The Long Bridge

 

 ‘The Long Bridge is the story of a woman of great courage and determination, in an exceptionally eloquent account of extreme hardship and hope. It speaks to the profound and ongoing relevance of human rights.’ Kate Allen, director, Amnesty International UK

 

‘Over the years I've assessed quite a few memoirs in manuscript by elderly European èmigrès who survived the Second World War. Naturally, I can't remember them all, but I'm pretty sure that this one is the best I've ever read - in many ways the most informative, the most gripping, the most harrowing, the most poignant and … the best written.’  Robert Lambolle

 

'This book is truly inspirational reading. I have never been so deeply moved by any book. I couldn't put it down and read it in a couple of days. I felt I just had to complete the journey and go to the website and see the wonderful archive pictures. Urszula Muskus was a very remarkable woman' Donald Wilson

 

'The remarkable thing about this book is that it is such a powerful social history. The focus is on the individual stories of those affected by the Gulags rather than on any historical overview of the system - so that this is a book about the people affected by the Gulag system rather than the system itself. This tells us so much more about the human condition than figures, map and dates can.

The Long Bridge reminds me of Solzhenitsyn's analogy of the various camps as being a string of isolated islands, in that it clearly portrays the isolation of those in the camps and the way that the prisoners are forced in on each other, resulting mostly in mutual support but sometimes in conflict. And through it all, Urszula sustains a  remarkably humanitarian voice. Despite years of ghastly treatment she actually has very little complaint about her own situation, choosing instead to focus on the difficulties experienced by those around her. This belief in humanity (and celebration of it, warts and all) never seems to leave her. One lovely - and unexpected - friendship that develops, for example,  is between Urszula and a German army officer.

From a human rights perspective it is also interesting to see the numerous stories that illustrate how the political prisoners are treated much more harshly than the "regular" criminals. It is clear who the regime saw as the real threat. And of course this is not merely history - just look at China's long-term political prisoner Shi Tao, who is currently experiencing years of hard labour in prison because he sent an email to a Chinese pro-democracy website. Urszula's story is still of utmost relevance. And an excellent read' John Watson, Programme Director, Amnesty International Scotland