It has to LOOK democratic, but we must have control of everything. (Es muss demokratisch aussehen, aber wir muessen alles in der Hand haben.)

From a 1945 speech by Walter Ulbricht, First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of (East) Germany 1950-1971

“It has to LOOK democratic, but we must have control of everything.” – Walter Ulbricht. www.walled–in-berlin.com

Does that sound vaguely familiar? I am just saying.

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.

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