The family tree, map, and point-form chronological history at the front of this dramatic family memoir of a large extended East German family makes it easy to follow the events and characters in the book. The author is the U.S.-born daughter of an early escapee from the repressive East German communist state. She married a U.S. army intelligence officer and Holocaust survivor, has lived in numerous countries and at one time in the 80s headed dangerous U.S. army espionage trips into East Germany from West Berlin.
The family members in East Germany and the West were separated with minimal or no communication for 40 years, hence the title. The larger contingent in the east were indoctrinated into Communist doctrine, restricted in everything they did or said, watched constantly, and faced hardships and shortages which were worsened if any of the family tried to escape to the west. Some became teachers of the state dogma and at least one became a guard at the Berlin Wall, with orders to shoot anyone trying to escape. The author does not condemn those who, in a previous lives worked for the Nazis or the East German STASI, nor does she reveal anything about her personal political views except to praise Ronald Regan and George W. Bush. There is nary a word about Trump or Obama. The extent of how well the propaganda of the repressive state was accepted by good ordinary citizens is a stark reminder that we are all susceptible, and we should not condemn ordinary Russians for believing Putin’s lies, nor at least some Americans (and a few Canadians) for believing Trump’s. Most of us probably believe some lies, whether promulgated by politicians, religious leaders, or others.
One cannot read this book without learning what amounts to a brief history of the whole Cold War. When the Soviet Union eventually collapsed along with the Berlin Wall, the late Mikhaïl Gorbachev was hailed as a hero, and the members of the author’s family who were still alive of are able to get together in numerous emotional reunions.
Despite the author’s extensive research and numerous diaries and conversations, some descriptions of the emotions, thoughts, and gestures of the family members must be surmised or inferred and some conversations are probably embellished or paraphrased at least a bit.
This book can alternatively be read as a truly heart-wrenching tragic story of loss and separation or a testament to human determination to endure, survive, and make a difference against incredible odds. For me it is the best history lesson I have read in years.
4.7/5
Thanks, Eleanor.
The Passionate Reader 