I hesitated for a long time before showing this photo publicly.
Not because I’m ashamed — but because family is something I protect.

But at some point, the game some people are playing with me has to stop.

A separates Videostatement mit dokumentierender Einordnung dieses frühen Familienfotos wurde gesondert veröffentlicht und ist hier abrufbar.

Because for months now, people have been fixating on details they either don’t understand — or don’t want to understand. And eventually there comes a point where you stop arguing and simply show what is.

This here is the next family photo I need to talk about.

Not because I’m eager to share “private content.”
But because some people have now truly started to believe they can argue my existence away.

But: this is me
And this is my mother.
And this is the ABV — the local district officer.

I was born on 09/19/1970 — registered as a girl.

I was born on September 19, 1970. And from the very beginning, I was registered as a girl — there is a birth certificate to prove it.

This is not an opinion.
This is not an internet debate.
This is documented fact.

Two days after birth — in the park by the hospital

My mother says this photo was taken about two days after my birth.

She stayed in the hospital with me for a week — or so she later told me. And that’s exactly where this scene takes place: in the park of that hospital.

You don’t see “staging” in this image.
You see everyday life in the GDR.
You see a young mother.
And you see a baby who has just arrived in the world.

No filter. No concept.
A real photo from a real life.

Taken by a nurse — or so my mother tells it

This photo was not taken by “just some photographer.”

My mother later told me that a nurse took this photo. Just like that. Because people knew each other. Because someone saw it and thought: there’s a woman sitting with her baby, and that’s a special moment.

That’s how photos like this came to be:
Not for the public.
Not for effect.
But for a family album.

Der ABV – und warum das Foto typisch DDR ist

The man in the photo is the ABV. In the GDR, that was the local district officer.

And anyone who knows the GDR knows what that meant:

On a small street, everyone knew everyone. The ABV wasn’t some abstract figure “of the state” somewhere in the background — he was part of everyday life. You crossed paths, you talked, you knew each other.

And that’s exactly what you see in this photo:
The ABV is standing with my mother and checking how I’m doing..

Nothing more. Nothing less.

A brief moment, captured in an image — but for me today, an important piece of evidence:
This is my life.
My history.
My family.

The date checks out: late September 1970

Because I was born on 09/19/1970, one thing is clear: This photo cannot have been taken “sometime later.”

You see a newborn.
You see a mother shortly after giving birth.
And you see the situation my mother described.

That’s why my assessment is unambiguous:

📌 This photo was taken in the same week. So late September 1970 — at most very early October, but most likely within the first few days.

Why I’m making this public at all

I’m not making this post to get pity.
I’m also not making it to “justify” myself.

I’m making it as clarification.

As a boundary.

As evidence.

Because at some point, you have to stop pretending it’s “normal” to constantly dehumanize people just because they don’t fit into some mental box others carry around.

It’s astonishing how many people in 2026 still believe they can pin identity on appearances — while completely ignoring that real biographies, real documents, and real family histories exist.

This photo is not “an argument.”
It is a piece of reality.

And this reality cannot be argued away.

this is me
With my mother.
Shortly after my birth.

And I will no longer apologize for existing.

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“Woman with a Beard” — This photo is from 1977. And it ends the debate.

Exile for political reasons

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📚 Further Reading – Partner Links

(Affiliate notice: The following links are partner links. If you make a purchase through them, you support Marlas Army at no additional cost to you.)

1. Hannah Arendt – On Violence
1. Hannah Arendt – On Violence An analysis of the mechanisms of political control and public fear.
👉 https://amzn.to/3NDc0c8

2. George Orwell – 1984
The classic work on language control, truth, and surveillance.
👉 https://amzn.to/4bsO0SZ

3. Timothy Snyder – On Tyranny
Twenty lessons on how democracies die.
👉 https://amzn.to/3NcdiuI