0:00:25 > 0:00:28If you're young, you do all sorts of things...
0:00:28 > 0:00:31that you might not do ten years later.
0:01:07 > 0:01:13Helmuth I met when I was 14 - and he was 15 - at a dancing school.
0:01:14 > 0:01:21Mother got this - I'll never forget it - dress which was French,
0:01:21 > 0:01:26had long sleeves and was short to the knee.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31I must have looked very nice in it.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34I wasn't sure how I looked at all. I was very unsure of myself.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40He was a very good dancer and I liked to dance very much.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42And we danced all night long
0:01:42 > 0:01:48until one very pretty girl came up to him and said,
0:01:48 > 0:01:52"If you don't stop dancing with this girl,
0:01:52 > 0:01:53"I will never kiss you again."
0:01:55 > 0:01:59I was thrilled to see that he continued to dance with me.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01And we danced the entire evening.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Helmuth was very good looking,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12which made me very suspicious of him.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14And he declared that he fell in love with my then,
0:02:14 > 0:02:18but I didn't know what that was and I didn't take it seriously.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28We then did not see each other again for years.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58I was 13 when Hitler took office.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02The first change that I noticed happened at school.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07My classroom teacher handed out a stack of envelopes and said,
0:03:07 > 0:03:11"Have your parents fill this out and bring it back tomorrow."
0:03:11 > 0:03:14It was a note that instructed my parents
0:03:14 > 0:03:17to let the school know if I was Aryan or Jewish.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24Being 5'10", having the blonde hair
0:03:24 > 0:03:30and looking like the prototype of Hitler's Germanic vision,
0:03:30 > 0:03:34I didn't think there was anything Jewish about me at that time.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39At dinner, I handed my parents the envelope
0:03:39 > 0:03:41and they grew silent.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47My father explained it to me.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50My mother's parents had been Jewish,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53but then had converted to Christianity.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57My immediate response was, "So what's the big deal?"
0:03:59 > 0:04:02According to the Nuremberg Race Laws, my mother was Jewish...
0:04:03 > 0:04:05..and therefore I was a half-Jew.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11That meant I could not marry or go to university.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15It made me very angry,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18because everything was made impossible for me.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21You know, the two things that girls of that age think about,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23at least in my generation,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26was either to get married or go to college.
0:04:26 > 0:04:27And I couldn't do either.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32My story is really not a Holocaust story,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35because my father was not Jewish.
0:04:35 > 0:04:36Yet Hitler labelled me
0:04:36 > 0:04:41and I was determined to do whatever I could to get back at him.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48The high school teachers were very good teachers.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50But in the Nazi time, we got this terrible man.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54He was a top SS Nazi.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00One day when I didn't do my homework the SS man pulled me aside.
0:05:00 > 0:05:05He said, "As of tomorrow, you will come to my office for a week
0:05:05 > 0:05:07"and you will stand in front of my door
0:05:07 > 0:05:10"and raise you arm in the Hitler salute for half an hour."
0:05:12 > 0:05:14My father was furious.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20He called up a doctor friend and we wrapped my right arm in a cast.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24I arrived the next day in a sling and said,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27"Sorry, it seems I can't raise my arm.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30"Would you like me to salute with my left arm?"
0:05:30 > 0:05:35The SS man was furious, but there was nothing he could do.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39I was very naughty.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41And powerful.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43And stupid.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53My parents suggested that I get out of the country,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56so that I could I perhaps go to university
0:05:56 > 0:06:00or do something out there as long as they could still give me money.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10I was 18 going on 19 when I left.
0:06:18 > 0:06:19My mother called.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22I could hear fear in her voice.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26She was choking up and she told me not to come home to Berlin.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31That "Auntie" is crazy.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35She's impossible to live with.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39And that we don't know what to do with "Auntie".
