Berlin Wall once shaped German women's lives; echoes remain today
Voice of America
Solveig Leo, 81, former head of a large state-owned farm in the East when Germany was divided, shows a photo of herself from her youth, in the northeastern village of Banzkow, Germany, on Oct. 28, 2024. West Germany (blue) comprised the Western Allies' zones, excluding disputed Saarland (purple); the Soviet zone, East Germany (red), surrounded West Berlin (yellow). Claudia Huth, who lived in the West when Germany was divided, shows an old photo of her family and herself in her house in Egelsbach, Germany, on Oct. 31, 2024.
Like many other young women living in communist East Germany, Solveig Leo thought nothing about juggling work and motherhood. The mother of two was able to preside over a large state-owned farm in the northeastern village of Banzkow because child care was widely available.
