by Nina Willner
Austria, 318, 319
Bad Kreuznach, 24
Baltic Sea, 109, 203
Bautzen II prison, 65
BBC, 110, 230–31
Beatles, the, 232, 302
Beckmann, Max, 165
Beria, Lavrenti, 87
Berlin. See also Berlin Wall; East Berlin; West Berlin
use of term, 361
Berlin Airlift, 48–49, 78
Berlin Blockade, 48–49, 78
Berlin Marathons, 297–99, 337
Berlin Wall, 141–48, 344
border guards, 151–53, 346
Checkpoint Charlie, 146–47, 147, 154, 288–89, 298, 299, 361
Cordula’s training in East Berlin near, 286–87
dismantling of, 343, 344
erection of, 141–44
escape attempts, 109, 144–45, 154, 160–61, 202–3, 229–30, 315–16
fall of, 326–30
Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner!” speech, 164, 298
Nina’s visit to, 250, 252
Opa’s opinion in Schwaneberg, 150–51
Reagan’s “Tear down this Wall” speech, 308
upgraded security, 145–46, 202–3
Bethke, Ingo, Holger, and Egbert, 202–3
bibliography, 363–73
Bitterfeld, 96
Black Channel, 231–32
BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst), 126–27
Boch, Mayor, 18, 20, 25, 70, 85
Bohley, Bärbel, 205, 349
bomb shelters, and nuclear arms race, 153
Bonn, 79, 197
border checkpoint Helmstedt–Marienborn, 305, 361
border guards of the inner German border, 33, 34, 35–36, 38, 58–59, 151–53, 154, 346
Brandenburg Gate, 143, 286–87, 298, 299, 307–8
Brandt, Willy, 144, 197
Brezhnev, Leonid, 204
BRIXMIS (British Commanders’-in-Chief Mission to the Soviet Forces in Germany), 258, 265, 266–67, 275
Brokaw, Tom, 326
Brussels World’s Fair (1958), 125–26
Buchenwald Special Camp Number 2, 65
Buck, Pearl S., 50
Bundesnachrichtendienst, 126–27
Bush, George H. W., 277
Cambodian–Vietnamese War, 196
Camus, Albert, 234
Canada, and formation of NATO, 17, 68
Capri, 108
Casey, Bill, 256–57
Ceausescu, Nicolae, 343
Chaika, 194
Charlottenburg, 298
Checkpoint Alpha, 305, 361
Checkpoint Bravo, 361
Checkpoint Charlie, 146–47, 147, 154, 288–89, 298, 299, 361
Chevrolet, 128–29
Chile, 196, 345
China
Mao Zedong and Communism, 116–17
Nixon’s visit to, 192
nuclear arms, 170
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, 316
Christian Democratic Union, 343
Christine: A Life in Germany After WWII (Willner), 341
Christmas, 39, 67, 84, 190, 191
chronology, xi–xv
Churchill, Winston, 17, 88
CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), 256–57
Clay Headquarters Building, 256–57, 354
Cold War
beginnings of, 17–30
crisis and escalation, 138–39, 153, 225–26, 228–29, 275–78
Checkpoint Charlie incident, 146–47
Nicholson’s death, 277–78
détente, 192, 196–97, 226
formation of NATO, 17, 68
nuclear arms control talks, 139, 307
nuclear arms race, 78–79, 117, 139, 153, 252–53, 307
Reagan’s “Tear down this Wall”
speech, 307–8
Vietnam War, 153, 170–71
collective farming, 81–82, 87, 138
communism, use of term, 361
Communist Party. See also Socialist Unity Party of Germany
use of term, 361
consumer socialism, 188–90, 197–98
Cordula
birth of, 179–80, 180
childhood of, 181–82, 183–84, 184, 187, 192–93, 199–200
demonstrations of 1989, 319–20, 322–23
fall of Berlin Wall, 328–29
family reunion of 1990, 335, 337–38
family reunion of 2013, 337, 338
Oma’s death and, 216, 217
Opa’s death and, 274–75
at Paradise Bungalow, 236–41, 242
sports program, 224–28
competitions, 309–12
cycling, 275, 279–82, 316–18, 321, 325
Olympic training, 284–88, 285, 290–92, 294–95, 300, 312
swimming, 225–28, 246, 262, 267, 275
