The novel 's main settings relate to major historical events during and following World War II . The sections recounting the earlier parts of the narrator 's childhood are set in Landsberg an der Warthe ( referred to as “ L ” ) , now Gorzów Wielkopolski in Poland . During the course of the book her family was forced to leave due to the invading Soviet army . After the war , Landsberg became Polish territory as a part of the post World War II Potsdam Conference . The postwar settlement also established the German Democratic Republic , the socialist state where Wolf lived for much of her life
Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
Patterns of Childhood