Katja Hoyer Longlist Interview

How does it feel to be longlisted?

It still hasn't quite sunk in. It doesn't seem so long ago that I sat in my bedroom in Germany learning English by reading Harry Potter books with a dictionary on my lap. To see my writing longlisted as one of the best non-fiction books in the English language this year is very special.

How did you conduct your research?

I was in a truly enviable position for a historian: I had millions of sources available to me. My subject, East Germany, still sits comfortably within the realms of living memory. Alongside documents, letters, memoirs and diary entries, I could tap into the minds and memories of the people who lived this history. The many interviews I conducted with former citizens of East Germany added a colourful array of nuances and anecdotes to a story that has often been depicted in black and white.

How did the forming of East germany change the fabric of the nation's identity?

The division of Germany into two states between 1949 and 1990 has carved a deep mark into the nation's identity. Those forty-one years were longer than the eras of the First World War, the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany combined. During those decades, Germans East and West of the Iron Curtain lived different lives while pointing a terrifying arsenal of weaponry at one another. Then in 1990, everything changed for East Germans while West Germans continued largely as before. These contrasting experiences continue to mark the political, economic and social landscape of Germany today.

Will we continue to see the impact of a divided Germany, or is that all in the past now? 

It was a mistake to assume that East Germans would naturally adopt the lifestyles, opinions and habits of their Western counterparts when their state disappeared virtually overnight on 3 October 1990. Neither were they immediately seen as equals or placed on a level playing field in terms of life chances and opportunities. Political fractures such as Germany's reunification in 1990 make for convenient points on historical timelines, but they don't reflect the realities lived by people whose life stories straddle them. The impact of Germany's division will be with us for some time yet. Its rifts will take time and empathy to heal. 

What are you working on next?

I'm afraid the next book project is still under wraps. But it is beginning to take shape. I'm probably not giving away too much when I say that the wrap is black-red-and-gold and the shape that of a large central-European country with a troubled but fascinating history.