Forty autumns: a family's story of courage and survival on both sides of the Berlin Wall
Description
In this illuminating and deeply moving memoir, a former American military intelligence officer goes beyond traditional Cold War espionage tales to tell the true story of her family—of five women separated by the Iron Curtain for more than forty years, and their miraculous reunion after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Forty Autumns makes visceral the pain and longing of one family forced to live apart in a world divided by two. At twenty, Hanna escaped from East to West Germany. But the price of freedom—leaving behind her parents, eight siblings, and family home—was heartbreaking. Uprooted, Hanna eventually moved to America, where she settled down with her husband and had children of her own.
Growing up near Washington, D.C., Hanna's daughter, Nina Willner became the first female Army Intelligence Officer to lead sensitive intelligence operations in East Berlin at the height of the Cold War. Though only a few miles separated American Nina and her German relatives—grandmother Oma, Aunt Heidi, and cousin, Cordula, a member of the East German Olympic training team—a bitter political war kept them apart.
In Forty Autumns, Nina recounts her family's story—five ordinary lives buffeted by circumstances beyond their control. She takes us deep into the tumultuous and terrifying world of East Germany under Communist rule, revealing both the cruel reality her relatives endured and her own experiences as an intelligence officer, running secret operations behind the Berlin Wall that put her life at risk.
A personal look at a tenuous era that divided a city and a nation, and continues to haunt us, Forty Autumns is an intimate and beautifully written story of courage, resilience, and love—of five women whose spirits could not be broken, and who fought to preserve what matters most: family.
Forty Autumns is illustrated with dozens of black-and-white and color photographs.
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Subjects
Berlin (Germany) -- Biography
Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany, 1961-1989
Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany, 1961-1989 -- History
Biographies
Biography
Biography & Autobiography
Electronic books
Family
German Americans
German Americans -- Biography
Germany (East) -- Biography
History
Intelligence officers
Intelligence officers -- United States -- Biography
Military
Nonfiction
Willner, Nina
Willner, Nina, -- 1961-
Willner, Nina, -- 1961- -- Family
Women
Women -- Germany (East) -- Biography
Women intelligence officers
Women intelligence officers -- United States -- Biography
More Details
9780062564856
9780062410337
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 0a4e0fc2-5e72-aa66-e198-2ad13a75780d |
---|---|
Grouping Title | forty autumns a familys story of courage and survival on both sides of the berlin wall |
Grouping Author | nina willner |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-09-16 02:13:39AM |
Last Indexed | 2024-09-16 02:24:56AM |
Solr Fields
hoopla digital
Central
Southgate
Central
Southgate
Sylvan Oaks
In this illuminating and deeply moving memoir, a former American military intelligence officer goes beyond traditional Cold War espionage tales to tell the true story of her family—of five women separated by the Iron Curtain for more than forty years, and their miraculous reunion after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Forty Autumns makes visceral the pain and longing of one family forced to live apart in a world divided by two. At twenty, Hanna escaped from East to West Germany. But the price of freedom—leaving behind her parents, eight siblings, and family home—was heartbreaking. Uprooted, Hanna eventually moved to America, where she settled down with her husband and had children of her own.
Growing up near Washington, D.C., Hanna's daughter, Nina Willner became the first female Army Intelligence Officer to lead sensitive intelligence operations in East Berlin at the height of the Cold War. Though only a few miles separated American Nina and her German relatives—grandmother Oma, Aunt Heidi, and cousin, Cordula, a member of the East German Olympic training team—a bitter political war kept them apart.
In Forty Autumns, Nina recounts her family's story—five ordinary lives buffeted by circumstances beyond their control. She takes us deep into the tumultuous and terrifying world of East Germany under Communist rule, revealing both the cruel reality her relatives endured and her own experiences as an intelligence officer, running secret operations behind the Berlin Wall that put her life at risk.
A personal look at a tenuous era that divided a city and a nation, and continues to haunt us, Forty Autumns is an intimate and beautifully written story of courage, resilience, and love—of five women whose spirits could not be broken, and who fought to preserve what matters most: family.
Forty Autumns is illustrated with dozens of black-and-white and color photographs.
eAudiobook
eBook
Books
eBook
9780062410337
9780062564856
Central
Southgate
Sylvan Oaks
HarperCollins
William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
Berlin (Germany) -- Biography
Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany, 1961-1989 -- History
Biographies
Biography
Electronic books
German Americans -- Biography
Germany (East) -- Biography
History
Intelligence officers -- United States -- Biography
Military
Willner, Nina, -- 1961-
Willner, Nina, -- 1961- -- Family
Women -- Germany (East) -- Biography
Women intelligence officers -- United States -- Biography
Forty Autumns A Family's Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall
Forty Autumns. A Family's Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall [electronic resource] / Nina Willner
Forty autumns : a family's story of courage and survival on both sides of the Berlin Wall / Nina Willner
Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany, 1961-1989
Biography
Biography & Autobiography
Electronic books
Family
German Americans
History
Intelligence officers
Military
Nonfiction
Willner, Nina
Women
Women intelligence officers
Solr Details Tables
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