Reading in German (English translation on-screen)
Discussion in English
Admission free
In Times of Fading Light, which won the prestigious German Book Prize in 2011, is a fascinating portrait of a family set against the backdrop of the collapse of East German communism. It’s the story of the Umnitzer family from 1952 through 2001, told through a series of snapshots. In 1952, Wilhelm and Charlotte are returning to newly Soviet East Berlin from Mexico. Their son Kurt adjusts to his new life in Berlin with his wife Irina, and remains haunted by his memories from prison camp. On the eve of Christmas 1976, Irina struggles to welcome her son Alexander’s new girlfriend into the family. And, again and again, there are scenes of Wilhelm’s monumental ninetieth birthday party, on October 1, 1989, mere weeks before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Drawing on his own family history, Eugen Ruge traces the stories of both this particular family and the GDR, while exploring the tragic intertwining of politics, love, and family under the East German regime. He brings to life a country that has vanished into memory and history.
