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Nina Willner

b. 1961

American author, intelligence officer, and human rights activist

Human rights defender Author Intelligence officer
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About Nina Willner

Born 1961. Nina Willner is an American human rights defender, author, intelligence officer and spy.

Nina Willner is an American nonfiction author, a former intelligence officer and human rights activist. Her first book Forty Autumns: A Family's Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall (HarperCollins William Morrow, 2016, ) is the story of Willner's mother's escape from communist East Germany at age 20, the large family she left behind the Iron Curtain, and their four-decade journey to reunite. During the Cold War, Willner led reconnaissance missions in Soviet-controlled East Berlin. Willner uses her personal story to tell the broader story of the Cold War and the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.

Forty Autumns was named as one of the Top 15 Nonfiction Books of 2016 by The Christian Science Monitor, and Publishers Weekly praised it as a "thrilling and relevant read for historians and casual readers". Library Journal gave it a starred review and called it "gripping".

Willner's next book The Boys in the Light: An Extraordinary WWII Story of Survival, Faith and Brotherhood was published in July 2025 by Penguin Random House (Dutton), and is non-fiction about her father, Eddie Willner's, experience of The Holocaust as a boy and being rescued and adopted by a company of young American tankers of the 3rd Armored Division.

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
James Madison University

People in Nina Willner's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Nina Willner's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Nina Willner?

American author, intelligence officer, and human rights activist

When was Nina Willner born?

Nina Willner was born on 1 March 1961 in London.

What is Nina Willner's occupation?

Nina Willner is a human rights defender, author, intelligence officer and spy.

What nationality is Nina Willner?

Nina Willner is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Nina Willner

· Wikidata: Q67080456

· DBpedia: Nina Willner

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Nina Willner. https://biography.guide/nina-willner/

MLA: "Nina Willner." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/nina-willner/.

Chicago: "Nina Willner." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/nina-willner/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-23 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence

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