Mom was an Illegal Migrant or The Tyranny of Documents

Released from a Soviet labour camp in the Urals in July 1947, my mom’s release document lists her destination as ‘Brandenburg.’  Brandenburg is now a federal state in northeastern Germany, surrounding the city of Berlin. Back in 1947, it was under Soviet control. 

Mom was released to a transit camp, or processing centre, near the border city of Frankfurt an der Oder. The Oder River acts as a natural border and slices through the city with the Polish city of Słubice sitting on the other side. Dad, on the other hand, upon release in September, 1949, was sent to Friedland, which is 230 km north of the other Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main.

During a time when America's hunt for illegal migrants makes world headlines, it’s rather sobering for me to realize that my tiny mom (4’ 10”), had the courage to make her own illegal border crossing. She tried to cross twice, the first time she got scared off by barking dogs. While this was a common crossing in the early post-war years, it was very dangerous.  I grew up thinking she was rather meek and timid … ha! … she was anything but. 

There are many loops that immigrants need to jump through to become Canadian citizens. Sometimes we like to judge those who aren’t following the ‘rules.’  But it takes courage to break rules. We have to ask ourselves, why would people risk their lives and their families’ well-being to cross borders without proper documents. I’m not sure I’d be brave enough. Grateful to be in a safe country with a valid passport. Ah, the tyranny of documents.

The cover of Crow Stone includes an image of Mom's release document. 

 

Hill of Crosses

 

Because I’ve been reading about the Klaipeda region (former Memel), I’ve been checking out my own photos of the area. This was from one of our first stops, after spending a few days exploring the beautiful city of Riga in Latvia. 

We cycled over into Lithuania, cheated with a short van ride, and then ended up at the ‘Hill of Crosses’. Featuring at least 100,000 crosses, sitting seemingly randomly in the middle of farmland, this pilgrimage site has been growing steadily for almost two hundred years. (One memory in Ulla Lachauer's book, Ostpreußische Lebensläufe, speaks of hundreds of young Pioneers in training under the Soviets, being massacred by the Nazis in this immediate area.) Reflecting the Catholic faith and political repression, many of these crosses are homemade. This led me to the discovery that ‘cross-crafting’ is considered a UNESCO Lithuanian culture tradition (in the same way that borscht is recognized for Ukraine). 

Having little prior appreciation of how Lithuania was connected to my East Prussian quest, the ‘Hill of Crosses’, 120 kilometers southwest of Riga, was a stark introduction to this beautiful Baltic landscape that has absorbed much violence, much suffering in the name of politics. 

I could have spent all day climbing the steps, pausing over and over again at the rustic crosses put up to remember the Lithuanian victims of Nazi murder and Soviet repression (along with earlier struggles for independence).  The hill continues to be a symbol for peace and Lithuanian perseverance.

Cycling across four Baltic countries, required a different sort of perseverance and so Ramos, our Lithuanian cycling guide, dragged us away from the poignant Hill of Crosses, onward towards to the port city of Klaipeda, once known as Memel.

People and their Landscapes

I’m currently immersed in Ulla Lachauer’s book, Ostpreußische Lebensläufe (1998). It had been gathering dust on my bedside shelf for a long while. Not sure why I was avoiding it. Perhaps it was the effort required to read German. Perhaps it was the dark contents. After all the research I’d done for Crow Stone, about the downfall of East Prussia, I was leery of going into another dark abyss. But it’s January and full of resolution, I decided to get the dark, heavy reading over with first.

Turns out, I had nothing to fear. Ulla Lachauer writes in an engaging, easy-going style, that didn’t stress this English reader too much. It’s not a book about war, it’s about people and this book showcases her obvious empathy for the ten East Prussians featured here. She highlights the resilience of these characters shaped by their Baltic environment and the difficult years of political turmoil.

Photographs add to the depth of connection the reader gets to enjoy. I found myself turning, again and again, to the images searching out the stories etched in their faces like they're  landscapes of their lives. 

