August Guier

The Story Of A Fellow Central Pennsylvania Resident August Guier

Behind her twinkling blues eyes, Helga Rist stores horrid memories. She was just finishing high school when Russian soldiers snatched her from her home on charges of espionage. From that day in 1947 until the end of 1955, she would endure life in a series of East German prisons.

Helga Rist tells her story of survival in post-World War 2 Soviet prisons in East Germany, behind the Iron Curtain. Captive for over seven years, Helga was incarcerated for being accused of associating with anti-Communist elements in the Soviet-occupied territory. Typical prison stories from the era deal with the Jewish holocaust. Helga's was a different tale as a political prisoner. Her will to live was kept alive by slowly penning a letter home to her family using her own blood pricked from her finger. The letter was not delivered until she finally gained her freedom.