Adam Soboczynskis „Traumland“: Der Osten noch weiter östlich

The Eastern Bloc had collapsed, but in the Rhine region, people were hardly aware of it. „The dramas were happening in cities far away like Leipzig, Dresden, or Berlin,“ recalls Adam Soboczynski, who was attending high school in Koblenz at the time. „It was a Catholic institution, and I was probably the only migrant (…), coming from a working-class household made me an exotic.“ Born in Toruń, Poland in 1975, Soboczynski has been living in Germany since he was six years old. If anyone thinks the title of his book, Dreamland, is ironic, they are mistaken. His parents were not lying when they promised him oranges, chocolate, and fragrant clothing. „We would never have to wait in line again!“ But they had to work hard.