By Harvey “Skipper” Whitfield, March 19, 2015
Today, prior to the writing group starting to write about their topics for today’s group, I and a fellow participant started to talk about our experiences visiting different countries to give lectures. I had spent time in Poland with the scientist who had been visiting the lab at the National Institute of Health where I worked for a while. I recounted visiting Poland while it was still under Russian rule. One could feel the oppression just walking around the streets.
When we finally left Poland on our way to Capri for a conference, I remember feeling very relieved to have made it out of Poland. When we finally reached West Berlin, we had to have our final check on our car before we could get out of Poland. The guards searched our car, asked where we were going, and even checked the under-carriage of the car with a mirror on wheels that gave the guards the ability to check that we were not smuggling something or a person out of Poland. Once we were in West Berlin one could soak in the “aroma” of being free. Fortunately, Poland was finally liberated by the Solidarity Movement.
It was a pleasure talking to another participant in our writing group, and an academic who had felt similar feelings when traveling to Spain before it was liberated. I doubt if our “little histories” would have been revealed to each other if not for our writing group.