Person:Anna Erdmann (4)

The following description of Anna was written on 2 Sep 1936 by her nephew Alf red Henry Kramm w hile visiting Germany.

"Aunt Anna is a very intelligent woman. She is well educated, very sociable and agreeable. She speaks a fine German. She has man y friends who are always calling on her. As is sometimes the case with educated women they are a little careless about housework. And thus it was with Aunt Anna although one can hardly fault her for that; things were just enough disorderly to be comfortable.

"Both U ncle Georg and Aun t Anna like to collect things from all parts of the world. They have nicknacks from al most every countr y in Europe and even some oriental things. One of their rooms is furnished in the original fur niture of 100 years ago. They are especially fond of items with historical value.

"Aunt Anna is 5' 6", a little taller than Uncle Georg. She has brown hair and brown eyes. Her voice is high pitched and cultivated. She, like U ncle Georg, is generous, kind and is willing to do almost anything to please someone. She has a nervous disposition or perhaps it is excitement. Once we went to the Olympic games together. The closer we got to the stadium the more excited she became and when we were finally at the stadium she broke into a run.

"When I was preparing to go around the world she was very concer ned I'd get lost or would n't have enough money or something. She helped me by selling my bicycle and two traveling bags so I would have enough money to bu y my Summar F:2 Leica lens. And then she spent ever so much time in getting add resses of places for me to visit in foreign countries.

"While I was staying at their home, ever y evening she would serve me meat for dinner even though she and U ncle Georg never ate meat. She was under the im pression that I liked meat and nothing I could say could dissuade her. She forced me, almost, to eat double portions of everything. She would say, "Now are the seven years of plent y. In a little while there will be seven years of famine." How prophetic this turned out to be, the bombing of Berlin and the de eat of Germany in WW-II!

Coping with the bombing of Berlin and WWII

Letters from Anna Kramm, 17 Apr 1947 - 18 Jan 1953

World War II was very hard on the Kramm families living in Germany. Sev eral letters were written by Gerog's wif e, Anna, to her brother-in-law, Al fred M. Kramm, living in America d e scribing what they went through. Portions are quoted below.

Berlin-Dahlem, 17 Apr 1947

"When the (air ) attacks on Berlin be came critical, I lef t for the mou ntains ( Riesengebirge) staying here and there and leading a genuine gypsy lif e be cause Icould not spend longer period s of time in any one place.

"In August of 1943 I found a good place to stay in Sudetengau to w hich m y dear and true companion, since Georg's death (15 Jun 1937) , Miss Boesler, also came with many of my belongings and books. In this small Czech town we helped the ver y poor population through tailoring and farm work and f elt quite well, only we were d riven out in May of 1945.

"Thus we were forced to share the difficult fate with all of the other ref u gees. We were not allowed to pack our belongings with us and what we were able to carry soon was lef t behind because we spent 12 days just walking. Nights we spent in camps and thus we arrived exhausted on. the 11th of June. For nourish ment we had one hu nk of bread and we had to nou rish ourselves with what we had taken along, except for three times that we received soup.

"Both of our apartments were pre served. The Russians had penetrated into Berlin first in our district and had spent 14 days in my apartment, causing much destruction. Door panels of cup boards were k nocked out, lamps had been thrown out the window, every thing had been tur ned upside down and they had taken along whatever they liked. Everything which Georg had acquired with so much dedication and everything which I had taken care of was gone.

"People whose living quarters had been bom bed lived in my apartment and they were very displeased that I laid claim to one room. The beginning was diffi cult and only limited space was as signed to me. How of ten did I wish then that one of your sons had been among the occupying troops so that one could have washed clothing for him and his comrades in retur n for food. With out connections one could not even get such wor k. Eventually one began to manage.

"In January of 1946 I had to clear out of my apartment quickly. It was requi sitioned for American signal-communica tions auxiliar y people. We were again only allowed to take along such person al belongings as beds and clothing, etc. We had received these after the death of a family friend , whom we had been taking care of , so that we would have something to wear and would not freeze. Through two winters we wore these warm things with great gratitude.

I moved into Miss Boesler's kitchen since her apartment was also used by foreigners. Thus we lived for one year. Miss Boesler looked for work outside the house. I sewed, picked her bs in the summer, because there was no pen sion, since the money was gone, and since Georg was not a party mem ber. I received 35 marks in support money.

"Thus things went until Januar y 1947. She lost her job and we had to move out again. We found a place to stay in a heavily damaged villa in Dahlem. The house is being renovated. We moved in here during the severe cold of mid March. Five weeks now we lived in the cellar and the laundry where it is, of course, very damp. Wor kers are begin ning to repair the roof and the walls. Glass is being installed in the windows and when all is read y we shall have two rooms and even a balcon y facing south. A bathroomis being turnedinto a kitchen.Miss Boesler has found a job in a near by hospital to w hich she goes early in the morning and from which she returns quite late. Thus I am alone the whole day taking care of our joint home which is now so small.

