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Klaus Jentzsch
A former Stasi officer with whom Anna Funder speaks, Hagen Koch was partly responsible for building and mapping out the Berlin Wall in 1961. Later on, however, he became exasperated with the cruelty and bureaucracy of the Stasi, and of the Communist state itself. He resigned from the Stasi and, as an act of rebellion, stole a small plastic plate commemorating his division’s achievements—a “crime” for which various authorities have been trying and, comically, failing to prosecute him for decades.
Hagen Koch Quotes in Stasiland
The Stasiland quotes below are all either spoken by Hagen Koch or refer to Hagen Koch. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 16 Quotes
Was this the point? Was Koch using the available evidence—in this case a bicycle permit—to construct or confirm a story of his father's innocence during the war? There's clearly a portion of the past here that cannot be pinned down with facts, or documents. All that exists is permission to ride a bike.
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In this chapter, Funder interviews a man named Hagen Koch, who once worked for the Stasi. Hagen’s father, Hagen explains, was briefly a Nazi soldier, though he later became involved with the Soviet Union. As Koch explains some things about his father’s early life, he informs Funder that the Russians gave him a bicycle as a sign of their respect for him. Funder is confused about why Hagen is bringing this up. She guesses that Hagen is concealing something from her—presumably, something about his father’s morally questionable behavior during World War Two. The passage is important because it shows Funder Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a.
Chapter 17 Quotes
The Stasi subjected him to disciplinary proceedings on account of ‘inconstancy’, and in their files attributed the remarriage to ‘the repeated negative influence of Frau Koch’.
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Hagen Koch continues to tell Anna Funder about his experiences working with the Stasi. As a Stasi operative, every part of his life was closely scrutinized. Thus, after Koch announced that he was going to marry the woman he loved, his Stasi colleagues were displeased—they didn’t think that the woman was an acceptable bride for a Stasi officer. They imprisoned Koch and pressured his wife into getting a divorce. Then, when Koch was released from prison, he became furious with his wife for agreeing to the divorce, and actually divorced her. Then he relented, and they got married again. In Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque e
Chapter 18 Quotes
You know though, it was worth it. All the courage I had is in that plate. The whole shitty little skerrick of it. That’s all I had.
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After being expelled from the Stasi, Hagen Koch steals something from the office—a small plastic plate commemorating his department’s service. The plate itself is worthless, and Hagen never particular cared about it before stealing it. But after he steals the plate, it becomes an important symbol of his resistance to the Stasi authority. The Stasi try to force him to return the plate, but he insists that he doesn’t know where it is. Then, years later, when TV reporters interview him, the Stasi authorities notice the plate in the background of his apartment and once again try to recover it. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaq
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Hagen Koch Character Timeline in Stasiland
The timeline below shows where the character Hagen Koch appears in Stasiland. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 12: The Lipsi
...and about the stories Julia has told her. Uwe tells Funder about a man named Hagen Koch , who the TV station interviewed recently. Uwe also mentions a man named Karl-Eduard von...
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Chapter 16: Socialist Man
In 1961, Hagen Koch painted a line in the streets of Berlin, marking the future location of the Berlin...
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Hagen Koch ’s father, Heinz Koch, was born in Saxony in 1912, an illegitimate child and therefore...
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...Nazism was that East German had never had Nazis—that was strictly a West German problem. Hagen Koch ’s own father became a Socialist schoolteacher. At the time, there were many in the...
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...crops, creating mass starvation. When Funder asks how anybody could believe such an absurd allegation, Hagen Koch points out that Americans bombed Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Dresden.
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Chapter 17: Drawing the Line
Hagen Koch continues his story for Funder. In 1960, he became a Stasi soldier. Because Heinz had...
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In 1966, Heinz met his biological father. Shortly afterwards, Hagen Koch came to realize how much his father despised the Communist regime. He resigned from the...
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Confused and furious, Hagen Koch agreed to rejoin the Stasi. The divorce was canceled, but Koch was furious with his...
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Chapter 18: The Plate
In 1985, Hagen Koch continues, Heinz died. Koch was banned from the funeral, and he became so furious that...
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In 1993, Hagen Koch was interviewed for German television, and the interviewer, noticing the distracting glare from the plate...
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Chapter 26: The Wall
...Berlin Wall has become a tourist destination—“airbrushed for effect.” At the Wall, Funder runs into Hagen Koch , who leads tours of the Wall. The next day, Koch takes Funder around the...
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