Hero from Friedrichstrasse Station

Michael Hartung, the owner of one of the last video rental stores in Berlin, is visited by a journalist who tells him about an amazing case. In the Stasi files, he found information about the escape of one hundred and twenty-seven people to the FRG on a commuter train in July 1983. And allegedly, none other than Hartung, who served as a switchman at the Friedrichstrasse station at the time, helped them in this. At first, Michael denies everything and makes excuses, but the temptation to be known as a hero is too great - and now he is ready to publicly confirm the truth of this story. But then he meets Paula, who was on that very train, falls in love with her and understands that he has fallen into his own trap. He needs to unravel this ball of lies before it is too late. A dynamic, touching and funny story about a con man against his will. About the author: Maxim Leo is a German journalist and writer. Born in 1970 in East Berlin. His first education was as a chemical laboratory technician. He later studied political science at the Free University of Berlin and the Institute of Political Studies in Paris. Since 1997, he has worked as an editor at the Berliner Zeitung. For his journalistic work, he was nominated for the Egon-Erwin-Kisch Prize in 2002, and received the German-French Journalism Prize that same year, as well as the Theodor Wolff Prize four years later. In 2011, Leo’s novel “Hold Your Heart”, in which he describes the life of his family in the capital of the GDR during the Cold War, was awarded the European Book Prize. The text was subsequently translated into English and French. Leo returns to the theme of memory and family history in his other book, “Where We Are At Home”, which quickly became a bestseller in his native Germany. Meanwhile, the author is not afraid to experiment with genres: for example, in 2014–2015, he released two crime stories about the investigations of Commissioner Voss (Waidmannstod and Auentod). In the spring of 2024, Leo’s new novel “We Will Be Young” (Wir werden jung sein) will be published in Germany, in which the author explores the topic of biological rejuvenation, while simultaneously asking ethical and social questions.