We have Tulla, Paul's mother, Paul himself, and finally Konny, Paul's son. Everyone had their own interpretation of the past. Tulla, the grandmother in this novel, seems to feel some bitterness at not being able to talk about her traumatic events. Her son Paul becomes a journalist and she insists that he write about it. Tulla states, “This is all I live for, so my son can bear witness one of these days.” As much as she wants to talk about the past, Paul wants nothing to do with it. The obsession with its past can be seen to be repelled by the official silence on these matters in the German Democratic Republic. “strictly opposed to any attempt to portray Nazi pseudo-ideology as harmless.” It represents the people who cherish its golden past. I feel that the trauma of recognition prevents her from having a clear view of their aspects of Nazi Germany. Paul was born the same night as the sinking; the same day he wishes he had nothing to do with it. Paul states: “Here's that damned date again. History, or to be more precise the history that we Germans have repeatedly messed up, is a clogged toilet. We dump and dump, but the shit keeps rising. For example, this damn thirtieth. The way it clings to me, it marks me. It was normal for the second generation to feel this way when dealing with the German past at this time. I think the post-war generation was paralyzed