A mother-of-two has met her long-lost brother for the first time after a 50-year mystery.
Steffi August, 53, who has been living in New Zealand for the past 20 years, managed to trace half-brother Guido Voigt, 49, after discovering the dad who raised her was not her biological father.
The pair’s emotional first meeting at Auckland airport was captured on camera, with Steffi holding up a sign that read: ‘United after a 50 year mystery’.
Steffi said that she loved him ‘as soon as they hugged’, after Guido flew in to New Zealand from his home in Leipzig, Germany.
She admitted that she always felt as if ‘something wasn’t right’ growing up due to her fractured relationship with the man she believed was her father, who she says ‘completely abandoned’ her following her parents’ divorce when she was 10.
Steffi August, 53, (left) has been reunited with her brother Guido Voigt, 49, for the first time
The author and motivational speaker grew up in Dresden in communist East Germany, which she reveals was difficult due to the ‘limited freedom’ and ‘restriction of movement’ east Germans faced at the time, while being ‘constantly monitored’ by the Stasi, or secret police.
She fled East Germany in 1988, before emigrating to New Zealand eight years later.
Steffi said that she finally discovered the truth about who her real father was during a visit to Germany in 2006.
‘I always thought when I was a child that things just didn’t seem to add up,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t understand why I had brown hair when the rest of my family was blonde.
The emotional reunion was captured on camera, with Steffi holding up a sign that read ‘United after a 50 year mystery… The brother I never knew I had arrives TODAY!’
‘And I didn’t know why my “father” was so cold towards me all those years and why he simply stopped talking to me after he divorced from my mother when I was a kid.
‘I never understood why we were never close and why he made no effort to talk to me after the divorce. I was a good girl and yet he didn’t want me in his life. It hurt a lot.
‘So, when I tracked him down during my visit back to Germany in 2006, I just confronted him. I wanted to know why he acted the way that he did. And he just spilled everything to me.’
The father who had raised Steffi told her he wasn’t his biological father and that he married her mother when she was just three weeks old, putting his name on her birth certificate because he was ‘so in love’.
Steffi, pictured as a young child, fled East Germany in 1988, before emigrating to New Zealand eight years later
Guido, pictured as a young boy, had no idea that Steffi existed, as his own father had not known about her
‘After absorbing the shock and listening to him explain everything, it all fell into place for me, and everything now made sense,’ Steffi said.
‘But it also raised a whole new set of questions: Who was my father? Where was he? Was he looking for me?
‘I didn’t say anything to my mother, and just returned to New Zealand more lost and confused than ever before.
‘I mulled over things for a few months, but I was desperate for answers.’
Steffi said she decided to see a clairvoyant, following the suggestion of a friend.
Steffi said she always felt as if ‘something wasn’t right’ growing up due to her fractured relationship with the man she believed was her father
‘I was very skeptical, but I had nothing to lose. I needed answers,’ she explained.
‘As soon as I walked in she looked at me and said, “You’re here to find out about your father, aren’t you?”
‘I was gobsmacked. She told me I had a half-brother who lives in Germany and described my real father, who she said had a white marine uniform with medals.’
After this ground-breaking revelation, Steffi decided to confront her mother with this new information a few months later – who astonishingly confirmed what the psychic had said.
Steffi said: ‘She was shocked by what I knew. My mother never had any intention of telling me the truth.
After discovering that he wasn’t her biological father, she managed to find out more about her real father (pictured with Guido) who had been in the marines
‘She had even prepared some letters and hidden them in a box, to be given to me once she has passed away.
‘But she revealed everything. She told me that she had a one night stand with my biological father which resulted in an unexpected pregnancy.
‘He was in the marines just like the psychic had said. But he never even knew that I existed.’
Steffi said her mother helped her investigate what happened to her biological father, who they discovered had married, divorced and had a son – but sadly taken his own life in 1991.
She then contacted her father’s ex-wife, who agreed to pass on her details to her brother Guido, who would get in touch if he was interested.
Steffi, pictured as a teenager, described how her relationship with the man who raised her had been ‘fractured’ while growing up
With the help of her mother, she discovered that he had married, divorced and had a son – but sadly taken his own life in 1991
But after nine years of silence, Steffi imagined that her brother had no interest in getting to know her.
Mustering up the courage one last time, she made contact with her father’s ex-wife once again – who admitted that she never talked to Guido about his sister.
Steffi said: ‘I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, to be furious or thankful. Yes I wish she had told him immediately, and was annoyed that she hadn’t.
‘But maybe this was the only reason he hadn’t contacted me. Maybe he too would be excited to find he had a half-sister on the other side of the world.’
She decided this time to ask for Guido’s email address so that she could get in contact with him directly, instead of relying on his mother.
Steffi got in touch with her biological father’s ex-wife, who agreed to pass on her details to her brother Guido
‘This time I wasn’t going to leave it up to his mother. I asked for Guido’s email address and contacted him myself,’ she said.
‘A few weeks later, there was an email sitting in my inbox from him. I couldn’t believe it. I was terrified to open it. What if he didn’t want to know me?
‘Thankfully, he was as happy as I was that we had discovered each other. We emailed, skyped and spoke on the phone regularly.’
The long-lost siblings then decided to meet in person after finding one another again.
Steffi (pictured with her daughter Sally) didn’t hear anything from Guido for nine years after contacting his mother
However, she later discovered that Guido’s mother had never told him about her
Steffi decided to get in contact with Guido herself, and heard back from him a few weeks later
‘We knew we had to meet. So a year and a half after we found out about each other, we arranged for him to fly to Auckland,’ she said.
‘It was such a happy day. My knees were shaking with excitement. I loved him as soon as we hugged for the first time.
‘He stayed in New Zealand for six weeks and we got along from the very first moment we met. We just clicked. It was perfect. We’ve had the best time.
‘He will be back to visit soon for sure. I can’t believe after 50 years, I finally got to meet my little brother. I’m just over the moon and have so much love in my heart.
Guido flew from his home in Leipzig, Germany, to meet Steffi in Auckland (pictured there)
Steffi said she can’t believe that after 50 years, she finally got to meet her little brother