The changed perspective on Brigitte Reimann’s life and work – before and after the fall of the Wall and from an East and West German perspective – could have been demonstrated by several of the writer’s literary texts, as her stories „Ankunft im Alltag“ („Arrival in Everyday Life“), „Die Geschwister“ („The Siblings“) and the novel „Franziska Linkerhand“ had already been published in both German states before 1989 and were also published in reunified Germany after the fall of the Wall.
However, I decided in favour of a different publication: the first edition of Brigitte Reimann’s diaries and letters. The book was published in 1983 under the title „Brigitte Reimann in ihren Briefen und Tagebüchern“ („Brigitte Reimann in her letters and diaries“) on the occasion of Brigitte Reimann’s fiftieth birthday by the publishing house „Neues Leben“.[1] The editors of the volume were Walter Lewerenz, Brigitte Reimann’s former editor at the publishing house, and Elisabeth Elten-Krause, then an employee of the „Neubrandenburg Literature Centre“ and at that time already involved for several years in setting up the „Brigitte Reimann Archive“ there. Walter Lewerenz selected the diary extracts. Elisabeth Elten-Krause first painstakingly collated the letters and then made the selection for the volume.
The changed perception of Brigitte Reimann as a result of the cuts to the book manuscript
It is instructive to begin the different perspectives on Brigitte Reimann’s life and work with regard to the changes in the original book manuscript that took place before the book was published and far from the public eye.On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Brigitte Reimann’s death on 20 February 1983, the GDR press announced the imminent publication of „Brigitte Reimann in ihren Briefen und Tagebüchern“. The book was to be published for the author’s 50th birthday on 21 July.
However, this plan did not materialise. Only preprints were published for the birthday, and Walter Lewerenz still had to announce in his major article in the women’s magazine „Für Dich“: „Verlag Neues Leben is currently preparing the publication of a volume with selected letters and diary entries by the author.“[2] It was not until the end of the anniversary year 1983 that „Brigitte Reimann in ihren Briefen und Tagebüchern“ was published. What had happened?Officially, there was no censorship of book production in the GDR. In reality, however, the so-called „printing authorisation procedures“ fulfilled the same function: to be an instrument of control to enforce socialist cultural policy and to prevent so-called socially damaging publications. From 1963, the „Main Administration for Publishers and the Book Trade“ in the GDR’s „Ministry of Culture“ was responsible for handling these printing authorisation processes; at the time, it was headed by Klaus Höpcke. Each process was given its own number – this can be found in the imprint of all publications published in the GDR under the designation „Lizenznummer“ („licence number“).
The most important part of the printing authorisation process was a technical and ideological examination of the submitted manuscripts by means of several expert opinions. These were at least one publisher’s report and one external report from the „Main Administration of Publishing Houses and Book Trade“. As a result, changes to the manuscripts were often demanded and the granting of a printing licence was made dependent on their implementation. However, authors or editors always managed to save critical passages with a „compromise“ if they were prepared to make concessions elsewhere.
Even Brigitte Reimann’s testimonies could not have been published if Lewerenz and Elten-Krause had not been willing to compromise. The files preserved in the „Federal Archives“ bear witness to this[3].
However, it was not enough that the two editors had already taken the precaution of leaving out everything that could have jeopardised the granting of the printing licence when compiling the volume. They had done this primarily in order to meet the tight schedule, as the manuscript with the number 305/16/83 had only reached the „Hauptverwaltung Verlage und Buchhandel“ on 28 January 1983. Brigitte Reimann’s 50th birthday was just five and a half months later, and with it the planned publication date.
The publisher’s report and the external report by the employee of the „Hauptverwaltung Verlage und Buchhandel“ were enclosed with the application for printing authorisation. Despite the predominantly positive tenor, however, there were – seemingly subtle – critical comments in the external report, which, as it turned out, would have consequences.
The publisher’s report and the external report by the employee of the „Hauptverwaltung Verlage und Buchhandel“ were enclosed with the application for printing authorisation. Despite the predominantly positive tenor, however, there were – seemingly subtle – critical comments in the external report, which, as it turned out, would have consequences.