0:06:39 > 0:06:44Telephones were already tapped and we always spoke in code.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48In our family, "Auntie" was our code name for Hitler.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52It was 1939, September.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56And it was then that the war began.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58ARTILLERY FIRE
0:07:05 > 0:07:09RUMBLING EXPLOSIONS
0:07:11 > 0:07:13- NEWSREEL:- 'Adolf Hitler's all-out attack on Poland
0:07:13 > 0:07:17'makes the long dreaded European war a certainty.'
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Sitting in Switzerland, where I could read all of it,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26hear all of it -
0:07:26 > 0:07:30it was even worse because we knew everything.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35I knew that the persecution of the Jews was getting worse each month
0:07:35 > 0:07:38and that my mother was in danger.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42And I knew that my father could no longer get out of Germany.
0:07:42 > 0:07:48My parents were already older - my mother was 38 when she had me.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51I was the one to help them.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57So I took the train and returned home without anybody's permission.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02I entered a war zone.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Life in Berlin had changed during my time away.
0:08:21 > 0:08:22Big changes.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26THE SOLDIERS CHANT
0:08:28 > 0:08:30IN GERMAN:
0:08:38 > 0:08:40CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:08:44 > 0:08:47The SS would round up Jews on occasion.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50And when they did, an Aryan friend,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53who worked at the Propaganda Ministry, tipped us off.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58And we would leave town for a few days.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06It was during one such pogrom
0:09:06 > 0:09:09that my parents and I left to go skiing for Christmas.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Around four in the afternoon, I quit skiing
0:09:20 > 0:09:25and joined my parents for hot chocolate at a lovely hotel.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29There was dancing and music and, to my amazement, even American jazz.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Amongst the young officers on furlough,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38I saw my friend, Helmuth, standing.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43He seemed very happy to see me and, of course, we danced.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50The next day, I skied with Helmuth
0:09:50 > 0:09:53but realised almost immediately that he was not a good skier.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01He spent most of his time falling,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04yet remained unbelievably good-natured.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10The next morning, I called to invite him to our house.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14And his mum picked up the phone and screamed,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16"Jutta, what have you done?!"
0:10:16 > 0:10:20She told me that Helmuth was covered in black and blues
0:10:20 > 0:10:22and in no condition to speak to me.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Just then, Helmuth grabbed the phone
0:10:25 > 0:10:28and said that he would love to see me.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31I guess his mother was just being protective.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35We spent the day walking through town.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39And we talked about old times, mutual friends,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41and not much about politics.
0:10:42 > 0:10:48He told me that he had seen me all my life and always wanted me.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51I think you could call it a crush.
0:10:53 > 0:10:59He was very good looking and a really good person,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01and a bright one, which is a nice combination.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Sometimes, you have one or the other
0:11:05 > 0:11:08but I feel I had absolutely everything.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10TRAIN HORN BLARES
0:11:17 > 0:11:20After the holidays, Helmuth joined a unit at the front
0:11:20 > 0:11:22and we agreed to stay in touch.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57It was honourable to fight for one's country
0:11:57 > 0:12:02and he assumed it was the proper thing to do.
0:12:08 > 0:12:09- HELMUTH:- 'Dear Jutta.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12'Isn't it fabulous that I'm writing to you again today?
0:12:12 > 0:12:14- 'At least- I- think so.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16'Yet since I dreamed of you again last night,
0:12:16 > 0:12:18'I consider it a necessity.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24'I will make it my custom to write whenever I dream of you.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26'Who knows how much longer I will be able to dream?
0:12:26 > 0:12:30'Fondly, Helmuth.'
0:12:33 > 0:12:35- NEWSREELS: - 'The leaders of Nazi Germany
0:12:35 > 0:12:37'shifted their war machine into high gear.'
0:12:37 > 0:12:39'Nazis are marching ahead at the fastest speed
0:12:39 > 0:12:42'a conquering army has moved in all history.'
0:12:42 > 0:12:44'Nazi Stuka dive bombers
0:12:44 > 0:12:47'are strafing and bombing thousands of helpless women and children.'
