Steinhammerstrasse

Dortmund-Lütgendortmund in the post-war period means poverty, war traumas, and little hope for a bright future. However, three teenagers are fighting for a better place in life. Edgar grows up with his mother and uncle – his father died in the war – in the 1950s on Steinhammerstrasse in Dortmund. He is expected to take over the hair salon later or, as a punishment for bad behavior, work in the coal mine. He, his childhood love Nelly, and his best friend Jürgen have had enough of the impoverished confines and disabilities of the neighborhood and dream of leaving it all behind. When Edgar gets the chance to learn window dressing and finds supporters, the door to the Düsseldorf artist scene opens for him. However, Edgar is different from the offspring of wealthy families and often clashes with his uncontrolled nature. The novel is inspired by the life of the painter Norbert Tadeusz, who became a master student of Beuys and later a professor of art. Jörg Thadeusz writes in this authentic novel about an up-and-comer who breaks away from his origins but can never fully escape them.