She was sent to what was then Pomerania - now Poland - to Posen (Poznan) to work in a clothing factory making overcoats for the army.
After her six months stint the government had changed its mind (as governments are apt to do) and introduced the ancillary war service for girls. Another six months stint, we are now in 1944 and the war is not going great at all. Maybe the coats Gisela made weren't that great after all.
Gisela in Dress Uniform |
The battery made a steady retreat towards Berlin as the Russians advanced. When things got really bad, the Russians were 50 km outside Berlin, the battery 45 km outside. Her commanding officer decided it was all a lost cause and ordered the girls (apart from the colonel commanding, there were only three other men in the unit - a lieutenant, a sergeant and a driver) to go home. The guys had squirrelled away petrol for the only car they had. They fuelled it up, packed up and were ready to head for Berlin. Gisela and her friend were the only ones hailing from Berlin, all other girls came from towns not far from where the unit was stationed.
The colonel advised them to head for home on foot. He took pity on the two girls from Berlin and offered that they could ride on the car (not in the car) by standing on the running boards, holding hands across the bonnet to steady themselves.
On the outskirts of Berlin the colonel declared "that's it girls, you are on your own from here on". The girls headed for home on foot. In Gisela's case it was a good days walk to reach Neue Muehle.
With the Russians imminent to reach Neue Muehle any time very soon my Dad decided precautions were in order. The family moved to the basement and Gisela's hair was cut short like a boys. Mum bandaged up Gisela's boobs and dressed her in men's pants, shirt and pullover. When the Russians entered Neue Muehle, conducting a house-to-house 'inspection' (they were looking for easily transported valuables like gold and watches) Gisela was shoved under the bed and told not to make a sound.
Russian PPSH41 sub-machine gun |
Russian Hand-grenade RG-42 |
As it turned out teaching was the ideal occupation for her. Not only did she have the 'pleasure' of being her little brother's class teacher in year one, but went on to forge a stellar career in teaching. When she retired she was the director of a special school, both day and boarding school, for blind, deaf and dumb children - one of only two such institutions in East Germany.
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