„This selection is a documentation of the highest human, literary and political calibre […]. I am convinced that Brigitte Reimann’s posthumous diaries and letters will trigger a great movement among readers and am therefore in favour of their rapid publication. […] Minor suggestions for changes were communicated to the editors.“[4]
After examining the reviews, the fiction department at the headquarters sent a note to comrade Höpcke, which reached him on 3 March. When reading this note, it is particularly revealing to read carefully between the lines in the old GDR tradition. The beginning sounded completely harmless:
„All three of us [the reviewers] agree that the editors have succeeded in [selecting] from the diaries and letters what shows Brigitte Reimann to be a writer always working seriously on herself, creatively engaging with her environment and her time. Her relationship to labour and the working class, her struggle for literary quality, her search for truth and truthfulness could be expressed very convincingly. This volume of testimonies by Brigitte Reimann, 10 years after her death and on her 50th birthday, is a commitment to socialism and to our socialist state.“[5]
However, the subsequent text passage followed a different tenor:
„We would like to grant typesetting permission in advance [but not printing permission – K.S.], as we still need to discuss some passages with Walter Lewerenz that reflect B.R.’s opinion of party functionaries in the Cottbus district [sic!] We cannot do this at the moment, as he is in Buch for the whole of March for research. However, he knows that we will talk to him about cancellations. We ask for your agreement to this procedure.“[6]
Höpcke added by hand: „Cancellations not just about Cottbus“[7]. This meant that the manuscript could not be printed without extensive cuts. This meant that the planned publication date for the book could no longer be met. As already mentioned, Lewerenz deleted the objectionable passages so as not to jeopardise the publication as a whole, albeit belatedly. The surviving files of the printing authorisation process reported the success of the intervention measures: „According to the information provided by Gen. Lewerenz in his letter of 2 May 1983, which we requested in our discussions with him, we agree to the printing authorisation.“[8]
The diary edition „Ich bedaure nichts“, published by „Aufbau-Verlag“ in 1997, is used here as an example to reconstruct one of the requested cuts. An entry in Brigitte Reimann’s diary is about Siegfried Pitschmann’s suicide attempt in 1959, after his novel manuscript „Erziehung eines Helden“ („Education of a Hero“) had been criticised by the Writers’ Association and presented as a warning example and decadent. The following sentence had to be deleted: „They know the theory, but they don’t know the practice, and where the practice doesn’t agree with their ideas, it has to be changed and corrected.“[9] The full text can be found in „Ich bedaure nichts“:
Höpcke added by hand: „Cancellations not just about Cottbus“[7]. This meant that the manuscript could not be printed without extensive cuts. This meant that the planned publication date for the book could no longer be met. As already mentioned, Lewerenz deleted the objectionable passages so as not to jeopardise the publication as a whole, albeit belatedly. The surviving files of the printing authorisation process reported the success of the intervention measures: „According to the information provided by Gen. Lewerenz in his letter of 2 May 1983, which we requested in our discussions with him, we agree to the printing authorisation.“[8]
The diary edition „Ich bedaure nichts“, published by „Aufbau-Verlag“ in 1997, is used here as an example to reconstruct one of the requested cuts. An entry in Brigitte Reimann’s diary is about Siegfried Pitschmann’s suicide attempt in 1959, after his novel manuscript „Erziehung eines Helden“ („Education of a Hero“) had been criticised by the Writers’ Association and presented as a warning example and decadent. The following sentence had to be deleted: „They know the theory, but they don’t know the practice, and where the practice doesn’t agree with their ideas, it has to be changed and corrected.“[9] The full text can be found in „Ich bedaure nichts“:
Even if this single change seems rather marginal from today’s perspective, one can imagine that the larger number of such meaning-altering cuts that were demanded definitely changed the overall picture of the work. The now well-known effects of the cuts in Brigitte Reimann’s novel „Franziska Linkerhand“ are the best example of this.
In this way, the readers of the volume – without realising it – received a different impression of Brigitte Reimann’s words than would have been possible by reading the unadulterated original text.
