Dreaming in German

by Claudia Poser

Dreaming in German turns on the author's immigration to South Carolina at age 13, her childhood spent shuttling back and forth between East and West Germany, and her struggle with the meaning of home as Germany transformed from two states to one.

This book combines an immigrant memoir from a child of the global professional class with an inside look at the effects of German division on family relationships from the Western side of the Wall.

The story begins with intimate portraits of daily life in both Germanies during the fifties and early sixties. When the author's father, who had spent several years as a POW in the US, accepts the opportunity to realize his dream to return to America, the family encounters culture shock: a move from a densely populated urban area to upstate South Carolina. As time passes, the narrator is torn between the desire to return home and her growing adaptation to life in the a new country. She moves to New England, then the Midwest feeling less out of place with each move, but still longing for home. When the Wall falls so suddenly in 1989, she is euphoric - being able to visit family without crossing the dreaded East German border was a childhood fantasy she never expected to realize. But with reunification come questions of inheritance, and the idyll of family unity explodes as the country's borders dissolve. In the end, she finds that for an immigrant there can never be a simple answer to the question: where is home?

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Germany, Biography Memoir

238 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2012

About the author

Claudia Poser is a writer, artist, and former polymer chemist. She grew up in Germany, moved to South Carolina at age 13, and eventually found a home in Minnesota, where she lives with her husband, Ron. She maintains a ceramics studio in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District and still travels frequently to Germany.

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autobiography of a German girl transplanted to the United States. the author is very poetic and is right on in describing the cultural assimilation process. Really great human story.

[Sally Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two worlds

I took too long to finish this book and I'm not sure why. The descriptions of German foods and habits brought back memories of my past. I miss the hams, sausages and cheeses and breads! Her observations of the differences of German vs American youth rang true, and more Americans should hear this truth. The East was free after the fall of the wall, but the spirits continue to be caged with the past.. I found this tale to hit close to home, and it encourages me to be a better privileged American.

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book written as a narrative - the biography of a woman who immigrated from Germany with her parents to the US in 1966, at the age of 13 - to South Carolina, in fact. The story grew on me - especially as it rather mirrored my early life, except that I immigrated from Denmark in 1956, and was a bit younger than her. I recognized some of the same challenges, the same feelings about the "foreigners" in the new land, the same statements by parents, the same apprehensions about new friends. The most interesting parts of the book are her visits to East Germany, and the descriptions of her relatives there. The fall of the Communist empire gives the American side of the family joy, while the East German side is understandable nervous about the future. These were the insights that interested me the most. The question of "where is home?" was another theme in the book. The answer came at the end, without surprise.

[Kay C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to like this biography as much as I did but it is very well written. Claudia tells about life growing up in West Germany after her parents had moved from East Germany. Consequently, Claudia travels to East Germany (after the Berlin Wall was installed) frequently to visit relatives. She talks about what it was like to go through checkpoint and what life was like for the relatives. Although not wealthy, they seemed to do ok and were generally happy. Claudia's father transfers to the U.S. and the family (unwillingly) moves to Clemson, South Carolina. It is a struggle for Claudia and her mother to integrate, but eventually they do so successfully. Claudia always longs for Germany but continues to live in the U.S. She describes her situations and the people in her life quite well. It made for an interesting story that I looked forward to reading.

[Jen Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't usually read non-fiction books, but I chose this from Amazon because the description sounded interesting and it was free. I was pleasantly surprised. While the primary theme was what/where is home really, it was an interesting insight to someone from another culture moving to America as a young teen and discussing how she tried to understand/fit in. I thought high school was difficult enough, I can't imagine going through it having come from overseas and experiencing culture shock the way Claudia Poser did. And even though there were cultural differences, still wondering what it meant to "like" a boy. Seeing the 60's through the time the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 via a German woman who was an American as well was highly intriguing. This story opened my mind and made me consider what it would be like to move abroad and try to fit in.

