--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Liberated in Germany by the Americans…" description: "\"“Liberated in Germany by the Americans, seven-year-old Valya Brekeleva and her family of slave labourers went home to Novgorod as non-persons. “Most of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/max-hastings-15643_family_liberated-in-germany-by-the-americans-se_174664.jpg" --- # Liberated in Germany by the Americans, seven-year-old… ![“Liberated in Germany by the Americans, seven-year-old Valya Brekeleva and her family of slave labourers went home to Novgorod as non-persons. “Most of the people from our village who went to Latvia survived. But most of those who were sent to Germany had died. For those of us who remained, the…” quote by Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/max-hastings-15643_family_liberated-in-germany-by-the-americans-se_174664.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/max-hastings-15643_family_liberated-in-germany-by-the-americans-se_174664.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/max-hastings-15643_family_liberated-in-germany-by-the-americans-se_174664.jpg) > ““Liberated in Germany by the Americans, seven-year-old Valya Brekeleva and her family of slave labourers went home to Novgorod as non-persons. “Most of the people from our village who went to Latvia survived. But most of those who were sent to Germany had died. For those of us who remained, the suspicion was always there.” Most of her family were killed by one side or the other in the course of the war. Her mother died in 1947, worn out by the struggle to keep her daughters alive. She was thirty-six. Her father completed his sentence for “political crimes” and came home from the Urals in 1951, an old man. Even after Valya had completed university and applied for work at a Kazan shipbuilders in the 1960s, when the manager saw that her papers showed her to be an ex-Nazi prisoner he said grimly: “Before we consider anything else, we have got to establish whether you have done damage to the state.”” [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War creates lasting trauma and suspicion; survivors face stigma and bureaucratic obstacles even after peace. **In simple terms:** War leaves deep scars and distrust that linger. Key Takeaway Recognize and address lingering trauma. Themes war trauma survivor stigma history justice Mood somber reflective Type historical cautionary When to use this quote - post‑war reconstruction - family loss - employment discrimination - historical memory - social trust Key Concepts psychological impact social reintegration political oppression Questions to Reflect On - How can societies heal collective trauma? - What policies help former prisoners reintegrate? A Different Perspective Stigma can impede rebuilding lives and societies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Latvia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latvia/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) ## Related quotes > [“Many of us served in the war, many died. We have written for Germany, we have died for Germany. 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It's something I've always wanted to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-west/i-ve-been-almost-everywhere-but-i-ve-never-been-to-the-steppes-of/) [Adam West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-west/) > [Some kid can say, "Hey, I really want you to play my town in Switzerland, or Sweden, or Latvia," and they could have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-cole-smith/some-kid-can-say-hey-i-really-want-you-to-play-my-town-in-switzerland/) [Zachary Cole Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-cole-smith/) > [ \[State\] finds \[frontier\] either with the aid of force, as in 1914, when Germany invaded Belgium in order to deal a blow against France… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/state-finds-frontier-either-with-the-aid-of-force-as-in-1914-when/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [“Vilis still doesn't pass to me but I don't care. Where he comes from (Latvia) they burn black people into tar and make roads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kelman/vilis-still-doesn-t-pass-to-me-but-i-don-t-care-where-he-comes-from/) [Stephen Kelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kelman/) > [I was born in Eastern Europe, in Latvia, and I'm fluent in Russian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-solo/i-was-born-in-eastern-europe-in-latvia-and-i-m-fluent-in-russian/) [Ksenia Solo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-solo/) > [How many people in the United States do you think will be willing to go to war to free Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/how-many-people-in-the-united-states-do-you-think-will-be-willing-to/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“Political calculation and local suffering do not entirely explain the participation in these pogroms. Violence against Jews served to bring the Germans and elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/political-calculation-and-local-suffering-do-not-entirely-explain-the/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [I grew up in Russia. 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We still have alliances throughout Asia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-gutzman/in-fact-we-haven-t-ever-really-recalibrated-our-foreign-policy/) [Kevin Gutzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-gutzman/) > [President Bush Sr. and Secretary Baker, way back when, told Gorbachev, "We are not going to advance NATO into Eastern Europe. We're not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashid-khalidi/president-bush-sr-and-secretary-baker-way-back-when-told-gorbachev-we/) [Rashid Khalidi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashid-khalidi/) ## More by Max Hastings > [I'm a passionate monarchist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/i-m-a-passionate-monarchist/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [“Here was a manifestation of a huge, historic British folly, repeated over many centuries including the twenty-first: the adoption of gesture strategy, committing small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/here-was-a-manifestation-of-a-huge-historic-british-folly-repeated/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [“THE EXPERIENCE OF WAR was extraordinarily diverse. The Eastern Front, where 90 percent of all Germans killed in