Berlin then and now. Watch this worldfilmheritage.com video and discover what East and West Berlin looked liked between 1954 and 1960, well before the Berlin Wall went up.

I vividly remember the destruction. Then read about Berlin’s incredible transformation:

http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/berlins-brandenburg-gate/

http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/the-reichstag-prominent-berlin-landmark/

http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/berlins-prestigious-humboldt-university/

http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/berlins-cafe-kranzler-in-name-only/

http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/soviet-war-memorial-in-treptow-park/

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: historic 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.