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Christiane’s second life

The girl from Bahnhof Zoo is now far from a child – and unlikely to be spotted in Charlottenburg, either. She published her follow-up memoir last October, but the English translation is still pending. Here’s an exclusive look at the book and woman.

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Photo: Deutscher Levante Verlag

Christiane F. of “Bahnhof Zoo” fame published her long-awaited follow-up memoir last October. As the English translation is still pending, here’s a unique and exclusive look at the book and the woman behind it.

The girl from Bahnhof Zoo is now far from a child – and unlikely to be spotted in Charlottenburg, either. Known simply as Christiane F. in most countries and Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo here in Germany, her story of teenage heroin abuse and prostitution both shocked and captivated the world when it came out in 1979. Originally conceived as a warning shot to young would-be drug users, the book had a different, more subversive effect on a generation of teens feeling alienated and bored. The 1981 film solidified Christiane F. (née Felscherinow) as one of Berlin’s most enduring subcultural legends.

You’ll find me around Hermannplatz because my methadone doctor is there. ‘Aber der Kotti is not a place for me.’

Thirty-five years later, thanks to one Berlin publisher’s powers of persuasion, the 51-year-old Christiane was back at it with co-author Sonja Vukovic. The result, Christiane F.: Mein zweites Leben, was released last October to become an immediate bestseller in Germany, with translation into 12 languages already planned.

Exberliner managed to talk to the famously reclusive Berlin icon. We chose some people, places and things from her past and present and asked her to free-associate…

“99 Luftballons”…

I had nothing to do with the song “99 Luftballons”. But I’m the reason Nena became famous. I brought a tape of hers with me during a promo tour for the film in the US. It must have been 1981 or 1982 or something like that. One of the interviews I did was with famed radio DJ Rodney Bingenheimer. I was actually on his show a few times. Once I even went with Nina Hagen, who I met while in LA. Listeners could ask questions, one asked what kind of music I’m into, so I put on the tape. That’s how Nena became famous in the US.

Punk Rock…

Teenagers today make Youtube videos; we made music. After my mother took me to my grand- mother’s in Kaltenkirchen to get away from the Berlin scene, I had to leave there as soon as I was 18. She was a racist, strict woman. I felt less welcome there than I did back home. So I moved to Hamburg, where I met a few musicians at the Markthalle. We started bands like Final Church and Sentimentale Jugend and made punk and experimental music. It was fun but never serious.

Einstürzende Neubauten…

Alexander Hacke was my boyfriend when he was 15. And Blixa Bargeld was a close friend. Those two are actually the only close friends from my past who haven’t gotten in touch since Mein zweites Leben came out.

Gropiusstadt…

I was actually just there for a photo shoot. Everything’s changed. Today it’s green, with playgrounds and a shopping centre. We actually should have shown more of the old Gropiusstadt in Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo. Those who don’t know how horrible it was to grow up there in the 1960s and 1970s – children with no room to play, everyone was poor and trashy – will never understand where I’m really coming from. That’s something missing from the film.

Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo – the film…

It’s not as good as the book. Doesn’t explain the relationship with my family and the social situation very well. I never did meet Natja Brunckhorst.

Pounda Beach…

It’s not the same anymore. Friends of mine were recently there and they saw a beach full of tourists. Now there’s a landscape full of discotheques with loud music blaring and flowing alcohol. When I went there for the first time on holiday in 1987, there was just a small tavern run by a Greek communist that looked like Karl Marx. People would pitch their tents on the beach and didn’t need anything. There was a cassette player to play all our tapes with. You could buy your drinks on credit and everything and everyone was easygoing. Panagiotis, the love of my life, lived there in a tall, hollow tree. We were together for seven years and it was for that long that I stayed away from Berlin. Panagiotis just recently got in touch. Via Facebook. We’ve spoken twice on the phone now.

David Bowie…

When I saw David Bowie, I was disappointed. He was small and thin and had a black ‘stache like my father.

Everyone always makes a connection between us. Yeah, I was a fan back when I was a teenager. But I haven’t been for a while. It ended when he released “red shoes” [“Let’s Dance”]. He just wasn’t the cool eccentric that I knew from the Diamond Dogs cover. The one where he was half dog – totally awesome. I met him for the first time when we were approving the final version of the Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo film. Bowie and I were supposed to sign off on it. They flew me to Lausanne, where he lived back then, and I was mega-nervous. But when I saw him, I was disappointed. He was small and thin and had a black ‘stache like my father.

Diogenes Verlag…

It was more Anna and Daniel Keel [of the Diogenes publishing house], who I felt close to and so I sometimes did stuff for them. Those two were like parents to me. I don’t know myself why I ran away again and again, even when I was with them. They had always only been good to me. But I always felt that itch, something always pulling me away.

Angela Merkel…

No idea. I am not such a political person. Maybe I could have told her how things are done in Greece.

Reuterkiez…

I had a flat there once. Every time I pass by Reuterstraße I am sorry I moved out.

Kottbusser Tor…

Doesn’t have anything to do with me. If anything, you’ll find me around Hermannplatz because my methadone doctor is there. ‘Aber der Kotti is not a place for me.’

Christiane F. – Mein zweites Leben, by Christiane V. Felscherinow and Sonja Vukovic, Deutcher Levante Verlag

Originally published in issue #123, January 2014.