Anna Funder's Stasi: Air In The G Air

The Stasi were omnipresent in the lives of many East Germans that they even created their own dance known as the Lipsi. The Lipsi was a dance invented by a GDR committee, which was the regimes attempt to create a trend for the masses (Funder 127). This dance was a conservative dance that did not emphasize in the hips, rather in the feet. Funder stated, “The makers of this dance had plundered every tradition they could find and painstakingly extracted only the sexless moves” (Funder 127). The regime tried to influence the masses by controlling how they dance and what was the “trend” of the GDR. The Stasi and the government in the GDR were omnipresent in the lives of the East Germans because they felt there were potential threats within the
Throughout the GDR, the Stasi had profound effects on the lives of many East German citizens. The constant surveillance and intrusions on people lives were heavily seen in Anna Funder’s Stasiland. Anna Funder interviewed a series of people in Eastern Germany who encountered various difficult situations under the strict watch of the Stasi. For example, Anna interviewed a woman named Miriam Weber. Miriam became a prime target for the Stasi at the age of sixteen when she and her friend Ursula made flyers that spoke out against the injustices of the Stasi. They stuck up flyers around their town in Leipzig. The girls passed the Communist Party Regional headquarters and put up flyers near that area. They made the mistake of placing flyers in the letterboxes of two boys they knew from their school. The next day the Stasi
“Internal emigration” is when a person retreats to a private life and does not saying anything in public that can been seen as anti-regime. Many East Germans had to keep their opinions secret and not public or else they will be seen as threat to the GDR by the Stasi. In the GDR, east German were and had “negative” characteristic about themselves that challenged Stasi ideas/ For example, Julia was in relationship with her Italian boyfriend and the Stasi say this a threat. Miriam and Charlie Weber both were seen as enemies of the state as well. This “internal emigration” is also like breaking the rules very subtlety to remain sane and overcome the contradictions seen in everyday basis. This idea depends on the individual if he or she is subjective. You can also argue that is idea is very personal and is something that is a type of self-expression that is not allowed publically. You only speak to the people you really trust. For example, Fran Paul and her husband spoke to each other in secret of trying to escape to the West to go see their baby son Torsten. Speaking out in public and expressing yourself was something subjective that the regime did not