“Rummelplatz” focuses on a notorious East German uranium mine, run by the Soviets and supplying the brotherland’s nuclear programme. Veterans, fortune seekers and outsiders like narrator Peter Loose flock to the well-paying mine. Yet safety provisions are almost non-existent and tools are not adequately supplied. The only outlets for workers are the bars and fairgrounds where copious amounts of alcohol are consumed and brawls quickly ensue.

Werner Bräunig was once regarded as the great hope of East German literature – until an extract from “Rummelplatz” was read before the East German censorship authorities in 1965. The novel’s misdeed? It painted an all too accurate picture auf East German society.

Link to Onleihe

German original title