Right-wing populist politics is 'extremely anti-women', warns Anna Funder
For Funder, the walled city deep inside the Eastern Bloc represented the Cold War politics and the oppressive nuclear threat that defined the postwar period. But West Berlin at the time was an exciting place to be, full of artists, writers and conscientious objectors escaping compulsory military service. Funder, who was 20, was fascinated by the fact that 100 metres away, on the other side of the wall, were her friends' former lives — a whole network of friends, family and acquaintances — that were now unreachable.
- ▪For Funder, the walled city deep inside the Eastern Bloc represented the Cold War politics and the oppressive nuclear threat that defined the postwar period.
- ▪But West Berlin at the time was an exciting place to be, full of artists, writers and conscientious objectors escaping compulsory military service.
- ▪Funder, who was 20, was fascinated by the fact that 100 metres away, on the other side of the wall, were her friends' former lives — a whole network of friends, family and acquaintances — that were now unreachable.
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The Interview: Anna Funder on writing, AI and the rise of fascismBy Nicola HeathABC ArtsTopic:BooksPosted Sat 25 Jul 2026 at 4:46amSat 25 Jul 2026 at 4:46amSat 25 Jul 2026 at 4:46amabc.net.au/news/anna-funder-interview-books-stasiland-wifedom/106918372Link copiedShareShare articleAs a student living in West Berlin in the late 80s, Anna Funder would sit with her friends, a clique of East German creatives exiled from their country for criticising the regime, at a café near the Berlin Wall. For Funder, the walled city deep inside the Eastern Bloc represented the Cold War politics and the oppressive nuclear threat that defined the postwar period. But West Berlin at the time was an exciting place to be, full of artists, writers and conscientious objectors escaping compulsory military service.
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