travel security screening, 308–10
update on, 342
in youth movement, 209, 210–11, 246
Cuba, 138, 153–54
Cuban Missile Crisis, 153–54
curfews, 34
currency reform, 49
Czechoslovakia, 171, 254, 320–21, 343
Dante Alighieri, 331
Day of the Republic, 210–12
Day of the Teacher, 159
defection by television, 230–32
Demokratisierung, 10
de-Nazification, 26
Denmark, 109
Der Schwarze Kanal, 231–32
Dettum, 64
Deutschlandfunk, 231
Dieter, 34–35
dissidents, 196, 205–6, 349
Doctor Zhivago (Pasternak), 226
Dominican Republic, 170–71
doping, 268, 347
Dresden, 96, 157
East Berlin. See also Berlin Wall
Cordula’s training in, 285–89, 290–92, 294–95, 298, 299, 325
Day of the Republic parade, 210–12
founding of, 79
Hanna and Eddie’s visit to, 299–300, 300
Nina’s attending thirty-fifth anniversary parade, 268–72
Nina’s Flag Tour missions, 248–52, 255–60, 262–64, 264, 265, 266–67, 273–74, 288–90, 292–96, 300–302
use of term, 361
Workers’ Uprising of 1953, 95–97, 96
East German mark, 49
East German people
after the Fall, 326–30, 344
civil disobedience of 1980 (“defection by television”), 230–32
demonstrations of 1989, 316, 319–20, 322–23, 324–25
escape attempts, 65–66, 109, 144–45, 154, 160–61, 202–3, 229–30, 315–16, 347–48
mass exodus of early 1950s, 87–88, 93
refugees through open borders, 318–20, 325
turning to West airwaves, 230–33, 241–42
use of term, 361
Workers’ Uprising of 1953, 95–96, 96, 99–100
East German sports program, 171–72, 187–88, 222–28, 267–68, 281–92
Cordula’s cycling, 275, 279–82, 316–18, 321, 325
Cordula’s Olympic training, 284–88, 285, 290–92, 294–95, 300, 312
Cordula’s swimming, 225–28, 246, 262, 267, 275
Day of the Republic parade of athletes, 211–12
defections, 287, 309, 317–18
doping, 268, 347
training methods, 223–24, 282–92
World Championships, 309–12
East Germany. See also specific leaders and locations
agricultural collectives, 81–82, 87, 138
Aktion Rose, 142
Aktion Ungeziefer, 87–88
Albert’s visit to family in, 218–22
allotment gardens, 235–37, 261
border. See Inner German border
Day of the Republic, 210–12
declaration of sovereignty, 107–8
diplomatic relations with West Germany, 188, 197, 202
economic decline, 140, 229
economy of, 91, 93–94, 140, 188–90, 197–98<
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founding of, 79
fortieth anniversary, 320–22, 324
thirty-fifth anniversary, 268–72, 271
Helsinki Accords, 196–97, 204
historical chronology, xi–xv
Iron Curtain descends and Cold War begins, 17–30
media control, 68, 156
opening of borders, 325–30
people. See East German people
as police state, 109–19, 203–8. See also Stasi; VoPo
political elite life in, 193–94
political prisoners, 72–73, 74, 205–6, 348
postwar division, 7–8, 14–16, 17–18
propaganda, 91–91, 118–19, 148, 226–27, 230–32
sealing of border, 87–88
sports program. See East German sports program
trying to gain wider support, 84–86
Uprising of 1953, 95–96, 96, 99–100
use of term, 361
East Rock, 232–33
East–West German divide. See Inner German border
Eberswalde Forest, 337–38
economy of the German Democratic Republic, 91, 93–94, 140, 188–90, 197–98, 229
Eddie
as Army intelligence officer, 108, 124, 125–27, 175
background of, 112
courtship of Hanna, 111–12, 115
engagement to Hanna, 115, 123–24
family life of, 175–76
family reunion of 1990, 333–37
first meetings with Hanna, 108–9
Fort Riley job, 141, 142–43, 146, 156–57
