#stasiland

The story of Merkel's father in chapter 10 was roughly inspired by a story in Stasiland about an East German man who was arrested by the Stasi. The man, Charlie Weber, was taken into custody, and a few days later, his wife Miriam was told he had hanged himself in prison. But there were so many strange circumstances and questions surrounding his body. The Stasi didn't want Miriam to see Charlie's body. Nevertheless, she got a hold of a photo that showed his face had been badly beaten. She couldn't believe he would have had the means to hang himself in prison. She was certain her husband had been murdered and the government was trying to cover it up. In the end, she wasn't even sure if his body was in the coffin they buried quietly per state instructions. After the collapse of the GDR, she embarked on a mission to try to discover the truth of what happened to Charlie. She was still searching when the book was published. I hope she found an answer.