The changed perception of Brigitte Reimann as a result of the book
Until 1983, Brigitte Reimann was known to the wider literary public primarily through her stories and the novel „Franziska Linkerhand“.[11] The GDR press had reviewed Reimann’s works, written about her literary merits and literary prizes and honoured Brigitte Reimann’s „life and work as exemplary for artistic creation based on firm socialist positions that contributes to the formation of socialist personalities“[12]. In the Federal Republic of Germany, Brigitte Reimann came to people’s attention after her novel „Franziska Linkerhand“ was published under licence by „Kindler“ in 1974[13].The little that the public knew about Brigitte Reimann’s private life had been published scattered in various sources: in interviews by the author, for example with Klaus Steinhaußen („Sonntag“, 1963)[14], Klaus Höpcke („Neues Deutschland“, 1964)[15] and Günter Ebert („Freie Erde“, 1969)[16], in personal obituaries by her companions and fellow writers Siegfried Pitschmann („Sonntag“, 1973)[17], Annemarie Auer („Neues Deutschland“, 1973)[18], Günter Ebert („Freie Erde“, 1973)[19], Otto Fuhlrott („Volksstimme“, 1973)[20] and Helmut Sakowski („ndl“, 1974)[21], as well as in the published letters of Brigitte Reimann’s correspondence with Annemarie Auer[22] and with Hermann Henselmann[23].
The 24-page biography on her life and work, in which Elisabeth Elten-Krause had summarised all this scattered information, was probably known to very few people, as it had appeared in a small brochure published in 1978 by the „Neubrandenburg Literature Centre“ on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Brigitte Reimann’s death.[24] Only the Neubrandenburg daily newspaper „Freie Erde“[25], the „Norddeutsche Neueste Nachrichten“[26] and the „Volkswacht“[27] had published excerpts from the publication at the time.
At the end of 1983, with the publication of the volume „Brigitte Reimann in ihren Briefen und Tagebüchern“[28], the first „changed view“ of Brigitte Reimann began. The edition was a sensation because it provided insights into the background of the author’s creative process for the first time. But it was even more of a sensation because the published self-testimonies suddenly made Brigitte Reimann’s private persona visible to the literary public, her unhappy loves, her constant struggle for the text and her search for her political position within the GDR. This look behind the scenes of the writer’s public life attracted enormous attention. „Freie Erde“ wrote, for example:
„There are books that are the talk of the town before they are published. I encountered […] a familiar, but also a completely new Brigitte Reimann. Not an ascetic – despite her obsession with her literary work. She must have been a young woman who could rightly say of herself: ‚I have lived and lived and lived …‘.“[29]
Between 1983 and 1988, countless newspaper articles and magazine articles reported on the book, which appeared in a total of five editions and a book club edition during this period. The headlines spoke for themselves: „Writing about things“[30], „Curiosity about life“[31], „There was always a lust for life“[32], „She remains our Brigitte“[33], „Messages and confidences“[34], „Testimonies of a restless life“[35], „Franziska had to go her own way first“[36] and, of course, the well-known Reimann quote from her letter to Annemarie Auer dated 24 March 1963: „I have lived and lived and lived …“[37].
The East German press portrayed Brigitte Reimann as an author who, although critical, was thoroughly convinced of socialism and subordinated private details to the social view:
„Human esteem as an expression of value is gradually beginning to go back not to respect, but to what one has made of his own abilities, his own assets, what he brings to the community. This is one of the essential processes that takes place in the socialist revolution. Brigitte Reimann, a writer who writes in and for socialism, who nevertheless likes to seek the ‚protection of a broad male breast‘, who also needs personal relationships to protect her, to guard her.“[38]
From then on, the details of Brigitte Reimann’s biography became an inseparable part of publications about the author. The Jena student Uta Thümler also took advantage of the new publication and in 1984 wrote her thesis on the topic formulated by „Junge Welt“: „Franziska’s paths she first had to go herself“[39]. Thümler compared the letters and diary entries with the novel „Franziska Linkerhand“ and investigated how authentic personal experiences influence and permeate the reality of art[40].