honeymoon with Hanna, 125–26
as liaison officer to German BND, 126–27
return to America, 140–41
travels with Hanna, 120–21
update on, 341
visit from Oma and Opa, 127–33, 132
visit to Berlin, 299–300, 300
in Washington, D.C., 178, 234–35
wedding to Hanna, 124, 124–25
Edgar, 137–38
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 5, 95, 139
Engels, Friedrich, 20
Engels, Wolfgang, 160
erdbeerebowle, 130, 131
Erzgebirge Mountains, 72
escape attempts and victims, 65–66, 109, 139–40, 144–45, 154, 160–61, 202–3, 229–30, 315–16, 347–48
Ethiopia, 196
Exercise Able Archer, 254
Family Wall, 148–49, 214–15
famine, 23
FDJ (Free German Youth), 69–70, 84–86, 114–15, 151, 156, 361
Fechter, Peter, 154
Federal Intelligence Service (Germany), 126–27
Fishel, Elizabeth, 99
Fisher, Toni, 156
Five Year Plan, 87, 93
FMLM (French Military Liaison Mission), 258
forced labor under German rule, 21
Ford, Gerald, 204
Ford Granada, 247
Fort Benning, Georgia, 248
Fort Huachuca, Arizona, 248
Fort Meade, Maryland, 308, 330
Fort Myer Army Post Exchange, 227
Fort Riley, Kansas, 141, 142–43, 146, 156–57
Frankfurt Airport, 333
Freudenberg, Winfried, 316
FRG (Federal Republic of Germany), 361–62. See also West Germany
Frieda, 41–42, 44–46, 138
Fulda Gap, 253–54
Gauck, Joachim, 345
GDR (German Democratic Republic), 362. See also East Germany
Genscher, Hans-Dietrich, 319
German allotment gardens, 235–37, 261
German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union, 24
Germany
postwar division, 7–8, 14–16, 17–18. See also East Germany; West Germany
postwar period, 3–9, 14–15
glasnost, 278–79
Glenn, John, 139
Glienicke Bridge, 153, 273–74, 278
glossary, 361–62
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 209
Gorbachev, Mikhail, 266, 349–50
domestic reforms, 273, 278–79, 312–13, 315, 329–30
Honecker and, 279, 307, 320–22
Reagan and, 275–76, 307–8
Grandparents Day, xvii–xviii
grapefruits, 184–85
Grohganz, Peter, 230
Gromyko, Andrei, 269
Grosszöbern, 331–32
GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate), 255
Grunewald Forest, 298–99
GSFG (Group of Soviet Forces in Germany), 96, 347
Gueffroy, Chris, 315–16, 346
Guillaume, Günter, 197
Gulag Archipelago, The (Solzhenitsyn), 226
Halle, 96
Hanna
Berlin Wall and, 142–43, 146, 330
birth and childhood of, 9–14, 10, 11, 15, 16
children and family life, 175–76, 178, 179–81, 181, 182
downfall of Eastern Bloc, 318–19
Eddie and
courtship, 111–12, 115
engagement, 115, 123–24
first meetings, 108–9
honeymoon, 125–26
move to America, 140–41
travel, 120–21
wedding, 124, 124–25
end of war, 5, 6, 8–9, 14–16
family reunion of 1990, 333–37
family reunion of 2013, 338, 339
final escape, 50–59
crossing the border, 58–59
farmer’s assistance, 63–64
hiding in barn, 57–58
last family meal, 50–53
Schneider family assistance, 64, 66, 67
the suitcase, 33–54
train ride, 54–57
first escape attempt, 31–39
grandparents’ assistance, 31–33
at Seebenau border, 34, 35–39
in Fort Riley, 141, 142–43, 146, 156–57
in Heidelberg, 70–71, 75–76, 89, 115, 120
Army secretary job, 89, 108–9, 111, 122
arrival, 67–68
English classes, 75–76, 89
visit from Oma and Heidi, 100–104, 104, 105, 105–6
visit from Oma and Opa, 127–33, 132
letters and packages home, 77, 89, 121, 122–23, 179–80, 198–99, 227
Nina’s first awareness of Oma, xviii–xix, 20
second escape attempt, 41–47
