Hrdina z nádraží – Leo Maxim (2025)

The book tells the story of the owner of a little-known Berlin video rental store with the grand name Moviestar. Alexander Landmann, a reporter for a magazine, enters the video rental store to investigate the grand mass escape of 127 people from East to West Germany by train through the Friedrichstrasse railway hub. According to STASI records, it turns out that the man who organized the escape is none other than Mr. Hartung, who was working at the station as a telegraph operator at the time. However, the main character actually caused the train's diversion through his clumsiness – he broke a screw on the switch's safety lock and went to lie down during his shift. Initially, he resists being portrayed as a savior, but succumbs to a tempting financial offer and confirms the story. After all, he desperately needs the money – the rental store is on the brink of bankruptcy. And to play the hero in the process? Why not? Little did he know how Mr. Landmann would embellish the story, how many fabrications he would add, and how he would infuse it with heroic pathos. The article triggers an avalanche that starts rolling and crashes down on both main protagonists. Will it sweep them away, or will they learn to swim in it?