J. Gausen and S. Friedrichsme)'~r. I~m III Genmn Yanb:.of:: Fenui.sl SUM if CC7mn LileralJ~ air! OJUtTe 10 (1995): 19-37. O'Dohe~ P. 71x Pmr.ry.J if Jr.a Ul CDR Prcu F1t:tiCll AmstercUm' Rodop. 1997. 135-.fL . • Paul, G. "Uber VCl"S(;hwic:genes sprechen: Female Homosexu.uiryand the ~bhc zhe,c In the CDR before ;llld aftel' the IVC1.I:k." Wa'Ulmd \i7e;> S,?U EJJeas am OJuuai Rifkr;1xn cf cbe Gmnm U'o/U:.llIal Pro (31.' Prtxta:iD!1 if a ?:.f.erea Held bY Wan:'!lin Gcmm SlidJes 9-11 Sep. ~ 1.993 at rJ~F if l'i.azDfP.vn Ed'. E. 80011 and J. \X1h.mon .• ~nSlerdam: Opl, 199.;. __ 6-37. Schlcnstedt. g. "EntwickiungslirUen der neueren Liten.tuc in del' DDR" Rev. of Respektloser Umgang," by Helga Konigsdorf. Ed. A Otiarloni . e~.aJ. DII! LuemlllTder DDR 1916-/986. Pisa: Giardini 1988 19-54 ' Schmu2.- Koster, D. Trcb.uIon., Ifni Kasum:lm lod _ .. : \f/eilJld)13 Sd7re:kll ill . ~IDDR. Rev. of "Resf?Cktloser Umg:lOg,~ by Helga Konigsdorf \"o~gne:Paul RugenSteLn, 1989. 135--10. Stasuk, HJ, Er~~n_globa.ler ProbJeme:, Rev. of "Respekr.loser U an ," ~ HdgOi K.omgsdorf. Ed. S. Rorusc.h. DDR·LILem/l(T '87 lJJI~prJdJ JBerlln; \'(~UTl.lJ': ."ulfbe1ves on tbe i.JterJ.ry !lurket I) a result of their experience in the private sphere. Their exclusion from economics, politics and culture impiil!s IhJ.t oluthemic \\-urnen's iiter