0:12:47 > 0:12:49'The first great phase of the war in the west
0:12:49 > 0:12:51'has been won by Germany.'
0:13:05 > 0:13:09Each night, my parents and I pulled the shades in the house.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14We huddled around the radio and kept the volume low.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19- RADIO:- 'This effort of the Germans...'
0:13:19 > 0:13:23We listened to the BBC. It was considered a treasonous act.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30There were quite a few Germans who were against Hitler,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33which is one of the reasons that I talk about it.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Because so often people think that everybody was a Nazi.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41There were a lot of very good Germans who were very sad
0:13:41 > 0:13:45about what was happening to their country.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48We met in small groups called tea circles,
0:13:48 > 0:13:52where we openly discussed the situation in German
0:13:52 > 0:13:55and felt that nothing would ever change
0:13:55 > 0:13:57unless one did something about it.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00I had good friends.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03I had wonderful friends.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Helmuth saw first-hand the cruelty of Hitler's orders.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15He and his artillery unit were told to bomb soft targets
0:14:15 > 0:14:18such as Russian towns filled with women and children.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24He and those in his unit refused
0:14:24 > 0:14:30and gave the order to everybody to shoot away from where people lived
0:14:30 > 0:14:33so that they had a chance to go and hide.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37But after that warning shot,
0:14:37 > 0:14:43they were forced to adjust their aim and aim for the town centre.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01More and more injured soldiers spilled back into Berlin.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05For me, it meant that my friends returned home.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10Werner von Haeften was sent back from the war in Africa,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13having suffered a terrible wound.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18At the time when the Jewish question was so important,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22he was one of my biggest helpers.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26And he was certainly against Hitler.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30KNOCK ON DOOR
0:15:30 > 0:15:35One evening, Werner von Haeften came to our house to ask a favour.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37A dangerous favour.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41He asked us whether or not we would be willing to hide a man
0:15:41 > 0:15:44who was looked for by the Gestapo.
0:15:44 > 0:15:49And my father said, "This is entirely dependent on my wife.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52"I can't expect her to say yes to that."
0:15:52 > 0:15:57Werner felt badly, in a way, that he was asking us.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59He said, "We are desperate.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05"This man knows all of our names,
0:16:05 > 0:16:10"all of the names of people who are actively against Hitler.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15"And if he is caught, it will be dreadful."
0:16:17 > 0:16:20And so we harboured a fugitive.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26Gehre was a nervous wreck and he was worn down.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29We'd find him smoking cigarettes in our garden,
0:16:29 > 0:16:34right under the windows of our neighbours, who were ardent Nazis.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38His behaviour was erratic and dangerous.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42But it was very difficult to smuggle someone out of the country.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46So he stayed with us much longer than anticipated.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56- HELMUTH:- 'My dear Jutta. You won't believe it, I am still alive.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00'The last two months were absolute shit.'
0:17:00 > 0:17:02EXPLOSION
0:17:02 > 0:17:06'No-one would have guessed that we would still be fighting in Russia at this late date.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10'Our chances for an end are diminishing,
0:17:10 > 0:17:14'while our hopes for an end increase.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17'To be so alone, knowing that you are so far away,
0:17:17 > 0:17:19'is really insufferable.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25'I kiss your mouth, your face and I believe in you.
0:17:25 > 0:17:26'Helmuth.'
0:17:50 > 0:17:54As the Germans withdrew, a shell burst right next to him
0:17:54 > 0:17:57and cut through his lower arm but didn't kill him.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Helmuth made the long journey back to Germany,
0:18:00 > 0:18:02where he began his slow recovery.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10Now I saw a side of him that I'd never seen before.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14His blind optimism turned more serious.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16The war had changed him.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19- HELMUTH:- 'Dearest Jutta.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23'I am, for once, lying on my bed on my tummy to write to you.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26'I hope you can read my still-awful writing -
0:18:26 > 0:18:29'I am trying to use my left hand.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32'In such days, everything seems to come together -
0:18:32 > 0:18:35'fever, horrid pain with medication
0:18:35 > 0:18:39'that does not do a thing to make me feel better.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43'I have to get 100% well to be my old self once more.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46'I hope you can come visit me soon.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48'Please. Do it soon.'
