Dance or die
by Jessika Westen
Description
24 July 2010 – Loveparade in Duisburg. Full of anticipation, Katty and her clique set off for the biggest techno party in the world. They have no idea that this day will end in a tragedy. While the bass beats resound from the grounds, a fight for survival begins.
In May 2020, one of the most elaborate court cases of the post-war history of Germany ended prematurely without a verdict. And so the trial of the Duisburg Love Parade with 21 dead and more than 650 injured was dropped – a horrible defeat for those affected and the victims' relatives. The verdict came two and a half months before the statute of limitation for negligent homicide, which would have applied on 27 July 2020, ten years after the last victim of the disaster died in hospital.
Jessika Westen, reporter, presenter and author, was then a reporter of the Duisburg drama. She was then honoured for her outstanding performance as a live reporter. Now, ten years later and in anticipation of the statute of limitations, her book, in which she deals with the actual events, is being published. In novel form, told from three different perspectives, Westen traces the course of the tragedy. With great emotional depth and density, she describes how the situation comes to a head, culminating in a deadly crush and ends in a terrible disaster.
The book was written after many conversations with relatives, victims, eyewitnesses and first aid workers and after reviewing legal documents. It pulls the reader along, it touches, shakes up and leaves nobody emotionless. The scenario is described in such a realistic manner that the drama of the event is tangible at first hand. Westen has written an ambitious book that is all the more important with the discontinuation of the trial and helps to ensure that the story is not forgotten by the public. The scope of the novel seems all the greater in view of the premature termination.
More Information
Author Biography
Jessika Westen is a news presenter at NTW and a reporter for WDR. The graduate journalist was honoured for her "outstanding achievement" as a live reporter from the Love Parade disaster in Duisburg at the award ceremony for the "Axel-Springer-Preis für junge Journalisten". In the aftermath of the disaster, Jessika Westen regularly reported for WDR on the causes that led to the deadly crowd. Between 1998 and 2007, Jessika Westen herself attended the Loveparade a total of eight times, both privately and professionally.
emons Verlag
The Cologne-based publishing house Emons was founded by Hermann-Josef Emons in 1984. We now have over 80 regional crime series, taking place in every part of Germany and since 2009 Emons crime novels also take place abroad (Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy etc.). Our books were published in over 13 countries, like Japan, Slowenia and Finland. Since 2009 we also publish our 111places (111 Orte) series. This illustrated guidebook series presents cities, regions and even whole countries from a wonderfully different and personal perspective.
View all titlesBibliographic Information
- Publisher Emons
- Orginal LanguageGerman
- ISBN/Identifier 9783740808877
- Publication Country or regionGermany
- FormatPaperback
- Primary Price 16 EUR
- Pages320
- ReadershipGeneral
- Publish StatusPublished
- Original Language TitleDance or die
- Original Language AuthorsGerman
- Copyright Year2020
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