A garden in his early childhood

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A garden in his early childhood is a 2005 novel by Christoph Hein . He takes up the case of the RAF terrorist Wolfgang Grams ( whose name is Oliver Zurek in the novel), who died in 1993 during a police operation in Bad Kleinen , discusses the doubts about the official version and describes his father Richard Zurek's search for the truth about his death Son

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The novel is about the death of the alleged terrorist Oliver Zurek and the fight between his parents and the state organs for a truthful representation of the course of events at the train station of Kleinen. According to police investigations, Oliver Zurek is said to have shot himself there. Friends of Zurek and supporters of the left-wing extremist scene are of the opinion that Zurek was deliberately killed by the police. Another topic of the novel is the reaction of the parents of the victim, their emotions and how they deal with the media hype surrounding the death of the son.

In the first section of the novel, the narrator describes the time five years after Oliver's death. Oliver's parents have still not closed the case, Richard Zurek sifts through the material he has collected and finally writes a second letter to the former interior minister. On the other hand, for the Zurek couple, normal daily life is gradually beginning, and Richard, who for years had completely withdrawn into his house, is beginning to fit in again; so he visits a restaurant and meets with the parish council.

The second part describes the time immediately after the death of Oliver Zurek. This is the most difficult time for parents. You are besieged by the press, you know no details about the course of events, let alone the truth about the death of your son. This section also shows the position of Oliver's sister Christin towards her deceased brother. Christin is in the civil service. She feels little sadness because she blames her brother for this incident. The fact that in her opinion it “had to come like this sooner or later” is a point of contention between her and her father, as he is always called into question again by the contradicting investigation results, which on the one hand incriminate the son, but on the other hand because of a later revoked autopsy report becomes more suspicious of the state organs and therefore insists ever more strongly on a thorough investigation in this case. Oliver Zurek's younger brother Heiner is committed to Oliver and does everything in his power to fathom the "truth". He speaks in public to draw attention to the contradictions in this case. This section of the novel ends with the funeral of Oliver Zurek, for which the parents had to wait a long time after the never-ending investigations delayed the release of the body.

The third part takes place a few months before Oliver's death. However, this is only one chapter in which you learn about his time with Katharina Blumenschläger in Algeria.

The structure of the plot shows a certain symmetry. The first three chapters take place five years after Oliver's death (1998). Chapters 4–11 describe the time immediately after Oliver's death and the years that followed (1993–1997), and Chapter 12 describes the time before his death (1992). Chapters 13-20 are set again in the time after his death, the last three chapters in the same time as the first three chapters, namely five years after Oliver's death.

The novel closes with a speech by Richard Zurek to a few students and teachers in the auditorium of his old school, in which he ventures his anger about the state, revokes his oath of office and thus finally turns against the state.

Overview of the course of action

Chapter 1

Richard Zurek and his wife Friederike sit in front of the television, as they do every evening, waiting eagerly for the news to hear whether something new is being reported about their son Oliver. Then Friederike advises her husband to go outside to clear her head. After weeks that he only spent in the house, he goes to the well-known village pub "Bahnhof", which he used to visit frequently. Once there, he starts a conversation with an old student, Ronald Plöger. They're talking about Oliver and the incident. Ronald reflects on his school days with Richard as his teacher and calls it "strict, very strict"; Richard is still a person of great respect for him today. Richard then returns home and tells his wife about his experiences “in front of the door”.

Chapter 2

Early in the morning with the Zurek couple. After a cup of tea, Richard Zurek goes into his study, which has changed a lot in the last five years. The school books have disappeared and instead large files have been set up. This contains all the information that could be helpful in finding out the real reason for the death of his son Oliver. When he is about to write a letter to the former interior minister, his wife calls him for lunch. She reminds him of a meeting with the pastor and the architect. After lunch, Richard goes to the community center to talk to the architect and the priest about a new wall, because the old wall cracked in an earthquake. After the meeting, Richard takes a little walk with the pastor through town and talks to him. After returning home, he goes back to his study to finish writing the letter to the minister.

Chapter 3

Richard and Friederike Zurek visit the train station in Kleinen, where their son Oliver died. At the train station, Richard Zurek decides, because a train station employee describes Oliver Zurek as a murderer, to take his son to court to prove his innocence. Since he cannot understand how the authorities can convict his son as a murderer, he reads the prosecutor's reports, newspaper articles and his correspondence with the lawyer several times.