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Each time we saw each other,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58Helmuth urged me to tell him more about the political situation.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Details that had been kept from the soldiers.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06I just felt that he needed to know.
0:19:06 > 0:19:07He had no clue.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45CHEERING
0:19:56 > 0:19:59'..in order to hold one nation together,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02'as we have seen under Hitler,'
0:20:48 > 0:20:52There had already been multiple attempts on Hitler's life.
0:20:53 > 0:20:59But time and time again, it was a military oath that prevented mutiny.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03Und sind trotzdem Soldaten...
0:21:03 > 0:21:05THEY PLAY A FANFARE
0:21:05 > 0:21:08# Wir sind die Manner vom Bauernstand... #
0:21:08 > 0:21:13Many officers felt that regardless of how much they disapproved of Hitler,
0:21:13 > 0:21:16they had sworn their allegiance to him
0:21:16 > 0:21:20and once they had given their word, that was final.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25There is something, which is very Germanic, of that generation
0:21:25 > 0:21:29of honour to the point of destruction.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33- HELMUTH:- 'Mein Liebling, meine Seele.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36'There is a lot of defiance in that that we have to muster.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40'We can do it, despite everything.'
0:21:42 > 0:21:46He begged me to find a job where he might do something against Hitler.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47There was one person I knew
0:21:47 > 0:21:51who was deeply involved in a military plot to kill Hitler.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54I didn't know the details, of course.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58I broached the subject with Werner von Haeften over dinner.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03He had never met Helmuth before and his first reaction was to say,
0:22:03 > 0:22:08"How do I know he's not a spy and can be trusted?"
0:22:09 > 0:22:12Werner had always been easy-going.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16But on that night, I saw him deadly serious.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20He was wearing a uniform and a revolver.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22And that's something he never did.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Who wears a gun to dinner?
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Even in Berlin, no-one did that.
0:22:31 > 0:22:37So I teased him and said, "Do you plan on shooting someone tonight?"
0:22:38 > 0:22:41He looked me straight in the eyes and said,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44"These are dangerous times."
0:22:44 > 0:22:48And that was enough for me not to ask any more questions.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50I knew something was up.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00Werner met Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg in 1943.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02They shared their profound hatred for Hitler
0:23:02 > 0:23:07and decided that the only way to stop Hitler was to kill him.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28'The plot itself was under the name "Walkure"
0:23:28 > 0:23:30'and, of course, top secret.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35'Hitler himself had authorised Walkure,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39'yet he had no idea that it was a cover-up for his own assassination.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47'Stauffenberg and other anti-Hitler military officers
0:23:47 > 0:23:51'expanded upon Valkyrie to make it the secret plan
0:23:51 > 0:23:55'for the Resistance to take control of the armed forces
0:23:55 > 0:23:58'and install a government that would end the war
0:23:58 > 0:24:00'and undo Nazi policies.'
0:24:00 > 0:24:03IN GERMAN:
0:24:07 > 0:24:11'So often, I am terribly frightened that I could lose you.
0:24:11 > 0:24:12'Unimaginable.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15'You have to try and protect yourself,
0:24:15 > 0:24:16'so not to destroy our happiness.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22'It no longer is only your life or that of your parents.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27'You have to think about our future, the beauty of our love.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30'Promise me to be careful.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35'Even difficult times pass to make room for better and happier ones,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39'those full of joy and without constant fear.'