combat met their fate, overwhelmingly dominated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/the-experience-of-war-was-extraordinarily-diverse-the-eastern-front/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [It's miraculous how much easier the computer has made my sort of work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/it-s-miraculous-how-much-easier-the-computer-has-made-my-sort-of-work/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [I'm a wet liberal really, and always have been. But I'm sort of an aggressive wet liberal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/i-m-a-wet-liberal-really-and-always-have-been-but-i-m-sort-of-an/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [“The street is no longer measured by meters but by corpses ... Stalingrad is no longer a town. By day it is an enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/the-street-is-no-longer-measured-by-meters-but-by-corpses-stalingrad/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [I would be miserable if I went to bed without having written 1,000 words about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/i-would-be-miserable-if-i-went-to-bed-without-having-written-1-000/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [You cannot write down how people are good; you just know it, and cannot get away from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/you-cannot-write-down-how-people-are-good-you-just-know-it-and-cannot/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [It was always inevitable that if you get serious trouble in any family then everybody's inclined to look at the head of that family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/it-was-always-inevitable-that-if-you-get-serious-trouble-in-any/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [“Haw! Haw! Inconceivable stupidity is just what you're going to get! (Brigadier-General Henry Wilson, on being challenged in 1910 about the likelihood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/haw-haw-inconceivable-stupidity-is-just-what-you-re-going-to-get/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [“We are readying ourselves to enter a long tunnel full of blood and darkness (Andre Gide, 28 July 1914)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/we-are-readying-ourselves-to-enter-a-long-tunnel-full-of-blood-and/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [“The French were more tolerant of brothels than any other nation in Europe, though there was some dispute about whether this reflected enlightenment or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/the-french-were-more-tolerant-of-brothels-than-any-other-nation-in/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [If you can't get a job as a pianist in a brothel you become a royal reporter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/if-you-can-t-get-a-job-as-a-pianist-in-a-brothel-you-become-a-royal/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [The only redemptive feature of war is the brotherhood which it forges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/the-only-redemptive-feature-of-war-is-the-brotherhood-which-it-forges/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [There was no doubt that in the early and mid-eighties that many of us in broadsheet newspapers felt that we still had a responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/there-was-no-doubt-that-in-the-early-and-mid-eighties-that-many-of-us/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) [Explore all 41 Max Hastings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) ## More Family quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. 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He slipped his hand around hers. "Friends," he repeated roughly. Her smile was bright enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-smith/she-knew-how-to-play-him-so-very-well-he-slipped-his-hand-around-hers/) [Kathryn Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-smith/) > [As a family, we all loved the Flyers. To me, rooting for the Flyers were how I bonded with my dad especially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-f-goldberg/as-a-family-we-all-loved-the-flyers-to-me-rooting-for-the-flyers-were/) [Adam F. Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-f-goldberg/) > [The people have always been family to me here in Las Vegas. 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But most of those who were sent to Germany had died. For those of us who remained, the suspicion was always there.” Most of her family were killed by one side or the other in the course of the war. Her mother died in 1947, worn out by the struggle to keep her daughters alive. She was thirty-six. Her father completed his sentence for “political crimes” and came home from the Urals in 1951, an old man. Even after Valya had completed university and applied for work at a Kazan shipbuilders in the 1960s, when the manager saw that her papers showed her to be an ex-Nazi prisoner he said grimly: “Before we consider anything else, we have got to establish whether you have done damage to the state.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Max Hastings" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/liberated-in-germany-by-the-americans-seven-year-old-valya-brekeleva/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Family" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/liberated-in-germany-by-the-americans-seven-year-old-valya-brekeleva/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/max-hastings-15643_family_liberated-in-germany-by-the-americans-se_174664.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/max-hastings-15643_family_liberated-in-germany-by-the-americans-se_174664.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/max-hastings-15643_family_liberated-in-germany-by-the-americans-se_174664.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Liberated in Germany by the Americans, seven-year-old Valya Brekeleva and her family of slave labourers went…” — Max Hastings", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Max Hastings", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Liberated in Germany by the Americans,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/liberated-in-germany-by-the-americans-seven-year-old-valya-brekeleva/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/liberated-in-germany-by-the-americans-seven-year-old-valya-brekeleva/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```