J. Elke Ertle

WALLED-IN WEST BERLIN: A WEST BERLIN GIRL’S JOURNEY TO FREEDOM

Reviewed by Pennell Paugh

March 9, 2024 (San Diego) – San Diego author J. Elke Ertle was born and raised in West Berlin during the aftermath of World War II, when the city had become the focus of an escalating Cold War between East and West.

In her memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, she beautifully describes how her strict rearing was similar to the restrictions of the Wall on her city’s people.  

The following excerpt gives a sense of her conflict:


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A CITY DIVIDED: GERMAN AUTHOR SHARES MEMORIES DURING RISE AND FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL

 

By: Trevor Hill

June 11, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) -- J. Elke Ertle, author of Walled-In, A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, hosted a book signing at the Lemon Grove Library on May 28, where she spoke about the history of the Berlin Wall and her experience in West Berlin during the separation. Ertle described her book as “juxtaposing historical events with personal experiences”. She calls it “a coming of age story. Of breaking off and staying alone."


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AUTHOR WHO FLED COLD WAR IN BERLIN WILL SPEAK MAY 28 IN LEMON GROVE

 

May 26, 2014 (Lemon Grove) --  When J. Elke Ertle heard John F. Kennedy's famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech in 1963, America suddenly became more real than ever.  Ertle will relate the story of her flight to America from a "walled-in" existence domestically and politically on May 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the Lemon Grove Library, 3001 School Lane.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.