… after the publication of „Brigitte Reimann in ihren Briefen und Tagebüchern“ in the GDR
„There are books that are the talk of the town before they are published. I encountered […] a familiar, but also a completely new Brigitte Reimann. Not an ascetic – despite her obsession with her literary work. She must have been a young woman who could rightly say of herself: ‚I have lived and lived and lived …‘.“[29]
Between 1983 and 1988, countless newspaper articles and magazine articles reported on the book, which appeared in a total of five editions and a book club edition during this period. The headlines spoke for themselves: „Writing about things“[30], „Curiosity about life“[31], „There was always a lust for life“[32], „She remains our Brigitte“[33], „Messages and confidences“[34], „Testimonies of a restless life“[35], „Franziska had to go her own way first“[36] and, of course, the well-known Reimann quote from her letter to Annemarie Auer dated 24 March 1963: „I have lived and lived and lived …“[37].
The East German press portrayed Brigitte Reimann as an author who, although critical, was thoroughly convinced of socialism and subordinated private details to the social view:
„Human esteem as an expression of value is gradually beginning to go back not to respect, but to what one has made of his own abilities, his own assets, what he brings to the community. This is one of the essential processes that takes place in the socialist revolution. Brigitte Reimann, a writer who writes in and for socialism, who nevertheless likes to seek the ‚protection of a broad male breast‘, who also needs personal relationships to protect her, to guard her.“[38]
From then on, the details of Brigitte Reimann’s biography became an inseparable part of publications about the author. The Jena student Uta Thümler also took advantage of the new publication and in 1984 wrote her thesis on the topic formulated by „Junge Welt“: „Franziska’s paths she first had to go herself“[39]. Thümler compared the letters and diary entries with the novel „Franziska Linkerhand“ and investigated how authentic personal experiences influence and permeate the reality of art[40].
… after the publication of the licence edition „Die geliebte, die verfluchte Hoffnung“ in the Federal Republic of Germany
The great response to Reimann’s self-testimonies in the GDR also attracted the attention of West German publishers. In the same year, „Luchterhand“ published the West German licensed edition. The changed title „Die geliebte, die verfluchte Hoffnung. Diaries and Letters 1947-1972“[41] already indicated the different reception in the two German states.The original edition published by „Neues Leben“ included a one-and-a-half-page preface by the editors and an equally long short biography of Brigitte Reimann. The latter, however, had almost completely omitted personal details about Brigitte Reimann and limited itself to her literary biography. Only her father’s profession and the moves from Burg to Hoyerswerda and from there to Neubrandenburg were personal details that were communicated to the readers. The much more detailed biography in the licenced edition contained information about Brigitte Reimann’s illness with polio, the after-effects of which accompanied her throughout her life, about her four marriages and named cancer as the cause of the writer’s early death. Additional notes in the „Luchterhand“ edition provided information that was familiar to readers in the GDR but could not be taken for granted in the Federal Republic, clarified the editorial criteria mentioned by Lewerenz and Elten-Krause in their preliminary remarks and provided information on identifying the recipients of the letters:
„Since the addressees of the letters were not named by the editors, the reader will have some difficulty in determining which recipient comes into consideration in each case according to content and spelling, or whether he has a letter or diary extract in front of him. […] Among the letters, the numerous ones to the parents can be clearly distinguished by their boyish, deliberately childish and naïve tone, which often stands in stark contrast to the diary entries made at the same time.“[42]
It was only in 2014 that the names of the letter recipients were removed and a distinction between the diary and letter extracts was made possible[43].
The press response to the licensed edition was enormous and clearly exceeded that of the original edition in the GDR press – in which the licensed edition was not mentioned – in number and scope. Around fifty articles, some of them very detailed, appeared in German, Austrian and Swiss newspapers.
The headline in the „Süddeutsche Zeitung“ „From the estate of a woman unknown in this country“[44] got to the heart of the matter on the one hand, but was not entirely correct on the other, because Brigitte Reimann was already known to the West German reading public – especially female readers – as an important representative of GDR women’s literature through the licensed editions of „Franziska Linkerhand“ published by „Kindler“ (1974)[45] and „Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag“ Munic (1977)[46].
The West German press took more or less no notice of the „commitment to socialism and to our socialist state“[58] that the state-appointed experts had attested to Brigitte Reimann’s self-testimonies. Instead, the reviewers focussed on the private details of the author’s life and her repeated and sometimes very clear criticism of the politics of her home country – without, however, questioning its right to exist.
