Christian Berkel: Sputnik

Following Der Apfelbaum (The Apple Tree) and Ada, the actor and author now turns his attention to his own childhood—a time marked by silence, political upheaval, and the search for identity.  The title refers to an earth-shattering moment: the launch into space of the first Soviet satellite, Sputnik, in 1957 – and at the same time a personal trauma.


After his birth, Christian Berkel was almost mistaken for someone else. When the midwife handed his father the baby with the words, “Here comes your little Sputnik!”, he replied, “That's not my son.”  “Sputnik” is a multi-layered novel about memory, origin, foreignness, and belonging—and about the silence that prevailed between generations. It is a story of inner conflict and self-assertion—and a powerful contribution to the literary reappraisal of German postwar history.


Moderated by Maria Ossowski.


(IN GERMAN)