[Cherie Magnus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her story of immigration to the U.S. and life-long homesickness is classic. Her first 13 years in Germany colored her life forever after. All immigrants can identify with her nostalgia and longing for home.

While beautifully remembered and written, for me it had too many details, too many flights back and forth to Germany from the States, too many shifts in time lines, too many friends and family characters with similar names, and it was too long. It was hard to keep track of the story which had little action except for the huge moment of the fall of East Germany. The story is very Germany-centered and family-focused. I would have liked to know more about her two husbands and her work.

Nevertheless I enjoyed reading about life in East Germany and the author's struggles to find peace.

[Jaimie Bruzenak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating memoir of a woman who emigrated to the U.S. with her family. She was born in East Germany, spent the first few years in West Germany, then came to the South. Though she now considers the U.S. her home, she has never given up her German citizenship. What is most fascinating is her descriptions of early childhood and her visits home to both Germanys. I too felt nervous every time she crossed the border into E. Germany, wondering if the family would end up detained. Even after the unification, she beautifully portrays the difference in peoples after years for the East under communism. I also found her description of her schoolmates interesting and the difference in focus compared to how she was being raised. I recommend this book.

[Debbie Spendley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wunderbar! Wundebar!... A wonderful, wonderful story of a young girl who is transplanted to South Carolina from her idyllic life in Germany, as a result of her Dad being transferred by his German company to the company's offices in South Carolina. Having lived in Germany for 2 years, I was able to relate easily to her life in Germany and she gives Americans the opportunity to see America from the eyes of a foreign young woman. Very interesting insights. She also writes so beautifully about traveling into and out of East Germany during the Cold War to visit relatives and the emotional sacrifices that she and he family were forced to endure.

[Fran Hutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this biography. Her perspective was fascinating, and the documentation of her changing views and feelings was well done. I love biographies, and this one did not disappoint. The author is only a few years older than I am, so the book spanned a time period I knew well. I understood and sympathized with her culture shock, wishing I could tell her that even some of us Americans might have felt similarly. Her attention to detail, the food, clothing, how they lived, helps make this biography especially interesting, and a record of places in a time of history that might otherwise be forgotten.

[Daria Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Claudia Poser paints vivid pictures of her life in drastically different locales. You can almost see the color draining from the world as she travels from West to East Berlin as a young girl. She evokes a clear sense of place as at age 13, she moves to the deep south in America. I found this story so compelling because it tells the rare story of a child living through one of the most dramatic times in 20th century western history. Absolutely fascinating. I haven't stopped seeing the pictures in my mind.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a biography about a German girl whose roots are in the east, but she and her parents move to the west because of the things going on in East Germany. At the age of 13 her father's job transfers them to the US. The move was very hard on Claudia and her mother. Claudia shares her journey both in the US and her return trips to Germany. She is an excellent writer. It is hard to believe this book was written in her second language - but then it became the language that came easiest to her. Highly recommended.

[Lisa Tortorello · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Dreaming in German by Claudia Poser to be a very interesting read. Claudia's father moves her family to the USA from Germany before Germany was reunited. In her book, I learned some first hand experiences about East and West Germany that helped to bring history a little closer to reality for me. It was interesting to read about her memories growing up in America as well. Her story also brought back some of my own childhood memories helping me to realize that even though people may be from different places, sometimes their experiences are not that far apart.

[Bonnie Cassidy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claudia Poser provided a very interesting view of East Germany and the very personal, familial issues brought on by the East/West divide and reunification!

As an Army brat, I was interested in and related to the author's descriptions later in life of a sense of not having a "home." Home is both anywhere and nowhere. while I thought she presented the feeling of yearning for something you could never recapture very well, I would have enjoyed more discussion about her attempts to fit in, especially when she first came to the US.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book, in part, because I lived in Minnesota for most of my adult life and also travelled to Germany to work. Since moving away from Minnesota, I've had many of the feelings the author experiences after leaving Germany.

