Visibility and Invisibility

The tension between visibility and invisibility forms a central motif throughout Erpenbeck's novel. From the refugees' slogan "we become visible" to the systematic ways in which bureaucracy renders them unseen, this theme operates on multiple levels.

Richard initially embodies privileged detachment, twice passing the hunger strikers outside Berlin Town Hall without truly seeing them. This mirrors broader European tendencies to keep refugees at the margins of perception—physically present yet socially invisible. The refugees' encampment at Oranienplatz represents their attempt to claim space in the public consciousness, while their subsequent relocation to an abandoned nursing home and later to Spandau demonstrates how easily they can be shuttled away from view.

The bureaucratic systems controlling the refugees' lives function partly through this mechanism of invisibility. Transit passes, asylum applications, and deportation notices all represent ways that state power operates invisibly until suddenly materializing with concrete...