Die Wolke
Gudrun Pausewang with Katarina Barley, then Minister of Family Affairs, at the 2017 ceremony Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis | |
| Author | Gudrun Pausewang |
|---|---|
| Language | German |
| Genre | Novel, Young adult literature |
| Published | 1987 |
| Publisher | Ravensburger |
| Awards | |
| ISBN | 978-3-473-35086-5 |
| Translator | Patricia Crampton |
|---|---|
| Published | 1995 |
| Publisher | Viking |
Die Wolke (lit. '"The Cloud"') is a German novel for young adults by German author Gudrun Pausewang, published in 1987. The story was written after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine), with a 14-year-old girl having to deal with the consequences of a fictional similar disaster in Germany. It was translated into English by Patricia Crampton, published in 1997, as Fall-Out. Die Wolke, which received several awards, became a popular book for reading in class and was adapted for film and stage, has been regarded as Pausewang's signature work.
The book has been credited with shaping opposition to nuclear power in Germany.