Meine freie deutsche Jugend

Claudia (1971) grows up in the East German civil rights movement. Among her mother's closest friends are well-known regime critics. The family lives under constant repression and surveillance by the Stasi. Claudia learns what it means to belong to an exclusive club, even though she sometimes wishes she could be like everyone else. She experiences exclusion and confinement, but also friendship, solidarity, and how a candied apple almost led to an arrest. The story revolves around first love, courageous actions, sacred cardigans, and coming of age in the shadow of the Wall. It depicts an almost normal, happy childhood – under circumstances that can hardly be called happy. Thomas Henseler and Susanne Buddenberg have adapted Claudia Rusch's autobiographical bestseller into a multifaceted, expressive comic.