Connie Page Three
Were your parents born during the Second World War?
Yes, they were both born in 1939. They were children during the war. We used to talk about it a lot. I remember how my mother said, "When Dresden was burning, you could see the flames in Laubusch." And she would tell of the sirens and how they had to take shelter.
How was it for your parents when the GDR came into being after the war?
As funny as it may sound, the GDR times were good times for us. We weren't badly off. Family life was very important to us. We had a lovely flat, did a lot together and had our oasis at the allotment. We were happy. I think we were contented with the simple things in life. I don't need carrots that have been washed. There was sand on the carrots, but we washed it off. All right, we couldn't travel, that really was the case, but personally I never felt the need to travel. If we did, we just went east, to Moscow or Kiev.
And when the reunification came?
When the reunification came, on the day they opened the borders… I sat quietly first of all. I thought, "All right, that's how it is now." A lot of people drove to West Berlin in their Trabis that night. I thought to myself, "It won't run away," and so it was a fortnight before I went to the other Berlin for the first time. I went to a supermarket, where there was a mirror behind the display of fruit and vegetables, and nearly had a fit! I couldn't tell where the fruit ended and the mirror started. I thought this excess of goods on offer was just dreadful and quickly left the shop again. I'll never forget that fruit and vegetable display and this misrepresentation of the facts.
Do you have a good friend, with whom you can talk about things that are important to you?
Yes, I have a good friend and I don't know how I would have managed to get through some situations without her. She's an SOS mother too, in SOS Children's Village Lippe. We trained together in Mörlbach and we became very good friends. We visit each other regularly and our children, that is her foster and my foster children, get on well together too. If things start getting difficult here, I can call her at any time of the night or day.
Did you ever think about starting a family of your own?
It's strange, but, because I was working in the children's home and had such close contact with the children there, I never felt the need for a family of my own. I always thought, "If I'm going to have children then I want foster children." I heard about SOS Children's Villages and that's when it became clear to me that this was the path for me: to be there for foster children.
Connie's Story:
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All these mother's stories come from SOS Children's Village Hermann Gmeiner Academy. Copyright is reserved and no unauthorized use permitted. Use for non-commercial purposes may be requested. The interviews telling about the lives of some SOS Mothers form part of an interesting study on being a replacement Mother to children in need in SOS Children's communities worldwide.