0:24:47 > 0:24:50In 1944, Helmuth left the hospital in Frankfurt
0:24:50 > 0:24:53and moved into our house in Berlin.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56We had very nice evenings at my parents' house
0:24:56 > 0:25:00and sometimes we would go out, but there wasn't a lot of that
0:25:00 > 0:25:04because he didn't come back until the terrible bombing.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08You had bombing during the day and bombing at night,
0:25:08 > 0:25:10you know, and nowhere to go, really,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14other than to be glad that your house was still standing.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17So this was not a time for dates.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33'Haeften came to my office and told me
0:25:33 > 0:25:37'that, sometime in the near future, he might call on me.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41'He made a remark to the effect that, well, maybe sometime
0:25:41 > 0:25:45'Hitler will be dead or will be killed or something like that.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51'That was about the only indication which clicked with me immediately
0:25:51 > 0:25:56'that something was very close, something was going to happen.'
0:25:56 > 0:25:59He would not speak to me about what he was doing
0:25:59 > 0:26:00or about what was going on.
0:26:00 > 0:26:05And he sent me and my mother away so we would be out of the way.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07So we went into the mountains.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12And then this happened.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16PLANE ENGINE DRONES
0:27:18 > 0:27:20EXPLOSION
0:27:29 > 0:27:33And everything fell apart.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03By then, they realised that the plot was doomed.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15Van Haeften pulled Helmuth aside.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19He knew that Helmuth and I were in love.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23And he told Helmuth to save himself, to leave the building.
0:29:25 > 0:29:30Haeften and Stauffenberg were shot that same evening.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34They were the heroes who said, "Yes, we did it.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38"We wanted to have a better country. And you have ruined it."
0:29:38 > 0:29:40That was their goodbye.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42GUNSHOTS
0:30:00 > 0:30:05He didn't want to endanger me, so he spent the entire night
0:30:05 > 0:30:10burning all of our photographs and love letters.
0:30:10 > 0:30:15Anything which might show that he and I were a couple.
0:30:18 > 0:30:23It's ironic that he had to erase our past...
0:30:24 > 0:30:27..in order for us to have a future.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37- HELMUTH:- 'July 21st, 1944, 4am.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42'Dearest, I cannot write a lot tonight.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46'There is much to think about to put things in order.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54'Who knows whether we will see each other again and when.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58'In the next few hours, we will have to say goodbye to each other,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01'to everything, and maybe forever.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06'There will never be a greater love than ours, or one more tragic.
0:31:07 > 0:31:12'Goodbye. I love you more than ever, H.'
0:31:22 > 0:31:28So the next day he reported to work at the Bendlerblock as usual
0:31:28 > 0:31:31and played innocent,
0:31:31 > 0:31:32but was promptly arrested.
0:31:42 > 0:31:47Those who conspired against Hitler now faced his wrath.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50Every day, somebody you knew was arrested.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54Gehre, the man we had hidden,
0:31:54 > 0:31:56buckled under the additional pressure.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00He lost his nerve and left his hiding place
0:32:00 > 0:32:02and shot himself, and missed.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07He only shot himself blind.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13For him to be caught was a disaster.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17He knew everything - our names, our address.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19TYRES SQUEAL
0:32:19 > 0:32:24On October 4th, the Gestapo had arrested my parents.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28I arrived home, no light.
0:32:29 > 0:32:34Nobody was there and on the floor, there was no message.
0:32:36 > 0:32:41I was, naturally, a wreck. I kept thinking what to do next.
0:32:41 > 0:32:46I ran out of the house for fear that the Gestapo would return and arrest me.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48And then I hid for two weeks.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52And it's terribly scary...
0:32:54 > 0:32:57..because you have no idea what's going to happen to you.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02It was fall of 1944.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06Germany was losing the war on both fronts,
0:33:06 > 0:33:11yet Hitler focused a great deal on the swift justice against the conspirators.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16He created the so-called People's Court.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23The court was presided by Mr Freisler, an absolute devil.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27And blood was flowing in that court.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29HE SHOUTS IN GERMAN:
0:34:07 > 0:34:09On the 15th October,
0:34:09 > 0:34:13Helmuth was going to be called before the People's Court.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17And all of those people were damned to death.