Brigitte Reimann’s letters and diaries thus seemed to confirm the view of the writer as one of the most important representatives of East German women’s literature that had already been established since the publication of the licensed edition of „Franziska Linkerhand“ (1974):
„We remember the name of the writer Brigitte Reimann primarily by thinking of someone else: ‚Franziska Linkerhand‘. […] Brigitte Reimann writes about her passion and doubts; despite all her autonomy, she was always looking for a shoulder to lean on […] She was married four times, probably also because being together without a marriage licence was even more frowned upon in the GDR back then than it is today. […] And over time she […] probably also had growing doubts about what was supposed to be socialist realism […].“[59].
Further editions of Brigitte Reimann’s letters were only published in reunified Germany: The correspondence with the writer Christa Wolf (1993)[60], the architect Hermann Henselmann (1994)[61], her childhood friend Veralore Schwirtz (1995)[62], the painter Dieter Dreßler (1999)[63], friend Irmgard Weinhofen (2003)[64], second husband and writer Siegfried Pitschmann (2013)[65], to her parents (2008)[66], with her siblings (2018)[67] and with fellow writer Wolfgang Schreyer (2018)[68].
Brigitte Reimann’s diaries were published in 1997 and 1998 under the titles „Ich bedaure nichts“ and „Alles schmeckt nach Abschied“ and were again a sensation[69].
After Brigitte Reimann’s self-testimonies, which were now much more comprehensive, were published in reunified Germany, one might have expected a common, all-German „changed view“ in the reception. However, this was not the case.
There were only differences in the East German reception. In the newspapers of the new federal states, the basic tenor of the reception had changed radically. The optimistic headlines that the GDR press had chosen in 1983, such as „Curiosity about life“[70] or „There was always a zest for life“[71], were suddenly no longer to be found after reunification. Newspapers in the new federal states now ran similarly depressive headlines as the West German press had done at the time: „Greed for life of an unfortunate person“[72], „Without boundaries between pleasure and pain“[73], „Work, affairs, alcohol“[74] or „I’m so goddamn alone“[75]. In addition, there were headlines that emphasised Reimann’s criticism of the system, such as „Life in the GDR hothouse“[76], „When hopes began to crumble“[77], „She felt no desire to flirt with power“[78] or „I like my country less and less“[79]. And this despite the fact that they were the same diaries – only in a much more comprehensive edition. Obviously, the „curiosity“ and „lust for life“ had suddenly faded into the background.
In 1983, it had still been said: „Brigitte Reimann was one of the first authors of our contemporary socialist literature who, from her own experience, sensitively and convincingly portrayed the path of young people, especially those from lower middle-class homes, into human relationships in the socialist working and living process of our republic that were still unfamiliar to them.“[80] In 1998, it sounded like this: „Socialism was not as it could have been and as she once dreamed it would be. Especially not in Hoyerswerda, the new showcase town.“[81]
The newspapers of the old federal states, on the other hand, remained largely true to themselves. There was no noticeable change in the public reception of the old federal states compared to 1984. „Blues of the East“[82], „Leased morals“[83] or „Without desire there is no life“[84] exactly reflected the mood of 1984, along with poetic variations such as „Amazon of a lost land“[85] or „I was a gullible fool“[86].
… after the fall of the Wall
Brigitte Reimann’s diaries were published in 1997 and 1998 under the titles „Ich bedaure nichts“ and „Alles schmeckt nach Abschied“ and were again a sensation[69].
After Brigitte Reimann’s self-testimonies, which were now much more comprehensive, were published in reunified Germany, one might have expected a common, all-German „changed view“ in the reception. However, this was not the case.
