How Long to Read Agony and Barbed Wire

How Long Does it Take to Read Agony and Barbed Wire?

It takes the average reader 3 hours and 53 minutes to read Agony and Barbed Wire by Steffen Blaese

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

On October 3, 1990, West Germany and East Germany became one state again after 45 years of post-war division. Just one year earlier, many East Germans could not imagine that the socialist dictatorship would soon come to an end. Head of state Erich Honecker had claimed that the Berlin Wall would still be standing in a hundred years. Many were happy about the freedom, about being able to visit their relatives and friends in the West, and also about no longer having to queue for shopping. Others, who had lost their power and privileges, were of course less happy about this development. East Germany was a dictatorship, a state of injustice that oppressed and patronized its citizens in many ways. There was no independent judiciary, no administrative jurisdiction. Citizens were only subjects and could not legally prosecute the state and its actors. The paranoid state leadership hindered every free spirited person in their professional advancement and private happiness. The regime went so far as to cage its citizens behind barbed wire and concrete and to have refugees shot at the border. All this must not be forgotten, because, as the saying goes, those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Yet thirty years after German reunification, the memory of the East German regime hardly plays a role. One reason for the historical ignorance is a lack of knowledge, paired with a diffuse sympathy for the idea of socialism. The author Steffen Blaese, himself born in the GDR, takes a critical look at the past, at what was good and at what was not. Concise, authentic, sometimes humorous, and with an unfortunately unavoidable bit of bitterness, he takes us through the reality inside the self-proclaimed workers' paradise. He tells of the retreat into the private sphere and of life in illusions, of deprivation and decay, surveillance and repression, and finally of the peaceful revolution and the collapse of the GDR and what psychological consequences the dictatorship has for millions of Germans to this day.

How long is Agony and Barbed Wire?

Agony and Barbed Wire by Steffen Blaese is 232 pages long, and a total of 58,464 words.

This makes it 78% the length of the average book. It also has 71% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Agony and Barbed Wire Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 5 hours and 19 minutes to read Agony and Barbed Wire aloud.

What Reading Level is Agony and Barbed Wire?

Agony and Barbed Wire is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Agony and Barbed Wire?

Agony and Barbed Wire by Steffen Blaese is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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