The dramatic escape: a mother, her daughters and one last wish

The dramatic escape: a mother, her daughters and one last wish

A moving review of flight and reunification is today, on July 15, 2025, by the history of Anita, a mother who lost and fought to be there for her children. Anita lived in 1960 with her husband and two little daughters, Kerstin and Gabriele, in a district of East Berlin, where the family life was shaped by violence and fear. These circumstances led them to the brave step to flee to the West with their children. But this attempt failed on June 23, 1960, when it was discovered and arrested at Berlin-Treptow station. As a result, Anita landed in the Bautzen prison while her daughters were brought to a children's home, a painful separator in her life.

The detention period of seven months was drawn for Anita of interrogations and abuse. In January 1961, after her release, one thing was clear to her: she didn't want to leave her children in the GDR. On May 1, 1961, she made a bold attempt with a friend to free Kerstin from the children's home. However, Gabriele had to leave her behind. This dramatic escape across the border was a turning point in Anita's life, which it finally rebuilt in West Berlin. A son named Michael was born there, but they never let go of the thoughts of her lost daughter Gabriele.

The search for Gabriele

years later, when Anita suffered from cancer in the advanced stage, her son Michael Julia Leischik asked for help in the search for Gabriele. During Anita's hospital stays, over 100 information about Gabriele's whereabouts came together. A crucial tip led to a surprising reunion: in Hohen Neuendorf, Brandenburg, Gabriele, called "Gabi", lived, who until this moment knew nothing about her birth mother and had lived through a difficult childhood.

Gabi learned to flee desperate attempts and separation, which she deeply touched. She and Michael met in front of the hospital to visit Anita, who was in a coma at that time. Fate wanted Anita Gabi in a short moment before she finally died. Months later, Gabi found himself in Cologne to spend time with her brother, and the siblings were grateful for the support of the spectators who had contributed to reunification.

a historical context

Anita's escape history is more than just a personal story - it is part of a far -reaching historical movement that led to the turn in the GDR. In the summer of 1989 a mass escape from the GDR via Hungary began after the barbed wire fence was cut. Thanks to the reforms of the Soviet leadership under Mikhail Gorbachev and increasing dissatisfaction in the GDR, many citizens made departure. While a wave of the reforms used in Poland and Hungary, the SED did not show any will to reform in the GDR. On August 19, 1989 there was a key situation: the "Panuropean Picnic" on the Hungarian-Austrian border, in which many GDR citizens took the opportunity to seek their freedom.

The pressure on the authoritarian system of the GDR grew across the country. Protests, especially with the famous Monday demonstrations in Leipzig, found more and more supporters, which led to the peaceful revolution, which led to the opening of the wall on November 9, 1989 and ultimately to reunify Germany. These events not only shaped history, but also the personal fate of countless people, like that of Anita and Gabriele.