0:34:20 > 0:34:25I was sure that my mother would be gassed
0:34:25 > 0:34:28and my father would be dead.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31I didn't think I would see anybody ever again.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38In a war, you become sort of, um...
0:34:39 > 0:34:41You either become terribly afraid
0:34:41 > 0:34:45or you say, "To hell with it" and continue.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49And I'm afraid I'm the number two.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54I was not going to cave in.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57And if it weren't for the love affair,
0:34:57 > 0:35:00I probably would have been a chicken.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19I knew that the Gestapo was looking for me
0:35:19 > 0:35:21and so I stayed one step ahead.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27I'd go from friend to friend's house in the middle of the night,
0:35:27 > 0:35:29the whole time I thought about
0:35:29 > 0:35:32how I could help my parents and Helmuth survive.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37I had really only two options.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41One was for me to run away from Germany and go to Switzerland.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45The other option was to turn myself in.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55On October 14th, 1944,
0:35:56 > 0:36:00I walked down to the Gestapo headquarters on Prinz-Albert-Strasse.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09Once inside the building, I lost all fear.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13I was in a strange mood, almost excited.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22I was put into a small and miserable interview chamber and in came...
0:36:22 > 0:36:25Stawitzky was his name.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28"Why do you come to us?"
0:36:29 > 0:36:31And I said, "I'm looking for my parents."
0:36:33 > 0:36:35He stared me straight in the eyes
0:36:35 > 0:36:38and wouldn't break eye contact even for a second.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43I suddenly realised how much danger I was in.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49"I can tell you where your parents are. They are arrested."
0:36:50 > 0:36:52I said, "Why?"
0:36:53 > 0:36:55Warum halten nicht Ihre Fragen?
0:36:55 > 0:36:58He said, "You don't ask the questions, shut up."
0:37:00 > 0:37:04He said, "Where have you been? We've been looking for you."
0:37:04 > 0:37:08And he pulled out a mugshot.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11He would say to you things like,
0:37:11 > 0:37:13"Just you wait what we do to your mother
0:37:13 > 0:37:17"and your father is already blabbing," kind of things,
0:37:17 > 0:37:19trying to break me down.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25And he was a simple, nasty piece of work.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29One of the most awful fellows of the Gestapo,
0:37:29 > 0:37:33who wanted to trip you up with the first thing you said
0:37:33 > 0:37:35and then turn everything around.
0:37:35 > 0:37:40And it became sort of a fight to keep my wits about me.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46And with that, I was locked up in solitary confinement.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00I knew I wanted to live.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06But did my parents want the same? Did Helmuth?
0:38:21 > 0:38:22EXPLOSIONS
0:38:27 > 0:38:32DISTANT EXPLOSIONS
0:38:32 > 0:38:37As every prisoner did, I etched a calendar in the stucco wall
0:38:37 > 0:38:39and I watched time pass.
0:38:41 > 0:38:46I was in a single cell for one person,
0:38:46 > 0:38:48which was, probably...
0:38:49 > 0:38:53The width was probably from here to there.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57And there was a wooden bed that would fall down
0:38:57 > 0:39:01and it had all sorts of nice creatures living in it.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05There seemed to be so little hope.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14It was either in November or December when I was taken back
0:39:14 > 0:39:19to the Gestapo headquarters for a second interrogation.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23And he was sitting there, grinning at me
0:39:23 > 0:39:26and said, "We have a surprise for you."
0:39:30 > 0:39:34And somebody came in, crawling on all fours
0:39:34 > 0:39:39and I realised it was Gehre, the man we had hidden.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43He could no longer walk and he could hardly speak,
0:39:43 > 0:39:49so he must have been tortured beyond the pale as many of them were.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54He was no longer a human being.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58It was just like an animal.
0:40:00 > 0:40:06His first question was, "I'm sure he had a very nice time in your house."
0:40:06 > 0:40:14And I just managed to say, "What are you talking about? Who is this?"