Chapter 4

The family recalls the death of Oliver, who died under mysterious circumstances in an exchange of fire with the police. Christin, Oliver's older sister, has sworn an official oath and is therefore in conflict with her brother, whom she describes as a terrorist and police murderer. In contrast to Christin, Heiner, Oliver's younger brother, has promised him that he will look after his parents if Oliver goes into hiding. Due to the contradictions in the investigation into Oliver's death, friends of Oliver bring the lawyer Feuchtenberger with them to apply for another autopsy. According to the interrogation of the emergency services, Oliver is said to have shot one of the police officers first and then himself. However, witnesses observed that Oliver was shot by the police officers. Thereupon the Minister of the Interior resigns and the Attorney General is released into retirement.

Chapter 5

Kobelius, the new school director, visits Friederike and Richard Zurek and talks to them about Oliver's death and the wish of the high school graduates to hold an event with Richard. Kobelius wants to convince Zurek to talk to the students about the event. Karin Gloedel, a former friend of Oliver, brings letters and drawings from him to the parents, fearing that these notes could be confiscated during a house search.

Chapter 6

Christin visits her parents with her son Constantine. Matthias, her husband, is unable to attend because of a business trip. Upon arrival, Christin tells her parents that they can only stay for one day because she has business. She asks her parents when the funeral will take place. Her father tells her that Oliver's body has not yet been released as it is needed for further investigation. It comes up for discussion why Christin and Oliver have drifted apart even though they used to be of one heart and one soul. Christin tells them that Oliver wanted nothing more to do with her, because she and Matthias were among those whom he fought. He waged a fight against the “pig system”, the “people's war”, exploitation and imperialism. Furthermore, Christin clarifies her position on Oliver's death by expressing her suspicion that he was a police officer murderer and suicide. Richard Zurek makes it clear to her that she cannot judge her brother until the final results are available.

Chapter 7

Stunned, Richard and Friederike Zurek watch the news that it is announced that Oliver had killed himself. Zurek then phoned his lawyer, who found the expert untrustworthy because he contradicted his statements. Furthermore, Richard initiates a criminal complaint against the Chancellor for denigrating the memory of the deceased. The next day Friederike phoned Christin, who tried to calm her mother down. Richard receives a call on behalf of school principal Kobelius, who cancels the planned demonstration to murder Oliver because he does not want to support a police murderer.

Chapter 8

Zurek goes to his lawyer Feuchtenberger in Wiesbaden. He asks him to keep so-called revolutionaries away from him, as they are very annoying. He hides the worst articles about Oliver from his wife from the newspapers he has bought. He is upset about the conflicting reports. Oliver's body is released.

Chapter 9

Richard Zurek wants to hold Oliver's funeral in silence. Journalists should not be given any cause for malicious allegations. The evening before the funeral, Friederike, Richard, Christin and Matthias sit together. Friederike Zurek tells stories from the childhood of her children, whereby no one wants to address Oliver's death in order to avoid an argument. Pastor Alarich, who has confirmed Oliver, delivers the address at Oliver's funeral at his father's request. He tells of Oliver's love of truth and a pronounced sense of justice, but he also mentions his impatience and lack of composure. An unknown young man steps up to Oliver's grave and passionately exclaims the words “unforgotten” and “vengeance”. In Heiner's opinion, the mother is very calm and relaxed. Richard Zurek blames himself for Oliver's death. The flood of articles about Oliver diminishes over time, until nothing appears two weeks after the funeral.

Chapter 10

Seven months after the death of Oliver Zurek, the investigation into Oliver's death is closed. Richard Zurek cannot understand this decision. In his dismay, he begins to believe that the authorities are conspiring. With his lawyer Feuchtenberger, he files a complaint against the setting.

Chapter 11

Mr. and Mrs. Zurek's everyday life takes its course again. Oliver has been dead for a year, yet they haven't made any changes to his room. Zurek reads his son's books in order to retrace his journey. After the termination of the proceedings, it becomes clear to Zurek that he would never have won the fight that had started. Zurek writes a letter to the former interior minister and the former federal attorney general in the hope of finding out what happened to the small ones back then. He asserts that no one will find out about the answer. When Mr. and Mrs. Zurek visit their son's grave, they find a banner with oaths of vengeance, which Zurek immediately removes. They decide to visit Katharina Blumenschläger in prison because she is already part of the family.

Chapter 12

At the beginning of July, Richard Zurek decides to go on a two-week relaxing hiking holiday with his wife Friederike in Mooskopf (Black Forest). After the “farewell letter” from their son Oliver two years ago, they haven't heard from him. When they arrived in Mooskopf, they noticed some wanted posters showing their son Oliver, among others. Since the posters were only hung up two days before the start of their vacation, the couple also suspect that they are being shadowed. Friederike wants to leave, Richard, however, sees the vacation as necessary. You stay the paid 14 days. In the years that followed, the Zureks withdrew at home and distracted themselves with old habits in order to come to terms with the death of Oliver. Zurek turns to his old paperwork and Friederike to her garden and her household.