Soviet occupation of Schwaneberg, 21–23, 28–29, 39, 40–41
update on, 341
updates from family, 76–78, 83–84, 129, 179–80, 185–87, 199–200, 227, 282
U.S. citizenship, 124, 126–27
visit to Berlin (1986), 299–300, 300
in Washington, D.C., 178, 234–35
West German citizenship, 66, 75
Havel, Vaclav, 196, 343
Heidelberg, 13–14
Hanna in, 70–71, 75–76, 89, 115, 120
Army secretary job, 89, 108–9, 111, 122
arrival, 67–68
English classes, 75–76, 89
visit from Oma and Heidi, 100–104, 104, 105, 105–6
visit from Oma and Opa, 127–33, 132
Heidelberg Castle, 40
Hanna’s visit to, 68, 70–71, 77
kit model of, 13–14, 29, 71
Oma and Heidi and Hanna visit to, 103, 130
Heidelberg Courthouse, 111
Heidelberg University, 75
Heidi
allotment garden of, 235–37, 261
birth and childhood of, 84, 88–89, 90, 90, 98, 100, 111
birth of Cordula, 179–80, 180
communist life, 121, 148, 162, 171–75, 189–90, 191–93, 195, 224–25, 231
Cordula in sports program, 224–25, 281, 282, 300
curiosity of, 111, 121–22
demonstrations of 1989, 319–20, 322–23, 325
fall of Berlin Wall, 327
fall of East Germany, 327, 330, 331–32
family dinner, 126
family re
union of 1990, 334–37
family reunion of 2013, 338, 339
Hanna and, 162, 169–70, 179–81, 182, 185, 330, 342
cutting ties, 282
letters, 129, 199–200, 227, 282
visit to Heidelberg, 100–106, 104, 105
in Karl Marx City, 177–78, 179, 192–93, 195, 210–11, 231, 282, 308, 319–20
in Klein Apenburg, 164, 165–70, 166, 172–75, 212–17
marriage to Reinhard, 176–78
Oma’s deteriorating health and death, 212–17
Opa’s birthday celebration and, 158–60
at Paradise Bungalow, 236–41, 242, 261, 312–13, 336–37, 342
personality of, 111, 174–75
update on, 341–42
in youth movement, 112–15, 116, 151
Jugendweihe, 157–58, 158
Heiko pens, 189
Helga
Albert’s visit, 221
birth and childhood of, 24–25, 30, 51, 53, 70, 90
communist life, 162, 195
fall of Berlin Wall, 327
family dinner, 126
family reunion of 1990, 334–37
family reunion of 2013, 337, 339
Hanna’s final escape, 51
letters to Hanna, 129, 200–202
Oma and Heidi’s visit to Heidelberg, 100–101
Opa’s birthday celebration and, 158–60
personality of, 53
in youth movement, 112–14, 151
Helmstedt–Marienborn border crossing, 305, 361
Helsinki Accords, 196–97, 204
Hershey’s chocolate, 6
Hestedt, 42
Hoheneck Castle Women’s Prison, 72–73, 177, 203, 348
Hohenschönhausen prison, 65
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr., 179
Honecker, Erich, 68–69, 188, 188–89, 304, 318
background of, 68–69
economic policy, 188–89, 197, 229
fortieth anniversary celebrations, 320–22
Gorbachev and reform, 279, 307, 313, 320–22
Helsinki Accords, 196–97, 204
removal from office, 324
sports program and, 223, 229, 267–68
thirty-fifth anniversary celebrations, 268–69, 271–73
update on, 345
Honecker, Margot, 345
Huebner-Malinin Agreement, 258
Hugo, Victor, 63
Hungarian Revolution of 1956, 117, 171
Hungary
East German refugees, 318, 319, 320–21, 325
Gorbachev and reforms, 315
“Ich bin ein Berliner!” speech, 161
“Imagine” (song), 302
INF Treaty, 307
Inner German border, 93, 176, 249
Aktion Ungeziefer (Operation Vermin), 87–88
escape attempts and victims of, 65–66, 109, 144–45, 154, 160–61, 202–3, 229–30, 315–16, 347–48
Glienicke Bridge, 153, 273–74, 278
Hanna’s final escape, 58–59
Hanna’s first escape attempt, 33–39
Nina’s crossing, 305
sealing of border in 1952, 87–88, 109
Institute for Applied Training Science, 223