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and the final paragraphs suggest that they, too, will perish, given the prevalence of cancer, uncurable pandemic disease, food shortages and nuclear fallout in the post-apocalyptic environment. Poignantly, Roland implies that the children probably will not survive to adulthood, given the widespread presence of genetic damage and consequent impaired health amongst them.
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given the absence of food and medicine, as do the village's other surviving adult inhabitants, orphaning any consequent children born after the nuclear holocaust. By the end of the book, only Roland, his father, and a small group of boys and girls who represent the titular last children remain alive,
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During their journey, they are surprised by a nuclear attack. As emergency response systems fail to activate and no humanitarian aid reaches them, the survivors have to assume that the whole of
Germany, or even the entire civilized world, may have been destroyed. During the course of the next few
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were also targeted, given the arrival of seriously burnt and radiation-scarred refugees from those areas. The question of whether this is actually the truth is only resolved by the end of the novel.
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at the time of the nuclear explosion and presumably died there. Shortly afterwards, Roland's mother takes in a young brother and sister who had been made orphans by the bombs.
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While the story is entirely fictional, Pausewang confirmed in the book's epilogue that she created its main setting, the small town of
Schewenborn, in the image of
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scenario very similar to the geopolitical situation at the time of writing. It is told from the perspective of Roland
Bennewitz, a 12-year-old boy from
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in its clear intent to deliver a stern warning to both civilians and world leaders, similar to other dystopian and post-apocalyptic literature.
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251:, the book was translated into English in both Canada and the United Kingdom. It was also translated into French, Spanish, Danish and Braille.
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The later chapters of the story describe the weeks, months and years after the nuclear attack, and are almost exclusively set in
Schewenborn.
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A similar theme, also specifically targeted at a younger audience, appears in
Pausewang's other great literary success,
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It is aimed at a juvenile audience in particular, consequentially becoming part of recommended reading lists in several
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387:"Die letzten Zombies von Schewenborn. Gudrun Pausewang und die enigmatischen Signifikanten der Friedensbewegung"
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The
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London: Julia McRae Books: 1988: ISBN 97808620304203: 1989: ISBN 9780862034023:
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Saskatoon: Western
Producer Prairie Books: 1988: ISBN 9780888332363
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Given 1980s Cold War anxieties about the possible imminence of
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states, mostly directed at teenagers around the eighth grade.
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158:and major German cities, as well as the adjacent
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134:The plot is set within the framework of a
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495:Novels about nuclear war and weapons
280:(Zürich children's literature prize)
356:Liere, Judith (27 February 2014).
126:, where she herself used to live.
105:Die letzten Kinder von Schewenborn
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475:Children's science fiction novels
441:The Last Children of Schevenborn:
20:The Last Children of Schewenborn
333:The Last Children of Schewenborn
180:The Last Children of Schewenborn
100:The Last Children of Schewenborn
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485:German post-apocalyptic novels
299:Gustav-Heinemann-Friedenspreis
150:months, it becomes clear that
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465:German science fiction novels
403:10.1080/00168890.2021.1897776
385:Willner, Jenny (2021-04-03).
16:1983 book by Gudrun Pausewang
480:1983 science fiction novels
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331:Pausewang, Gudrun (1983).
235:Translations into English
229:Environmentalist Movement
207:The book is written as a
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470:German children's novels
270:Zürcher Kinderbuchpreis
255:Awards and nominations
500:1983 children's books
490:Novels set in Germany
107:) is a 1983 novel by
285:Preis der Leseratten
31:German edition cover
194:and uncontrollable
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460:1983 German novels
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366:(in German)
363:Der Spiegel
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249:Warsaw Pact
241:nuclear war
216:West German
160:Netherlands
113:nuclear war
454:Categories
370:24 January
318:References
192:childbirth
419:235396180
411:0016-8890
224:Die Wolke
152:Frankfurt
144:Frankfurt
103:(German:
90:paperback
247:and the
243:between
136:Cold War
122:in East
86:Hardback
47:Language
140:Bonames
120:Schlitz
84:Print (
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37:Author
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171:Fulda
124:Hesse
58:Drama
55:Genre
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372:2020
337:ISBN
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