Elvera Ziebart Reuer’s Biographic Profile

Gifted artist, acclaimed author, and popular inspirational speaker, Elvera Ziebart Reuer survived childhood as an itinerant German refugee, herded by the Nazis and hunted by the Red Russians. From age ten to 19, Elvera witnessed torture, death, and destruction as she, her widowed mother, two of Elvera’s sisters, and a brother fled from the Russian Black Sea to the coast of France, usually by covered wagon, but, when necessary, by foot.

After Elvera’s family received U.S. immigration sponsorship in 1949, Elvera married, started a family, and co-managed a farm in South Dakota. Once Elvera’s own children reached adulthood, Elvera felt ready to publish her mother’s biography, and ever since, has shared the incredible-but-true story that awes audiences of all ages.

Elvera’s message is as timeless as she, herself, appears to be: a citizenry that stays informed and participates in its public election process is a powerful first line of defense against tyranny and terrorism.

Elvera’s Chronology
1930 . born to German parents in Strasburg, Bessarabia (now Ukraine)
1940 . became a war refugee at age ten and remained so until age 19
1949 . emigrated to the United States on her Aunt Katherine’s sponsorship
1951 . married Erwin Reuer in South Dakota
1952 . welcomed first child Barbara into the world
1962 . welcomed sixth and final child Ronnie into the world
1970 . complications resulting from muscular dystrophy claimed Ronnie’s life
1980 . mother, Eva Friedt Ziebart, died in Kirchheim, Germany
1984 . published first biographical story The Last Bridge
1988 . Smithsonian Institute added Elvera’s Depression Baby™ to its collection
1996 . traveled to childhood homeland (now Ukraine) for first time since 1940
1998 . published a sequel biography A Distant Promise, A New Beginning
2005 . celebrated 54 years of marriage to husband Erwin