What inspired me to write this book?
The main inspiration is mentioned on the dedication page, about Ilona, a friend of our family’s.
Ilona was born into East Germany shortly after World War 2 ended. Her family did all right for a while but as Communism rose to power, her family began to suffer, to the point where they knew they had to get out.
Her parents were going to escape in the countryside, where there would be fewer border guards. But Ilona was only five, so they didn’t dare bring her into the countryside – it’s less predictable and potentially scary. So Ilona’s grandparents came in from the west by train, and would bring Ilona back by train. Except Ilona had no papers, so they couldn’t bring her in the passenger car.
At age 5, Ilona was drugged and hidden beneath a pile of hay in the baggage car, where her grandparents knew full well the car would be searched at the border and if Ilona so much as rolled over in her sleep, very serious consequences would follow.
Fortunately, Ilona did get out, and her parents got out as well. The story of A Night Divided is not Ilona’s story, but I knew when I heard it that I wanted to tell the story of the people of East Germany. Thus, I decided to write this book.
How did I come up with the characters?
I listen in my head for the main character to speak to my imagination – I know that sounds crazy, but that’s what it is. So one day I heard Gerta in my head say, “They built a prison around us as we slept.” Once I heard that, I began asking her questions and she told me her story, including the other characters around her!
Did the wall actually go up overnight and divide families like that?
There was a barbed wire fence that went up on August 13, 1961, and yes, if families happened to be on the wrong side of the border, they were separated. In many cases, they were able to reunite the families, but not if the person in the west was considered a troublemaker, as Gerta’s father was.
Will A Night Divided become a movie?
A screenplay is being written right now. That doesn’t mean it will become a movie – it only means that the production company is moving towards creating a movie. If the script is good enough, hopefully they will get funding and other people on board with making it, so keep your fingers crossed! Mine are!
What happens to the characters after the book ends?
Frau Muller and her baby live with the Lowe’s for a while until she’s able to get established. After a couple of years, she meets a West German man and marries him. He adopts her baby as his own and they enjoy a long life together. However, they always remember the sacrifice of their husband and father to bring them to freedom.
Anna adjusts to life in West Germany very quickly and tries to live in honor of Peter’s desire to be in the west.
Soon after crossing, Gerta’s family takes a trip to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, a place she has always longed to see.
Fritz joins the West German military to honor his new country. He never sees war, but he does serve honorably.
Gerta struggles at first with having so much freedom. Eventually she finds comfort in the quiet of the libraries and begins to discover what it means to have access to uncensored books. She begins reading as much as she can and grows up to attend a university and then becomes a doctor in the United States.