Generation GDR

A gripping account of East Germany in the late '70s and early '80s, and of one man's fated struggle for freedom.

Friday, April 10th, 1981: 23-year-old Mathias Domaschk boards the fast train from Jena to Berlin, on his way to a birthday party. But he never arrives . . .

The packed train is held up en route, and Mathias and three of his friends are apprehended, suspected of being part of a cell intent on disrupting the socialist party congress. Forty-eight hours later he is dead, following interrogation in the Stasi detention centre in Gera.

What happened over those two days?

Peter Wensierski's captivating book draws on multiple witness statements and extensive Stasi documentation to build a riveting and dramatic account, switching between Mathias's journey and the Stasi activities up to and through his arrest. He also places this tragedy against its broader political and social context to reveal the lives of a whole generation of young East Germans who just wanted live freely - and the contempt that the GDR authorities displayed for their humanity.

Part reportage, part true crime, Generation GDR offers unique insights into the secret corridors of an authoritarian regime and delivers a powerful warning from history.

Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch