Deutsche Frauen sprechen (alle Tonbänder bis auf eines sind auf Deutsch)
These are the audiotapes of the interviews (all but one in German) carried out in 1972/73 for the book Women, War and the Third Reich by Elizabeth Gordon-Werner.
Herta T was born in 1909 and lived in Stettin (now Szczecin in Poland) and speaks about the war and its aftermath
Marga S, born 1919, was a young woman in Frankfurt when the war started. (There are a couple of quiet seconds during the recording.)
Luise G, born in 1918 and living in a small village near what is now Wrocław, Poland. She talks about the fascination of Hitler.
Elsa W born in 1913 in Hamburg, talks about her life as an evacuee. (This recording as made with her partner in the same room and he occasionally adds his views.)
Hildegard D was from Karlsbad, CSSR (now Karlovy Vary, Czech) She was born in 1923 and talks about how delighted her generation were when Hitler ‘brought them home to the Reich’.
Clara H was born in 1907 and lived in Stettin (now Szczecin in Poland). She talks about the war, and her flight westward at war’s end. (There are a few interruptions in the tape.)
Gerda D, born in 1922 was a cheeky Berliner. Here she talks about Berlin in the war and her experience when the Russians invaded
Ellen von A born in 1910 and lived in Berlin. She talks about the fall of Berlin.
Annelise K, born in 1916, lived in Rosswein in South Eastern Germany. (The second voice on this recording is her daughter.)
Elizabeth B (1899) and Gisela P (1926) are the oldest and youngest women interviewed. They are mother and daughter and first voice heard is the mother, Elisabeth B. Parts of the tape are noisy.
Ursula Z was born in 1914 in Poland. Hers is an interesting story but, unaccountably, was not included in the book.
Irma A was born in 1914 and lived in Hamburg. She moved to the UK after the war and was interviewed in London in English. A tape was made although it is not always easy to understand and written notes were taken.
Frau Schw, born in 1902, lived on the land near what is now Kalinengrad in Russia. (Note from the interviewer: Frau Schw inspired these interviews. She helped me with housework when I was recovering from an illness in Germany and chatted about her wartime experience. I realised that I knew very little about what German women had experienced during the war and I thought greater understanding might help me with the culture shock I was experiencing. The interview was rather chaotic but it helped me prepare a list of questions I asked other women.)
…more to come…