"You can hardly imagine what great joy you r CARE package, which arrived here is the meantime, brought me. Now once again we have something good to eat, even a small supply. How shall I thank you for it? It is truly very kind of you and I unfortu nately can off er you noth ing for it. I cannot even send you any of our jewelry for it was all removed b y the Russians through the state bank. Thus I literally have nothing other than m y most sincere and kind thanks and a "may God repay you " wish.

"My dear Georg, who, f rom the world beyond , has taken care of me so far, is no dou bt most happy about your kind help. I think it is good that one has the conviction of one's relationship with one's deceased relatives af ter their death. His friend from his school years, Walter Vegevahn, about whom I wrote to you several times, through him he arrived at our philosophy of lif e, has been transferred by his office to Thuringen. With him we visited our mu tual friend , Otto Scheele. He too is interested in this philosoph y of lif e. It is allowed again. Many years during Hitler 's reign it was forbidden. For us, who live devoted to this idea, it was ver y painf ul. Bu t general interest in it is now all the stronger. I owe to it the fact that I have found the strength to accept the difficult strokes of fate w hich in recent times came my way."

Berlin-Dahlem, 29 Apr 1947

"To my great joy a second CARE pack age has arrived. I was unable to de termine if it came from you or your son. To whoever may have sent it to me, my sincerest thanks. It contained once again all of the wonderf ul things which are of great use to us but which are not available here. I have alread y asked m yself what I could off er you in retur n. As I have alread y written, all jewelr y, with the exception of my wed ding ring, is gone, and the ring I would only part with in the greatest of need. However, I still have a genuine, en graved , silver bowl, which Georg re ceived from his company. At that time, in 1933, its value was 75 mar ks. How ever, how could I arrange to get it to you? Should you, as a businessman, have connections, then let me k now. I would glad ly present you with this bowl so that it may stay in our family, and so that you may have a small memento of brot her and uncle.

"...It is high time that we should move ou t of the cellar and the laund ry room because rheumatism is making itself felt. Given the cold spring we are having, it is not at all surprising. Our oven/heater is, to be sure, on order and paid for, but it is not yet been delivered. It should really be installed before the painting. I may have to expedite matters through cigarettes in this case as well. Thus you can see what a great blessing you r packages are for me.

"We opened one of the cans. It con tained marvelous sausage w hich was especially welcome since we are having difficulty with the delivery of gro ceries. If it were not for the man y German-Americans who send their rela tives so much, many people would die of starvation. Off icially released statistics for the month of March indicated that 8,000 people had frozen to death and that 26,000 amputations took place. These are frightening num bers and they probably ref lect only the situation in the Russian zone.

"Our f ruit trees are in full bloom now, but given the cold weat her no bees can pollinate. In fact, we are running the danger of having the blossoms freeze. All of that points to a poor harvest, and we do need fruit badly as nou rishment for all. We too have a small gard en next to our house and I can, with the friendly per mission of our land lad y, sit in the arbor. This means a great deal to me because for me it is too far to walk to get to pu blic par k s and I do like to spend time in the open air. Cress has been planted, partly for consumption, bu t also to have flowers to pick for our rooms. "

Berlin-Dahlem 18 Jan 1953

".During April and May I didn't feel good , it was my heart again. Much excitement and bitterness was the cause of my more or less ph ysical collapse. In order to receive our own little apartment where we used to live, we had to fight for 8 months. Well, we have one now and we are very content, even though we had to take in a family, but they are ver y friendly and good to get along with. I can only say we have now recovered from all this harass.

"...Politically, of course, we suffer due to the pressu re the Russians apply to the people in the Western part of Ger man y. We only hope there will be no new collision. One can imagine what difficulties arise when a city like Berlin is divided. Even the transportation by trolley, bus and elevated lines go through the East-sector. Due to the diff erence in currency, 1-D Mark-West equals 5-D Mar k-East, the prices of food are considerably high.

"...Have you still relations living in your house? I believe that wonderf ul winter coat came from her. The coat being blue and rat her for young peo ple, I had it dyed and made to fit. I'm ver y proud of it and I can't express in words how happy I am. Many, many thanks. Of ten I think of you in grati tude for all you have done for us. Miss Boesler still wears that colored silk dress and is very happy over it.

"...Viola has her Doctors Degree and she is employed as an assistant in the West Sector. It is not so easy getting em ployment here because she started her studies in the East-Sector and the West don't recognize the U niversity of the East. Lisbeth suffers quite a bit from rheumatism, especially her hands and legs. She wanted to visit us yesterday but due to the ice on the streets she probably preferred to stay home."