0:40:16 > 0:40:20"I know you are a traitor of the German Reich," he screamed.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24To which I remained silent.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29And after an hour and a half of this interrogation,
0:40:29 > 0:40:32Gehre was rolled back
0:40:32 > 0:40:37and I was led out without having admitted to anything at all.
0:40:48 > 0:40:49I decided to act sick.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54That would give me regular medical visits from a doctor
0:40:54 > 0:40:57and maybe the doctor would help me send and receive
0:40:57 > 0:40:59information from the outside.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06He agreed to help me communicate with the outside world.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08So there was a band of information.
0:41:10 > 0:41:15And that was wonderful for me, I had an idea where everybody was.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19'I had joined a work squad in my prison
0:41:19 > 0:41:23'in order to move some of the rubble against the basement windows.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27'People who were in this work squad
0:41:27 > 0:41:31'were considered less dangerous by our young guards.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34'And that made at least my life more bearable.'
0:41:36 > 0:41:41I didn't get details, but I heard that Helmuth was alive.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44I heard that my father was alive.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48But it was news of my mother that made my heart stop.
0:41:57 > 0:42:02I heard that my mother had been brought to a concentration camp.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05Ravensbruck was its name.
0:42:08 > 0:42:13By then, we knew what happened to Jews in concentration camps.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17- NEWSREEL:- 'Over the White House at Washington,
0:42:17 > 0:42:21'the flag flies at half-staff as a grief-stricken nation
0:42:21 > 0:42:24'mourns the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
0:42:24 > 0:42:26'President of the United States.'
0:42:27 > 0:42:32On April 12th, 1945, President Roosevelt died.
0:42:33 > 0:42:38There was great excitement among the SS prison guards,
0:42:38 > 0:42:40because they believed Hitler's propaganda
0:42:40 > 0:42:45that America would bow out of the war and Germany would be victorious.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51But it was the following day that the prison medic
0:42:51 > 0:42:55injected me with the last placebo injection.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57And his face was beaming.
0:42:58 > 0:43:02He claimed to have the most extraordinary news.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07My mother had been released.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10I was stunned.
0:43:10 > 0:43:12I couldn't...
0:43:12 > 0:43:15I just couldn't stop asking.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17He said he didn't know very much,
0:43:17 > 0:43:22but two SS people had delivered her in Berlin.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27From that moment on, I was sure that we somehow would make it.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31The two of us, at least, would make it.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46ARTILLERY FIRE
0:43:46 > 0:43:49- NEWSREEL:- 'The last flaming hours for a doomed city.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52'Berlin, once mighty metropolis of a proud nation,
0:43:52 > 0:43:56'now crumbles under the merciless pounding of Russian artillery.'
0:43:59 > 0:44:02First, you bomb everything out as much as you can.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05And then comes silence.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11It's this eerie silence - nothing, no sound.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15And then, suddenly, you hear sounds of the big boots.
0:44:15 > 0:44:16FOOTSTEPS POUND
0:44:16 > 0:44:18And then you know they're coming.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25GUNFIRE
0:44:30 > 0:44:34The Battle of Berlin was one of the bloodiest battles in history.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38People were dying everywhere.
0:44:38 > 0:44:43Even Hitler himself had committed suicide and lay dead in a bunker.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51We could hear the explosions get closer and closer to our prison.
0:44:55 > 0:44:59There were very few of us left and we were all political prisoners.
0:44:59 > 0:45:05So we kicked and kicked against the door and we said to them,
0:45:05 > 0:45:07"If you don't let us out,
0:45:07 > 0:45:10"we will make sure that you get killed by the Russians.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13"You can hear them already, you know they are coming."
0:45:13 > 0:45:15And, finally, they opened the door.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45Finally I made it to the Hedyekampf house and there I found my mother.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54My mother looked pitiful.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56She was just skin and bones.
0:45:56 > 0:46:03She only weighed 75 pounds, but it was a wonderful get-together.