There were only differences in the East German reception. In the newspapers of the new federal states, the basic tenor of the reception had changed radically. The optimistic headlines that the GDR press had chosen in 1983, such as „Curiosity about life“[70] or „There was always a zest for life“[71], were suddenly no longer to be found after reunification. Newspapers in the new federal states now ran similarly depressive headlines as the West German press had done at the time: „Greed for life of an unfortunate person“[72], „Without boundaries between pleasure and pain“[73], „Work, affairs, alcohol“[74] or „I’m so goddamn alone“[75]. In addition, there were headlines that emphasised Reimann’s criticism of the system, such as „Life in the GDR hothouse“[76], „When hopes began to crumble“[77], „She felt no desire to flirt with power“[78] or „I like my country less and less“[79]. And this despite the fact that they were the same diaries – only in a much more comprehensive edition. Obviously, the „curiosity“ and „lust for life“ had suddenly faded into the background.
In 1983, it had still been said: „Brigitte Reimann was one of the first authors of our contemporary socialist literature who, from her own experience, sensitively and convincingly portrayed the path of young people, especially those from lower middle-class homes, into human relationships in the socialist working and living process of our republic that were still unfamiliar to them.“[80] In 1998, it sounded like this: „Socialism was not as it could have been and as she once dreamed it would be. Especially not in Hoyerswerda, the new showcase town.“[81]
The newspapers of the old federal states, on the other hand, remained largely true to themselves. There was no noticeable change in the public reception of the old federal states compared to 1984. „Blues of the East“[82], „Leased morals“[83] or „Without desire there is no life“[84] exactly reflected the mood of 1984, along with poetic variations such as „Amazon of a lost land“[85] or „I was a gullible fool“[86].
„Changed“ or „undistorted“ view?
The greatest change in the view of Brigitte Reimann was undoubtedly brought about by the fact that from 1983 onwards, in addition to her literary texts, private testimonies in the form of letters and diaries were published, which showed the writer from a previously unknown personal perspective.The different perceptions of these testimonies – before and after German reunification and from the perspective of the new and old federal states – give the justified impression that the main aim was to convey what readers should see.
But is reading Brigitte Reimann’s letters and diaries, taken as a whole, possibly also very much about what we want to see? Is the reception of the writer’s self-testimonies perhaps not only about a „changed“, but also about an „undisguised view“? And is this even possible?
It seems as if one could pick out from Reimann’s words what one had always seen in her anyway – and above all what one wanted to see.
Can the intensity that her texts radiate also be explained by the fact that her readers find themselves in the person of Brigitte Reimann and in the autobiographically coloured protagonists of her literary texts in the most diverse ways? That they feel so close to the writer as if she were a close friend or family member? Is this perhaps precisely the reason why Brigitte Reimann’s self-testimonies in particular have inspired and enthused such a large readership and yet produced the contradictory statements described above in their reception? Is this the reason for the unbroken fascination with this woman – despite all the historical and political interplay?
Perhaps there is an answer „between the lines“?
The most popular reception of Brigitte Reimann’s diaries after reunification was undoubtedly the legendary discussion between Marcel Reich-Ranicki, Sigrid Löffler, Hellmuth Karasek and Jochen Hieber in the „Literary Quartet“ on 24 April 1998. The fact that all those present distinguished themselves by not mincing their words was one of their trademarks.
However, the fact that Reich-Ranicki, Löffler, Karasek and Hieber were all equally passionate about Reimann that evening – even though they discussed her controversially – and each wanted to defend and honour her in their own very special way, impressively demonstrates the special fascination of Brigitte Reimann.
The famous Reich-Ranicki quotes from the „Literary Quartet“ are well known; not so well known is Marcel Reich-Ranicki’s closing statement:
„And I am now thinking to myself at the end, what should we do? This book has now been published, what should we do for this very unusual woman, this Brigitte Reimann, who is no longer alive? What should we do for her? Name a street after her in Hoyerswerda or in Neubrandenburg, where she lived? No, I have another suggestion. We can only do one thing for this author who is not alive, for her and for us: read her book.“[87]
The Reimann boom that began after the programme went beyond all bounds. Brigitte Reimann had finally arrived in the now reunified Germany.
Notes
The essay is a revised and expanded version of my lecture „Der andere Blick : Brigitte Reimanns Leben und Werk aus der Sicht Ost- und Westdeutschlands – vor und nach dem Mauerfall“ (In: Zwischen literarischer Ästhetik und sozialistischer Ideologie. – Berlin : Steffen-Verlag, 2015. – Seite 203-216). Publication, even in extracts, or any other use of the material is only permitted with my express written authorisation.
