Taking place in the years before and after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Anna Funder's creative non-fiction, Stasiland, explores the lasting influence of the Stasi, the secret police of the ironically named, German Democratic Republic (G.D.R). Funder emphasises her fascination with understanding how people deal with the past, as Anna interviews a myriad of people affected by the GDR, structured as a series of vignettes redolent of pieces of a puzzle as Funder reconstructs 'history'. In her polyvocal writing, Funder juxtaposes investigative journalism with personal narrative, employing novelist techniques in order to reconstruct 'history'. While finding a vast majority of Germans she encounters are unwilling to look back on this part of their history, Anna also discovers there is a profound confusion as to whether it is more beneficial to "remember or to forget", in order to move on. For some, the past is their present, the GDR is still dominating their minds, but for others they must overcome a lack of introspection in order to "move on with the future", past their traumatic history. Nevertheless, for anyone who successfully moves on under Funders narrative, their past must be recalled and reflected upon in order to encourage a successful crusade into the future.
Under the Stasi regime, a sense of discomfort and uncertainty was apparent, and still does to many. Those who experienced severe trauma at the hands of the Stasi, may be those who would desire to eradicate all memory of their experiences. Funder biases our sympathies towards her belief that memory of the past, as a personal, private or public record, must be maintained in order to honour the victims of this time, as she demonstrates through her interviews. As Anna seeks unrequited discussion with her unintentionally intrusive land lady, Julia, she comes to understand some of the suppression victims of this time force upon themselves.
