My Story As A Child Migrant

"Poland had become desperate. Supermarket shelves were left bare as prices rose and food shortages continued. People stood for hours in long queues, hoping to buy anything before supplies ran out. Desperation gave rise to opposition movements that called for the end of the Soviet-aligned, Communist Party-ruled government. By the end of 1981, the government declared martial law with the intention to suppress political opposition. My family felt compelled to leave.

When we arrived in Berlin, we first experienced Germany through the Bahnhofsmission, a German aid organization. To this day you can still find them in many train stations in Germany providing service to anyone in need. Seeing the three of us looking lost — none of us spoke German — the volunteers gave us food, warm tea and advice before we boarded our next train to Hamburg".