Stasiland: Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

After going to the museum, Funder gets a call from Miriam, thanking her for talking to her. Funder suggests that they meet again; Miriam hesitates, but agrees. Funder understands what Miriam must be going through: Miriam has just confessed the most painful parts of her life to Funder, and probably isn’t too eager to see her again. Later that night, Funder watches a German TV program about a Leipzig stripper who stripped for East German government officials. She falls into restless sleep. At 2:30 am, she gets a phone call from her friend Klaus. Klaus lives nearby, and he and Funder often go to the same pubs.

The next morning, Funder wakes up to the sound of the phone ringing. She has another caller about her ad in the newspaper. The caller asks if Funder is really Australian, as she’s claimed in her ad. Funder notes that many East Germans are curiously ignorant of other countries, since their travel was, of course, restricted. The caller promises to meet with Funder in Potsdam to “set the record straight.” He says that his name is Herr Winz.

Funder meets with Herr Winz, who suggests that they talk in a hotel café. There, Winz asks to see Funder’s identification card, but Funder points out that Australia doesn’t issue ID cards for all its citizens. Winz seems genuinely bemused. Funder shows Winz her passport, and he examines it very carefully. When Funder asks to see Winz’s identification, he laughs. He proceeds to explain to Funder that he worked for the government from 1961 to 1990, focusing on counter-espionage. He presents Funder with a thesis he wrote on protecting East Germany from NATO infiltration. Winz explains that he wrote the thesis for the Insiderkomitee, a secret society of former Stasi officers whose main purpose, he claims, is to create “an objective view of history.”

Funder proceeds to ask Herr Winz about his work for the Stasi, but he refuses to say much. He claims that the Stasi had “people everywhere,” including spies in NATO and West Germany. When Funder asks how Winz is treated nowadays, he complains that he’s slandered and accused of human rights violations. He criticizes German capitalism, which has polluted the planet and torn society apart. He gives Funder a copy of Karl Marx’s The Communist Manifesto and leaves.

Funder calls Miriam a second time and leaves a message, suggesting that they speak further. She receives many more calls from old Stasi officers interested in speaking to her. She’s eager to ask Miriam more questions, but senses that perhaps Miriam has been “hounded enough.”