Phantom Border: A Personal Reconnaissance of Contemporary Germany

"Phantom Border" weaves together the social and ecological stories surrounding the border that divided the author's native Germany during the Cold War. Lange presents personal, micro-and macro-level perspectives on life in the East German borderland, the Peaceful Revolution, and the time since Reunification. During the four decades the Iron Curtain divided Germany and the European continent, over 1,200 rare animal and plant species found refuge in the border strip - today's Gres Band or Green Belt. Lange uses the 1,400-kilometer-long German Green Belt as a map for a personal reconnaissance of her home country and as a prism through which to investigate the transformation of the border, along with the societal reverberations of the division and its aftermath. She employs an anthropological and journalistic approach to provide a multifaceted investigation of borders, migration, identity, and the meaning of home. The book argues that, in light of the current biodiversity crisis, the Green Belt can offer clues about the ecological dimension of "home."