I especially liked reading about life in East Germany. I'd heard about it and discussed it with one person who lived there. I felt the book helped me to further understand life at that point in history.

I might not have rated this book a 5 if I didn't have the Minnesota and Germany connections, but I still think it's a good book for people who like memoir.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uneventful...

Uneventful...the historical part of the story was interesting but the characters lives were boring. You knew about 50 pages in that she didn't feel like she fit in whether she was on Germany or America and that was the storyUneventful...the historical part of the story was interesting but the characters lives were boring. You knew about 50 pages in that she didn't feel like she fit in whether she was in Germany or America and that was the story all the way to the end of the book.

[Kathy Desroches · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book and ditched it and then started it again. I didn't realize it was a memoir until I had finished it. The writer comes to the us as a child but misses Germany. She lived in west Germany but her grandparents lived in east Germany before the wall came down, the book is about an outsider looking in she's an outsider in the us and when she returns to Germany. She eventually finds her place. It was very good, well written and very interesting,

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best but definitely interesting. Claudia was born in Germany, had many relatives in East Germany, and lived in Germany until she was about 12. Then the family moved to Clemson, South Carolina. Her school English was nothing like the English spoken in Clemson. She didn't fit in. She was homesick. She blamed her parents for her unhappiness. She was conflicted between being German and being American. It was an interesting book.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offered interesting insight to the adaptations that immigrants make and their conflicted image of "home". Historical references to East and West Germany both pre and post Wall both enriched the story and gave a glimpse into what life was like for their citizens. The tension of the author's border crossings came right off the page! In the end, life in general and family drama in particular know no cultural or ethnic boundaries.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from my mother-in-law and didn't expect to like it. I almost didn't read it, but I'm really glad I gave it a shot. I loved the balance between her own personal narrative (moving from Germany to South Carolina to Minnesota) and the world around her (West vs. East Germany, American politics of the time). Her story is interesting and her telling of it came across as honest and heart-felt.

[Mike Kummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A child brought up in European culture, then forced to move to an American life in the Deep South, then finding her way as an adult in the Midwest, toss in the East-West German divide, the civil rights movement and the clash of cultures on families and you have a well written tale that takes us on a wonderful journey of finding Home. I often put off sleep to read one more paragraph.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting read, giving some insight to how immigrants to the USA feel about this country. I never thought about how many conflicting emotions they would have about this country vs. their home country. This woman's emotions were doubly conflicting due to her relationship with East Germany vs. West Germany. Thought provoking!

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this memoir of a girl growing up in West Germany, with family ties to East Germany, and a father who moves the family when she's a preteen to the southern U.S. Her journey coming to terms with living in the U.S. and her family's experiences before and after the Berlin Wall fell are heartbreaking, humorous, and ultimately, incredibly believable.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best memoir every, maybe it had something to do with my move as a teen, the struggles she had rang true, and being a first time visit to the south, it was most interesting. My recent visit to two household in East Germany, and visiting the wall area I could sense the struggles, the hope, best book recently!

[Linda Ewankowich · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting read. The memoir of a young girl from West Germany with relatives in East Germany in the early 1960's. You discover the differences between the two sides of Germany, and then the story gets stranger....her Father's company transfers him to Clemson, SC. This story looks at how a young girl tries to find out where she fits in, which life is really hers.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, but it was a little slow at first. After putting it down for a while, I picked it back up and started getting into it. It wasn't the most exciting read, but in the end it had a thought provoking point that the author was trying to make.

[Nicki C Houser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned a lot about Germany and the life of an immigrant

Good page turner and very interesting read of life experiences in a post WWII divided Germany and the immigrant's struggle with culture shock in America. Highly recommend!

[Darlean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Book Loved it!!!

[Aastha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nicely done memoir. I just got reminded of how I LOVE stories that revolve around European history.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it.

[Helene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an interesting book. The author was born in East Germany and she tells her and her family's story.