“A unique parallel between a young girl’s life in an uncompromising family and the tensions mounting on both sides of the Berlin Wall as she finds a way to freedom. A remarkable journey.”

—Zohreh Ghahremani, Author of Sky of Red Poppies

Walled-In

Surrounded by the stone-and-mortar Berlin Wall and trapped behind equally insurmountable parental walls, a young girl breaks free and seeks independence far from home. I was that girl. Walled-In is my memoir. It is the story of the first 21 years of my life, growing up in West Berlin during the Cold War when the city was divided into American, British, French, and Soviet occupation sectors.

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About the author, J. Elke Ertle

J. Elke Ertle was born and raised in West Berlin following World War II, a time when the city was the focus of an escalating Cold War between East and West. During the first twenty-one years of her life, she lived with her mother and father in the British sector of the city and was known by her first name, Jutta.

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Living History with J. Elke Ertle on YouTube

J. Elke Ertle shared her eye witness recollections of President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 Berlin visit in a conversation with Stephen Fagin, Associate Curator, Sixth Floor Museum at Daley Plaza, Dallas Texas. The Museum’s Living History Series recognizes Kennedy’s life, assassination and legacy.


J. Elke Ertle read from her book, “Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom.” It is the story of how she learned English, entitled, “English according to Herr Kraschinski.”

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIG8iroo4_mio5N8XFdwuyg


In Appreciation of Angela Merkel

18/03/2024   |   Comments Off on In Appreciation of Angela Merkel

 

Angela Merkel, the former German Chancellor, has been criticized for some of her decisions during her sixteen-year tenure (2005 to 2021). These include taking in more than a million asylum-seekers during the Syrian conflict, setting Germany on a path to a future without nuclear and fossil-fueled power, neglecting infrastructure renewal, and making Germany too dependent on Russian oil and gas. However, I don’t wish to discuss the merits of her political decisions. Instead, I would like to highlight that Angela Merkel was a rare politician who did not have an oversized ego.

 

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, https://walled-in-berlin.com. Image by dianakuehn30010 from Pixabay

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, https://walled-in-berlin.com. Image by dianakuehn30010 from Pixabay

Merkel’s Strengths

During her 16 years in office, Merkel never suffered from an inflated sense of self-importance or let her ego get in the way of her judgment. She will be known for her humility, down-to-earth personality, and fact-based decision-making. Despite being a global diplomatic heavyweight, she remained unassuming and approachable. Merkel held meetings and received guests at the German Chancellery (The German equivalent of the White House). At the same time, she continued to live with her husband, Joachim Sauer, in the same apartment building they had lived in before she became chancellor. During the Covid-19 pandemic, when toilet paper became a sought-after commodity, she discouraged hoarding and refrained from doing so herself.

Brief History of Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel was raised in Soviet-controlled East Germany, studied chemistry, and started her career as a research chemist. One month after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, she joined the newly founded Democratic Awakening and became the party’s press spokesperson shortly thereafter. In early 1990, the party joined the Alliance for Germany, a coalition with the German Social Union and the Christian Democratic Union. Within 15 years, Merkel had become the Chancellor of Germany and, before long, the unofficial leader of the West.

Amidst a world in which many politicians prioritize power, influence, and notoriety, Merkel’s lack of egotism stands out as a rare quality. It is a trait that is considered old-fashioned by some and fondly remembered and appreciated by many as part of her legacy.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: Historical or current events, people, places or food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall, and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

German Women’s Rights Through History

19/02/2024   |   Comments Off on German Women’s Rights Through History

In 1919, during the Weimar Republic, German women achieved equality in education for both sexes, equal pay in the professions, equal opportunity in civil service appointments, and the right to vote.

German Women’s Rights During the Weimar Republic

In terms of women’s rights, Germany was one of the most advanced countries in Europe and the United States at the time. By 1932, thirty-six women served in the German Reichstag (Parliament). According to Richard Grunberger (A Social History of the Third Reich), Germany had 100,000 women teachers, 13,000 women musicians, and 3,000 women doctors.

German Women’s Rights Reversed

When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, he reversed the gains German women had made during the Weimar years. He passed legislation that barred them from government and university positions. Girls were banned from learning Latin, a requirement for university entrance. Women were expected to forego careers, be subservient to men, and devote themselves to home and motherhood.

German mother with two girls and a boy in Hitler-Youth Uniform, 1943. www.walled-in-berlin.com

German mother with two girls and a boy in Hitler-Youth Uniform, 1943. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Hitler’s Unemployment Conundrum

In 1932, thirty-three percent of the workforce was without jobs. It was often easier for women to find employment than for men because female labor was cheaper. Hitler decided to reduce unemployment among men by removing women from the labor force. He did so by making interest-free loans of up to 1,000 Reichsmark available to would-be couples if the prospective wife agreed to give up her job. Hitler’s manipulation worked. Within four years, 800,000 women married and opted out of employment.

Hitler’s Ideal Woman – No Rights and No Brains

According to Ian Kershaw (Hitler 1889-1936), Hitler described his ideal woman as “a cute, cuddly, naive little thing – tender, sweet, and stupid.” He detested women with their own opinions, women who smoked, and women who wore make-up. Nazi ideology stated that a woman had a different mission than a man. Her world was her husband, her family, her children, and her home.

Women’s Rights Changed Again

In 1937, Hitler changed his tune about women in the workforce. When war efforts were ratcheted up, married women were needed in the factories so that the men could go to war. Hitler quickly rescinded the interest-free loans to young one-income couples, and within a few months, women made up a third of the employed workforce again.  At one point, Martin Bormann, Adolf Hitler’s private secretary, proposed the army form women’s battalions, a plan quite the opposite of tying women to the home. Then, after Germany’s defeat at Stalingrad in 1943, the Nazi government called for total mobilization of female labor. Forgotten was the Nazi notion that the most suitable place for women is at home. Today, German women enjoy equality in education, pay, and opportunities again.

Moral of the Story

Throughout world history, not just German history, governments have manipulated the populace for political reasons. Propaganda glorifies their objectives. But ideology quickly changes when the objectives change.

 

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall, and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.