Although the clocks in East and West still presented the same time, the perception of time changed for East Germans, who were suddenly confronted with a new time order. With the help of narratives from Lutz Seiler, Julia Schoch and Jenny Erpenbeck, Carola Hähnel-Mesnard explains how this time change is reflected and transmitted aesthetically in literature. The author asks which genuine literary forms are used to present the experience of time in a particular historical context, how time is aesthetically staged, which cultural models the authors refer to and how the presentation of time is important in the works.