Chapter 13

Occasionally people come to the Zureks who claim to be friends of Oliver. Gerd Schmückle also comes into contact with the Zureks several times. Since he repeatedly insults the state and the police, Richard Zurek throws him out of the apartment. After this final visit, the Zureks begin a conversation about the past. Richard Zurek also has great self-doubts. His wife dispels these doubts by telling him what he has achieved in his job. They also talk about their meeting and the beginning of their relationship.

Chapter 14

The Zurek couple did not get permission to visit Katharina Blumenschläger because she was forbidden to receive visitors on suspicion of membership in a terrorist organization. A three-page letter from Katharina reaches Zureks, in which she writes about her cell, herself, her love for Oliver and how he shaped her. Five months after the proceedings had been terminated, Zurek received a package from his lawyer containing the complaint and the corresponding expert opinion, which he should take note of. Zurek is then defeated, but not hopeless. He calls Feuchtenberger, who asks him whether he had any answers to the letters to the minister and the federal prosecutor. Zurek did not answer and, after several inquiries by Feuchtenberger, declared that he had deceived himself in his definition of civil servants, which he taught his students for a long time, because they did not correspond to reality. Feuchtenberger hardly goes into this and laughingly says that one misunderstood a lot through translations, and mentions that he will send the complaint with an expert opinion. Zurek replies that he is more unhappy today than he was a year ago and hangs up.

Chapter 15

Christin and her husband Matthias have to fly to a conference in Dallas, which is why the Zureks go to Hamburg to take care of their grandson Konstantin. After Christin's return, she discusses with her parents the different views on Oliver's guilt. Despite all the negative thoughts, she remembers the lovely childhood with Oliver in the former garden of the Zurek family. At home, Richard goes to the ward council meeting, where Pastor Alaric tells the members of the meeting that he will soon be retiring and looking for a successor.

Chapter 16

In October, Richard Zurek receives a visit from his old friend Lutz Immenfeld, who suggests that he hire a new, prominent lawyer to take up the Oliver case again. Zurek rejects this because, in his opinion, the state sacrifices individual individuals for its own security and disregards the law. According to Zurek, in order to enforce fair justice, one has to fight the state with violence. To Immenfeld's enthusiastic offer to give him strong support in a fight against the state, Zurek replied that he had sworn to respect the laws of the country and that he would not, like the “stupid boys”, believe that he could manage a whole state on his own conquer. Two days later, the Zureks received a letter from Katharina Blumenschläger in which she regretted what she had done and admits that her actions had led to the opposite of what she actually intended. She justifies her decisions with her love and responsibility to society.

Chapter 17

Zurek visits his former lover Susanne, indulges in old memories with her and finally kisses her. When he gets home, he finds his jealous wife who was injured while hanging the curtains. Since it was originally his job, he lets go of her allegations that he dated too often.

Chapter 18

After Christin canceled her Christmas visit, only Heiner comes with a colleague. Then the parents take a short vacation in Frankfurt. On Richard's birthday, Christin visits her parents with her family. Christin and her father have a lively discussion about what happened to Oliver. She believes that Oliver deserves a fair and plausible judgment, while her father believes that Oliver was only driven to crime by the judiciary and police.

Chapter 19

Since the lawyer Feuchtenberger has exhausted all legal remedies and now has no more options to attack the state, he sees it as the last chance to take facts in the Blumenschläger trial in order to repeat Oliver's case.

Chapter 20

Vacation on Amrum. The press no longer burdens the Zureks.

Chapter 21 (See Chapter 3)

The Zureks go to little ones and look at the train station. You make an appointment to visit the prison to meet with Katharina Blumenschläger. There they talk to Oliver about the time. Back at home, Richard Zurek notifies Feuchtenberger to lead the process. Zurek has not received an answer to the letter to the Minister of the Interior, so he calls them, but only gets the message that letters from troublemakers will not be answered. Zurek is amused by the name and informs his wife about it.

Chapter 22

The trial of Oliver's death takes place. Christin only finds out about the impending trial through the press and is angry about it. She complains to her parents that it is enough for her and her husband to be shown. The lawsuit is dismissed on the grounds that neither suicide nor homicide can be proven. So Oliver remains innocent of the law. Richard Zurek wants to tell the truth to the students at the school, but the request is denied.

