In Autumn 2009 The Weekly Newspaper Die Zeit published an article that discussed the question of which East German city was more entitled to call itself the heroic site of 1989: Berlin or Leipzig. Although the peaceful revolution actually began in Leipzig with the so-called Monday demonstrations, Berlin is generally regarded as the most prominent symbol of unification because of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This competition between these cities over which site deserves more recognition for its historical role in 1989 reflects the ongoing contest about how 1989 is currently being remembered. The dramatic events in Berlin — the fall of the Wall, the emotionally charged scenes of intense joy and reunion — offer a very different foil for memory than the Monday demonstrations, of which there are few photographs and recordings. This jealous rivalry between the cities has been further fueled by plans for a national monument to the peaceful revolution and to unification, which will be situated in Berlin, as the capital city, rather than Leipzig. Leipzig was so outraged by this decision to favor Berlin that it was quickly promised 15 million Euros in order to erect its own local monument.

This chapter discusses two authors from East Germany, one from Berlin, Monika Maron, who is well known in Germany, and one from Leipzig, Angela Krauss, who is less renowned but certainly no less interesting. Although the events of 1989–90 play a decisive role in the literary works of both, neither of these authors is included in discussions about the so-called Wenderoman, the much-sought after and illusive novel about unification. In this chapter I will examine why these authors tend to fit less comfortably into this category than, for example, Ingo Schulze, highlighting how they seem to offer a special insight into a literary way of dealing with this past precisely because of this uncomfortableness.

With one exception, all the prose works that Maron and Krauss have published since 1989 are set in either Berlin or Leipzig. Both authors are interested in the impact of history on personal stories and individual biographies. This raises the question as to why they were not included as serious contenders in the quest for the Wenderoman.