When the Walls Have Ears

Ruth Hampel was born in Chemnitz, Germany in 1930. Devoted communists, her family moved to Leningrad to participate in the creation of a ‘workers paradise’. When her much-loved father disappeared during the Great Purge and her mother was falsely accused of treason, Ruth’s life fell into turmoil. Branded a traitor at the age of six, Ruth managed to survive, despite the ongoing threats of Stalinism, Nazism and starvation. In her remarkable memoir, Ruth shares what it means to be a member of ‘Stalin’s lost generation’, and how finding love helped her overcome a childhood steeped in fear and sorrow.Ruth Hampel was born in Chemnitz, Germany in 1930. Devoted communists, her family moved to Leningrad to participate in the creation of a ‘workers paradise’. When her much-loved father disappeared during the Great Purge and her mother was falsely accused of treason, Ruth’s life fell into turmoil. Branded a traitor at the age of six, Ruth managed to survive, despite the ongoing threats of Stalinism, Nazism and starvation. In her remarkable memoir, Ruth shares what it means to be a member of ‘Stalin’s lost generation’, and how finding love helped her overcome a childhood steeped in fear and sorrow.