Chapter 23

Richard gives a speech at school explaining his son's death. He revokes his oath of office and reveals his personal views about the state to the public.

characters

  • Dr. Richard Zurek : Former school principal and father of Oliver Zurek, who fights to find out the truth.
  • Friederike Zurek : housewife and mother Oliver Zurek, who tries to keep the family together.
  • Christin Zurek : Olivers older sister. Is in government service. She rejects Oliver's involvement and any activities in a terrorist organization
  • Heiner Zurek : the younger brother, sees Oliver as a role model and can understand his attitude towards the state.
  • Feuchtenberger : Lawyer for the Zurek family who is committed to justice.
  • Gerd Schmückle : It was through him that Oliver got into the left-wing extremist scene. He is violent, has an aggressive attitude towards the state, organizes left-wing extremist events and tries to get Richard Zurek to speak about his son at one.
  • Karin Gloedel : Friends with Oliver, but not active in the left-wing extremist scene. She brings his legacy to his parents: some watercolors and his diary.
  • Katharina Blumenschläger : Oliver's girlfriend and also a member of the left-wing extremist scene. She was arrested with him and later sentenced to life in prison.
  • Lutz Immenfeld : Richard Zurek's old school friend. He encourages Richard to take further legal action to learn more details about the little one's case.
  • Susanne Parlitzke : Richard Zurek's lover from days gone by. In the presence of the narration, he happens to meet her again in a flower shop.
  • Sigrid Erckmann : Heiner Zurek's colleague.

Historical background

The historical background of the novel is the death of RAF member Wolfgang Grams . Grams was to be arrested together with Birgit Hogefeld in June 1993 at the Bad Kleinen train station in a GSG-9 mission . Grams and the policeman Michael Newrzella were killed, Hogefeld was arrested.

The course of events and the results of the investigation with their consequences are very similar to the events at Bad Kleinen train station in 1993 and are reproduced in detail in the novel. The resignation of a minister, for example, or the statement by the public prosecutor that Oliver Zurek shot himself, are consistent with the incidents at the time. Other people from the circle of Wolfgang Grams can be found in the novel under different names. So the friend of the protagonist, Katharina Blumenschläger, can be related to Birgit Hogefeld, Grams' friend.

Hein's story ends before 2001. The result of a DNA analysis in 2001, which showed that a hair found in 1991 at the scene of the murder of the trust boss Detlev Rohwedder , came from Grams is not taken into account (see Main article ).

reception

The novel was received by the press differently, but generally cautiously, and is rated as one of Hein's weaker works. In addition to the “comfort and monotony” of the style, Die Zeit criticizes the “dramaturgical carelessness” and describes the novel as a “pious treatise for disappointed comrades”. The FAZ criticizes “wooden dialogues” and “stiff narrative steps”, “lifeless pseudorealism” instead of realistic attention to detail; the NZZ “hair-cutting scratches on kitsch”. In addition, the fundamental tendency of the book is criticized. Hein makes himself the "mouthpiece of those mythologizations" that glorify the crimes of the RAF. Unlike Jan Philipp Reemtsma , he was unable to analyze and describe the mechanisms of mythologization. Hein adopts the thesis of the RAF that the terrorist fight was "dirty because the state was dirty". Perhaps, with the simple message of his book that the FRG was not the morally superior state that it sometimes appeared to be at the time of the fall of the Wall, Hein wanted to give consolation to "those who were lost in post-socialist depression" ( Die Zeit ). According to the TAZ , the author “literarily failed with his novel because he meant it too well. Because in his history of coming to terms with the RAF and the Federal Republic of Germany's democracy, he is more concerned with committed arguments than with complex, credible figures ”. The Frankfurter Rundschau rates the novel as “a 'didactic piece', but one that both 'touches' and 'concerns' us.” The Süddeutsche Zeitung sums it up: “A dry language is no guarantee of the truth of what has been said: Christoph Hein visits them late days of the RAF and invents a wrong story. "

The director of the Heilbronn Theater wrote a stage version with Christian Marten-Molnár and Birte Werner, which premiered in June 2009 in Heilbronn.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ As Mr. Zurek let him into the house on time online , accessed on May 25, 2011th
  2. ↑ Christoph Hein - In his earlier childhood a garden. Pearl Divers , February 2005, retrieved January 5, 2018
  3. ↑ Review summary on bücher.de
  4. ↑ Otto Paul Burkhardt : Mourning on the long bench. June 13, 2009. In: nachtkritik.de

expenditure

literature

  • Rüdiger Bernhardt: Interpretation of Christoph Hein "In his early childhood a garden" . Royal explanations and materials. 2010. ISBN 3-8044-1889-9

Web links