Portrait of my mom done by Julia Penny

As I read, I’m searching the internet for names of tiny, forgotten villages mentioned in the chapters, checking to see if I might have cycled past back some of these ruins back in 2019 when I explored the Lithuanian and north Kaliningrad area near the city of Klaipeda (once Memel).

This beautiful, conflicted area comes to life for me again as I read this book and I can imagine my own family members living their simple, rustic lives … trying their best to survive. Aren’t we all?  So grateful for books like this. 

Ruins near the Baltic in former East Prussia

Fairy Tale Setting

First book I read for 2026 was a fairy tale retold by the master of horror, Stephen King:  Hansel and Gretel (with illustrations by Maurice Sendek). 

Fairy tale retelling by Stephen King

The fairy tale caught my focus while I’ve been lost in research about the post-war period as East Prussia transitioned to Kaliningrad. Families broken, children hungry, forests dangerous, adults not to be trusted.  Those were not fairy tale horrors, those were real life dangers. There is an unworldly quality to the years between 1945 and 1948. 

I'll repeat mention of an earlier non-fiction book called The Wolf Children of the Eastern Front by Sonya Winterberg and Kerstin Lieff. It explores how the orphaned children managed later in life. Did they, in fact, live happily ever after? 

middle grade novel by Australian author
Katrina Nannested

I highly recommend Katrina Nannested’s middle grade novel, We are Wolves, for anyone interested in the plight of orphans after the war in this no man’s land corner of eastern Europe. And of course, read Stephen King’s new retelling of Hansel and Gretel. (spoiler alert: there’s a happy ending … which I wish for all of us in 2026). 

Kaliningrad: Portal to a dark past?

one of those years ...

A writer friend shared a blogpost where she adapted questions from the New York Times to sum up the past year. I found her post inspirational and have borrowed her questions for my own reflective exercise.  Here goes. 

Question 1. What I have learned in the past year? 

That I have the power within me, and just need the courage to use it. 

Question 2. When did I feel the most carefree? 

Riding my bike, not being in a hurry, and picking saskatoon berries along the way.  

Question 3. What gave me energy and inspiration? 

The garden. Nurturing it and letting it nurture me back. 

Question 4. What habit had a positive effect? 

My reading habit feeds my curiousity and keeps me inspired to write my own stories.

Question 5. What did I do this year that I thought was almost impossible? 

I've supported a couple of family members through some difficult issues which has deepened my own faith and reminded me that if we don’t look after ourselves, we can’t support anyone else.

2025 was a challenging year and I’m hoping for an easier go in 2026. No matter, 2025 has empowered me to keep my chin up, ride my bike slow, read and be kind. We're all in this time together!                                                                     

Solace in Solstice

The shortest day and the longest night. The beginning of winter means a return to light.

It’s been bone-chilling cold with blizzard-like conditions. I’m dealing with a misery-making cold or flu. My holiday season to-do list remains mostly undone and my messy snow shovelling could use an edit. They moved my husband to a hospital much farther away and the roads are terribly icy.  Meanwhile, the second batch of ginger cookies I made ended up spreading as bad as the first. 

But today the sun is shining. Fresh snow looks brilliant and our Christmas tree looks resplendent. Plus, the no-bake batch of chocolate macaroons turned out! I’m hoping this darn cold makes me cold-proof for the rest of the season. Pass the tissue box! 

Wishing you solace in solstice. Plus, good health, good friends, safe driving and the magic of story.

Hedgehogs

Decorating our sentimental Christmas tree every year is like time travel. My current favourite ornament is this wooden hedgehog. I was thrilled when I spotted a real one during my 2019 cycling trip through former East Prussia, in the Kaliningrad region. 

Love how little, unexpected things can become the best souvenirs … treasures of the heart. 

Sadly, I learned from a recent news report that certain camouflaged Ukrainian tanks are now being nicknamed 'hedgehogs'.   War's impact is everywhere.  Read the story and view images here:

https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-invasion-hedgehog-armor-fpv-drone-evolution-war/33614379.html