Lutz Rathenow inspires Bautzen: stories from the GDR and space

Lutz Rathenow inspires Bautzen: stories from the GDR and space

Bautzen. On November 15, 2024, around 80 pupils of the Schillergymnasium experienced a captivated reading by Lutz Rathenow, the acquaintance GDR oppositions and poets. In the impressive auditorium, which Rathenow humorously described as potentially beautiful auditorium in Germany, he kidnapped the audience into the eventful world of his past. "I always wanted to read a lot, like my mother," he opened, spoke about his passion for science fiction and literature.

Rathenow, born in 1952, impressively described his rebellious youth, in which he rebeled against the strict rules of the GDR. "If I don't get a place of study because of my neglected appearance, I don't get any," he read from his book "Smile defiantly and stroke space". His stories about the Stasi monitoring and the famous coffee strike at Carl Zeiss provided attentive faces in the audience. "There was a cynical brutality," he recalled his arrest and the psychological games of the Stasi.

of Stasi monitoring and coffee strike

His experiences are not only personal stories, but also part of a larger historical context. After the fall of the wall, Rathenow worked as a journalist and writer for the processing of the SED dictatorship and became a Saxon state representative for the Stasi documents in 2011. With creative projects, such as a walk -in radio play about the Stasi, he wanted to make the past tangible for people. "This showed me a more comprehensive picture of the GDR," said a student after the reading and emphasized the importance of political education.

Rathenows haunting stories and his artistic approaches were well received by the young people. "I don't want to return to such a society in which you were spied on and there were travel bans," said a student and underlined the relevance of Rathenow's message for today.