In Anna Funder's Stasiland, a non-fiction account of daily life in East Germany under the former German Democratic Republic, she writes about both the experiences of ordinary people and victims of the Stasi secret police. Funder structures the text by interweaving reflections on present-day Germany with stories of individuals like Miriam, Julia, and former Stasi members. She uses techniques like characterization, imagery, and tense to show her opinions and make connections between the past and present. In writing this exploration of life under the GDR, Funder seeks to depict personal stories rather than just facts, and arrives at conclusions about whether it is healthier to remember or forget this history.

1. How To Write on
Stasiland

2. This is an account of a
true story

3. GDR = German
Democratic
Republic - 1949-
1990

7. This is an account of a
true story

8. Your task is to write
about how Anna
Funder has written this
non fiction text

9. “This society, it was built on lies ...”
Why does Funder find it so difficult
to uncover the truth?

10. In writing Stasiland Funder
seeks to...
As she speaks to...she
discovers...
As she speaks to...she
discovers...

11. • What Funder is writing about
• Who Funder is writing about
• How Funder structures her text
• What techniques she uses
• What conclusions she comes to

12. What Funder is writing
about
Text
Ideas and
experiences
Actions The people
•Account
•Investigation
•Version
•Reflection
•Exploration
•The reality of
life in the/under
the former GDR
•The
experiences
of...in the former
GDR
•The past
•Stories
•Portrays
•Depicts
•Writes
•Investigates
•Explores
•Shows
•Represents
•Collects
•The people
who...
•Witnesses
•Ordinary
people
•Victims of the
Stasi
•Former Stasi
members

13. In Anna Funder’s Stasiland - an
account (text) of daily life in
the former GDR
(experiences) - she writes
(action) about both the...and
the (who)

14. In writing about non-
fiction, there needs to
be more focus on what
the author is doing.

15. In Ransom, the
characters are...

16. In writing Stasiland,
Funder seeks to...

17. Who Funder is writing
about
Victims of The
Stasi
Unsympathetic
Former Stasi
Sympathetic
Former Stasi
•Julia
•Miriam
•Frau Paul
•Klaus Renft
•Herr Von
Schnitzler
•Herr Bock
•Herr Winz
•Herr Koch
•Herr Christian
•Herr Bohnsack

18. In constructing
Stasiland, Funder
doesn’t fill her book
with just dates and
facts but with...in order
to...

19. Funder makes her
opinion of the people in
her book clear by...

20. On Mielke: His eyes are
set close together, his
cheeks puffy. He has the
face and the lisp of a
pugilist. p. 57
Showing us what she thinks

22. OnVon Schnitzler: This
is so mad that I can’t
think of a question
immediately. p. 134
Telling us what she thinks

23. P. 14-15 - Miriam
*What she looks like
How she fits into the
*space around her
How she fits into the
*space around her
How she fits into the

24. QuickTime™ and a
H.264 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

25. How Funder has
structured the text
P Miriam Miriam Miriam P P P P Julia Julia
Julia P Schni Julia
Christ-
ian
Koch Koch Koch Klaus Bock
Paul Paul Paul
Bohn-
sack
P P P Miriam

26. Funder interweaves
reflections on present
day Germany with...

27. What techniques does
Funder use
• Funder shows us how she feels in many
ways...
• Characterisation
• Colour imagery
• Tense

28. • In northern Germany I inhabit the grey end of the
spectrum: grey buildings, grey earth, grey trees.
Outside the city and then the country spool past
in black and white. p. 3
• From here toValidivostok this was Communism’s
gift to the built environment - linoleum and grey
cement, asbestos and prefabricated concrete...p.
124

29. QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

30. Present tense
• Now I am cold and sober and scared of
what I am about to hear. p. 141

31. • It’s not in the past - it’s in the present
• Immediacy
• Connection
• Closeness
• Direct

32. What conclusions does
Funder arrive at
• To remember or forget - which is
healthier? p. 52
• Read Charlie’s poem on p. 281-2

33. Thank you...