A Harsh Wind Always Blows from the East: Memories of a Youth Defined by Communism

It's often said that there are two sides to every story. But when the story is the size of a world war, or is as vast and far-reaching as a Communist regime, there are not two sides-there are countless, and this is one.As a young child born in Germany during World War II, Sigrid has sparse memories of her father, who was forced into military service by the Nazi regime. As the war comes to an end, her young mother must escape Russian invasion with two small children in what becomes a desperate fight for their lives.As she grows up, Sigrid's memories unfold to reveal a divided country and a Communist government, whose power and control extends to every detail of her life. From her education to her leisure time; from the books she is allowed to read to the people she's allowed to associate with; from her choice of occupation to her choice of dress; from what she's allowed to say in class to what she's allowed to say at a restaurant-everything has been dictated for her. When the Wall goes up on her twentieth birthday, she knows she has to choose: continue to live as a prisoner of an evil system, or risk the last shred of freedom she has to leave it all behind. Offering an intimate look into one woman's coming of age, A Harsh Wind Blows Always from the East gives an account of the war after the war, when the victims' only weapons were free will and autonomy, and their enemy was a regime bent on destroying both.