log(book)

Books by Klaus Kordon

Cover of Die roten Matrosen.

Die roten Matrosen

by Klaus Kordon · published 1994 · read 2004-05-01
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Revolution! This book made me understand, at least a little, what happened in Germany's past. It takes place during the 1918 revolution, and the protagonist is a boy from a worker family in Berlin's Wedding district. It's specific, it's fun, it's well-sourced. It very much stands on the pro-communist side of things (who, after all, did not win the revolution), so he may be responsible for my early dislike of socialists. Regardless, it's an excellent book, and made sure that I could never forget what happened in those days, and who key players like Ebert, Scheidemann and Noske were.
Cover of Krokodil im Nacken.

Krokodil im Nacken

by Klaus Kordon · published 2002 · read 2010-05-01
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Literary introduction to the horrors of the GDR and the Stasi. I don't remember the book well enough to say anything about its accuracy. Kordon usually tells well-researched stories that support the current narrative about past events, so that's what I'd expect. It's uncharacteristically long, and I don't remember much to justify the length.
Cover of Mit dem Rücken zur Wand.

Mit dem Rücken zur Wand

by Klaus Kordon · published 1990 · read 2003-03-01
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
The second book in this series takes place fifteen years after the revolution, during the fall of the Weimar Republic. It's haunting and gives a face to dissidents, to jews, to communists, and of course to nazis and collaborators. I was already emotionally invested in the series, so I didn't see the big turncoat coming (which my mother spotted from a mile away). The book didn't teach me many new things, if I recall correctly, but it cemented a sense of oppression and violence and the general social situation at the time.
Cover of Ein Trümmersommer.

Ein Trümmersommer

by Klaus Kordon · published 1982 · read 2006-04-01
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Honestly, I've always preferred Kordon's other book on 1945, "Der erste Frühling". But if you don't want to read a trilogy, then this is the next best thing. Kordon is reliably good at making teenagers understand what teenagers in other times experienced.
Cover of Der erste Frühling.

Der erste Frühling

by Klaus Kordon · published 1995 · read 2004-12-01
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Concluding the series, we get to see the daughter of the first book's protagonist live through 1945 and deal with everything the world throws at her. Among other things: lies her grandparents told everybody to keep her away from nazi youth organisations, her father returning from the KZ, her whole worldview toppling along with her country, practical post-war problems, and adolescence.