Dörte Hansen: Broder

Broder Bahnsen had always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a farmer. From his father, he inherited what is known as “a knack for cows”—a special intuition for animals and their needs. But when it comes to succession on the farm, fate has other plans: His twin brother Henning, just a few minutes older and more self-assured, takes over their parents’ farm. He is primarily interested in technology and drives the modernization of the operation.

For Broder, this meant an early separation from his roots. He left the farm, built a life of his own, and became a veterinarian. It is not until more than two decades later that he returns and opens a veterinary practice near the farm. This brings him back into closer contact with the family business, and he eventually takes on the care of his brother’s animals as well. In the meantime, Henning has expanded the farm into a state-of-the-art large-scale operation where cows are bred for maximum milk production. The economic success is great, but the consequences of this intensification are not without repercussions. Broder is the first to realize that his brother’s farm is increasingly losing its balance. In the process, he is confronted with a question that has long weighed on his mind: Has he secretly been waiting for the chance to take over himself?

At the same time, doubts are growing within him and his daughter Claire about the way the animals are being treated.

The novel thus not only tells the story of a fracturing brotherly relationship but also raises fundamental questions about responsibility, agriculture, and the limits of growth and efficiency.

Dörte Hansen, born in Husum in 1964, worked as an NDR editor and writer for radio and print after completing her studies in linguistics. Her debut novel, *Altes Land*, was named the “Independent Booksellers’ Favorite Book” in 2015 and became the annual bestseller on the *SPIEGEL* bestseller list. Her second novel, *Mittagsstunde*, was published in 2018; it also became a SPIEGEL annual bestseller and was awarded the Rheingau Literature Prize and the Grimmelshausen Literature Prize. Her third novel, *Zur See*, was published in 2022. Dörte Hansen lives with her family in North Frisia.

Moderator:Julia Maronde

In cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation Thuringia e.V.