Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses torture and police brutality.

“It was Sunday, August 13, 1961, a day I would remember for the rest of my life. When a prison had been built around us as we slept.”

Though there are signs of the state becoming progressively more restrictive, no one fully expects the construction of the wall when it first appears, according to Gerta. The actual erecting of the wall happens under the cover of night, so citizens wake up to find themselves enclosed and unable to reunite with those on the other side. In the case of Gerta, this means a portion of her family (her father and brother, Dominic) are now trapped on the other side of the wall, and can’t return.

“People had noticed the widening gap between our countries. As more East Berliners left each week, those of us who remained whispered in dark corners about what if we left too. I heard them. I watched as neighbors and friends made their plans to go.”

Gerta understands the division between the two nations before the official partition is erected under cover of night. Her father is one of those who wishes to go, but her mother is afraid to leave behind a life she knows; even within Gerta’s home, there is a rift.

“With each brick, my hopes faded until nothing was left. If there had ever been a chance of Dominic and my father returning, then the wall took that too.”

For Gerta, the wall is not just a partition between parts of a once-united nation. It also blocks her away from her father, who has left intending to find work and a place to live for his family. Her younger brother has gone along with him to serve as conspicuous proof that Gerta’s father is a dependable family man.