[1] Brigitte Reimann in ihren Briefen und Tagebüchern. – Berlin : Verlag Neues Leben, 1983.
[2] Lewerenz, Walter: Wie die Luft zum Atmen. – In: Für Dich, 1983. – Seite 30.
[3] Druckgenehmigungsvorgang zu „Brigitte Reimann in ihren Briefen und Tagebüchern“. – Bundesarchiv, DR 1/5436, Druck-Nummer 305/16/83.
[4] Ebd.
[5] Ebd.
[6] Ebd.
[7] Ebd.
[8] Ebd.
[9] Ebd.
[10] Reimann, Brigitte: Ich bedaure nichts. – Berlin : Aufbau-Verlag, 1997. – Seite 118; Brigitte Reimann in ihren Briefen und Tagebüchern. – Berlin : Verlag Neues Leben, 1983. – Seite 56.
[11] Reimann, Brigitte: Franziska Linkerhand. – Berlin : Verlag Neues Leben, 1974.
[12] Brigitte Reimann verstarb nach schwerer Krankheit. – In: Neues Deutschland, 22.02.1973.
[13] Reimann, Brigitte: Franziska Linkerhand. – München : Kindler, 1974.
[14] Reimann, Brigitte; Steinhaußen, Klaus: Für mich ist Politik etwas sehr Persönliches. – In: Sonntag, 26.05.1963.
[15] Reimann, Brigitte; Höpcke, Klaus: Brigitte Reimann schreibt ihren ersten Roman. – In: Neues Deutschland, 11.07.1964.
[16] Reimann, Brigitte; Ebert, Günter: Gefühl für Städte. – In: Freie Erde, 16.05.1969.
[17] Pitschmann, Siegfried: Gedenken. – In: Sonntag, 04.03.1973.
[18] Auer, Annemarie: Ein genaues und tiefes Gefühl für Aktualität. – In: Neues Deutschland, 24.02.1973.
[19] Ebert, Günter: Gründlich und unermüdlich. – In: Freie Erde, 28.02.1973.
[20] Fuhlrott, Otto: Der Wirklichkeit ständig auf der Spur. – In: Volksstimme, 14.03.1973.
[21] Sakowski, Helmut: Brigitte Reimann. – In: Neue deutsche Literatur, 1974, Nummer 1. – Seite 97-105.
[22] Reimann, Brigitte; Auer, Annemarie: Zeugnis ablegen. – In: Was zählt, ist die Wahrheit. – Halle (Saale) : Mitteldeutscher Verlag, 1975. – Seite 287-330.
[23] Reimann, Brigitte; Henselmann, Hermann: Briefwechsel. – Berlin : Neues Leben, 1994.
[24] Elten-Krause, Elisabeth: Biografie zu Leben und Werk. – In: Brigitte Reimann. – Neubrandenburg: Literaturzentrum, 1978. – Seite 5-28.
[25] Elten-Krause, Elisabeth: Furchtlos, ungläubig heiter. – In: Freie Erde, 18.02.1978.
[26] Elten-Krause, Elisabeth: Versuche zum Mut. – In: Norddeutsche Neueste Nachrichten, 16.02.1978.
[27] Schubert, Sabine: Hohe Ansprüche an das Leben. – In: Volkswacht, 25.02.1978.
[28] Brigitte Reimann in ihren Briefen und Tagebüchern. – Berlin : Verlag Neues Leben, 1983.
[29] Heiden-Berndt, A.: „Ich habe gelebt und gelebt …“. – In: Freie Erde, 16.03.1983.
[30] Kleinteich, Sylvia: Schreibend über die Dinge kommen. – In: Neue Zeit, 21.02.1983.
[31] Duwe, Marlies: Neugier auf das Leben. – In: Freie Erde, 20.07.1983.
[32] Eichler, Wilfriede: Immer war da Lebenslust. – In: National-Zeitung, 09.01.1984.
[33] Iser, Dorothea: Sie bleibt unsere Brigitte. – In: Volksstimme, 26.04.1984.
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