Beyond the Wall: A History of East Germany (Guest: Katja Hoyer)

Heartland’s Tim Benson is once again joined by Katja Hoyer, research fellow at King’s College London, to discuss her new book, Beyond the Wall: A History of East Germany. They chat about the political, social, and cultural landscape that existed in East Germany, the oppressions and hardships implemented and placed on the East German population by the communist regime, and why East Germans were so into blue jeans.  Get the book here: https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/katja-hoyer/beyond-the-wall/9781541602571/ Show Notes:

Commentary: Clare McHugh – “East of Eden”

https://www.commentary.org/articles/clare-mchugh/east-germany-katja-hoyer-matthew-longo/ The Critic: David Goodhart – “The country that went to the wall”

https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/may-2023/the-country-that-went-to-the-wall/ The Economist: “Beyond the Wall adds depth to caricatures of East Germany”

https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/03/23/beyond-the-wall-adds-depth-to-caricatures-of-east-germany The European Conservative: Jonathon Van Maren – “The Personal Narratives of Hoyer’s Beyond the Wall”

https://europeanconservative.com/articles/reviews/the-personal-narratives-of-hoyers-beyond-the-wall/ Financial Times: Frederick Studemann – “Katja Hoyer: we need to hear ‘the whole story’ about East Germany”

https://www.ft.com/content/3f26324f-081c-47de-a168-4fdf03a1e4ed Foreign Policy: Allison Meakem – “A Tale of Two Germanies”

https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/01/germany-east-west-reunification-book-review-katja-hoyer-michael-kater/ The Guardian: Jacob Mikanowski – “Beyond the Wall by Katja Hoyer review – the human face of the socialist state”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/apr/02/beyond-the-wall-by-katja-hoyer-review-far-from-the-gdr-of-the-western-imagination-east-germany-1949-1990 Literary Review: John Kampfner – “Honecker’s Hidden Pleasures”

https://literaryreview.co.uk/honeckers-hidden-pleasures Los Angeles Review of Books: Matthew Longo – “Ostalgie: Revisiting East Germany”

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/ostalgie-revisiting-east-germany/ The New Republic: Samuel Clowes Huneke – “The Lost History of East Germany”

https://newrepublic.com/article/175286/lost-history-east-germany-katya-hoyer-beyond-wall-book-review New York Times: Kati Marton – “Life During Cold Wartime in East Berlin”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/books/review/beyond-the-wall-katja-hoyer.html The Telegraph: Saul David – “Willkommen to the GDR! A warts-and-all history of East Germany”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/beyond-wall-katja-hoyer-review-brilliant-warts-and-all-history/ The Times: Dominic Sandbrook – “Beyond the Wall by Katja Hoyer review: real life in East Germany”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/beyond-the-wall-by-katja-hoyer-review-real-life-in-east-germany-qjzx603rt Times Literary Supplement: Karen Leeder – “Goodbye, GDR!”

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/beyond-the-wall-katja-hoyer-book-review-karen-leeder/