The End of the Socialist German State: The Socialist Utopia and the Writers

Christopher Hein's attitude toward the state, as reflected in his works, is representative of the relation between writers and the state in the former East Germany. In the early days of the German Democratic Republic, there was a myth about writers' freedom of speech. However, they were required to endorse the actions of the state by interpreting the actions as essential steps in the path to the utopian state. Hein's 1974 play 'Schlotel oder was solls' is about an idealist, who is a misfit in society. His later works reflect complete disillusionment because society has killed the idealism of the protagonists.