0:46:03 > 0:46:08We were in each other's arms for a long time.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10And she felt like a bird.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28DISTANT GUNFIRE AND EXPLOSIONS
0:46:32 > 0:46:37The Russian soldiers were roaring drunk for an entire evening.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41Totally out of control of their officers,
0:46:41 > 0:46:43those who were not also drunk.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45It was a disaster.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48We didn't know what the Russians would do
0:46:48 > 0:46:51other than they would come in and leave with women on hand.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56And during that time, it was from one rape to another,
0:46:56 > 0:47:00whether you were a grandmother, a young girl, or a child.
0:47:07 > 0:47:12One evening, a young Russian officer found us in the basement.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16He saw me and said, "Frau, komm mit."
0:47:18 > 0:47:21So I did something, the only thing I could think of.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24I was wonderful at being cross-eyed,
0:47:24 > 0:47:29and made terrible gurgling and howling noise.
0:47:29 > 0:47:35Moaning and, "Urrgh," and was as revolting as I could be,
0:47:35 > 0:47:38like, throwing up, and all sorts of dreadful sounds.
0:47:39 > 0:47:44He thought I was sick and moved away immediately,
0:47:44 > 0:47:48because the Russians were terribly afraid of diseases.
0:47:49 > 0:47:52The majority of the women in Berlin were not so lucky.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02I had heard that my father had the last hearing
0:48:02 > 0:48:05of the People's Court on April 23rd.
0:48:06 > 0:48:11I was told that he had been condemned to death
0:48:11 > 0:48:15for listening to the radio.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22As far as Helmuth was concerned,
0:48:22 > 0:48:27I loved him, and I thought of him constantly.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30And I talked to him in my mind,
0:48:30 > 0:48:33but I didn't think I would ever see him again.
0:48:36 > 0:48:41My mother and I were depressed in many ways.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44We had lost the men of our lives.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55The door opened.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59As we looked around, it wasn't a Russian soldier.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01It was my father.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05He walked in, looking as if he had just come from the golf course,
0:49:05 > 0:49:11in somebody else's coat, well-fed.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14It was an unbelievable, wonderful sight.
0:49:15 > 0:49:20He had awaited execution when the Russians stormed the prison,
0:49:20 > 0:49:22killed all the guards,
0:49:22 > 0:49:26and let my father and all the prisoners go free.
0:49:29 > 0:49:34Of course, you can imagine how happy everybody was.
0:49:34 > 0:49:40We were standing there, completely overwhelmed, talking,
0:49:40 > 0:49:43when - five minutes later - the door opens again.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46And in walks Helmuth.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02- NEWSREEL:- 'War in Europe has ended.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06'The hour for which the world has been six years waiting has come.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10'Unconditionally and finally, our German enemy has surrendered
0:50:10 > 0:50:12'to Russia, to Britain and her Commonwealth,
0:50:12 > 0:50:15'to America, to the people of all free nations.'
0:50:35 > 0:50:39It was the first wedding in Berlin, as it turned out.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55We looked like lovers, I'm sure,
0:50:55 > 0:50:58but we didn't look like the usual bridal pair,
0:50:58 > 0:51:00because we were so funnily dressed -
0:51:00 > 0:51:04he had borrowed a suit that belonged to one of my other friends,
0:51:04 > 0:51:06who was much bigger in all directions.
0:51:08 > 0:51:10And I didn't have anything bridal.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14I had found an old piece of lace
0:51:14 > 0:51:17that I wrapped somehow around my head.
0:51:17 > 0:51:21And he had cut a wonderful bouquet for me
0:51:21 > 0:51:24of flowers that he found in a bombed-out garden.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28It was just a great moment.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40I think what makes our story unique is that there are four people
0:51:40 > 0:51:44and all in different places under these circumstances.
0:51:45 > 0:51:52None of us were injured. All four of use came together in one piece.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55That is extraordinary, isn't it?
0:53:42 > 0:53:45Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd