The Other Side of the Wall

By Simon Schwartz

Simon Schwartz was born in 1982 in East Germany, at a time when the repressive Socialist Unity Party of Germany controlled the area. Shortly before Simon's birth, his parents decided to leave their home in search of greater freedoms on the other side of the Berlin Wall. But East German authorities did not allow the Schwartzes to leave for almost three years. In the meantime, Simon's parents struggled with the costs of their decision: the loss of work, the attention of the East German secret police, and the fragmentation of their family.

In his debut graphic novel, Simon Schwartz tells the true story of his parents' coming of age in East Germany, their rejection of the communist way of life, and the challenges of leaving that world behind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lerner Publishing
• Release date: Jan 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781467786676

Simon Schwartz

Simon Schwartz grew up in Berlin, Germany. He is a freelance illustrator and illustration professor in Hamburg, Germany.

Book preview

Reviews for The Other Side of the Wall

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not exactly a riveting story but a decent read nonetheless. A memoir of the author's parents and what life was like for them in East Germany, especially during the early 1980s after they had applied for permanent relocation to the West. This is not a subject written about in kidslit very often but such an important one today. We must not forget the history of Socialism and Communism, how the first is needed to turn into the other, the tragic loss of freedoms, and the persecutions people lived through during this era of the Cold War. I certainly enjoyed the art, which is in b/w, despite the cover illustration; it quite reminded me of Zeina Abirached's work.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story of a family's move from East Germany to West Berlin in the early 1980s.