Wednesday

Berlin, Who was this woman?

In the late 70s I lived in Berlin for two years. My husband was in the military and was stationed at Field Station Berlin. We lived in an apartment off base on the corner of Ringstrasse and Finckensteinalle Alle about a mile from the Andrews installation. We walked in and out of those front gates a thousand times. After a while I began to notice an older woman standing across the street on the corner. At first my mind just acknowledged that she was there.

Then I began to wonder why she was there. Her posture was stooped and even if she stood straight, she probably wasn't anymore then five feet tall. Always shroud in very dark garments, dark shoes and a dark scarf around her head. You could barely see her face. Even during the hottest part of the summer she wore the same clothing. The closest I ever saw her was from the other side of the street. I was very young, hardly knew any German and would have never considered walking up to her and talking to her. But, I was very curious about her.





Andrews holds a rich and dark history. It began life as a Prussian Cadet School, housed Hitler's SS, then the Russians, contained the 1936 Olympic pool, then the US Army Security Agency. It was also the center point for the "Night of the Long Knives." It was a place that when you visited you had that creepy, goose bump reaction. (there were many of those places in Berlin for me, including one room of our apartment) We visited Andrews often to pick up mail, visit with friends, watch a movie, or visit the small PX.

At some point we asked the gate guard what the old woman's story was. There seemed to be two stories. The first was that this woman's husband had gone to Andrew's on the night of the long knives and was never seen again. The other story was that her son had been a member of the SS and had gone into Andrew's and never came out. Either, or both stories could be true.



It was rumored that there were many tunnels and passages below the installation and that many people entered and never returned. There were stories that the Olympic pool once held hundreds of dead bodies. I didn't know that story until recently, but can say that I never swam in that pool because the entire building gave me the creeps. I have searched for her story on the internet, but have only found a few references to her made by American military personnel. Perhaps I would find something if my German was better.

It always gave my heart a pang when I saw the woman. It never mattered the time of day or the weather...she was always there. I imagine that many people stopped to talk to her during her early sentinel days, but after a period of time just saw her as a fixture, always there. She was very old when we were there and I have thought of her many times and wondered how much longer she stood vigilant.


Photo Credit: History of the World, McGraw Hill, Eight Weeks in the Conquered City --cover art

14 reviews:

picciolo said...

oh what a sad story, she must have really loved the person she hoped would reappear

Waterrose said...

Yes, it was sad and I hope one day to find out more about her.

LOVE ART WORKS by KRISTIN LOVE said...

Wow! Incredible Story Rose, very powerful and moving. If you ever find out who she was, let me know...
And that whole place sounds super creepy, I've got gooseflesh just reading about it.....
xo
Kristin

Dennice {Fringe} said...

What a gripping and sad story. I'm like you in that I would still be thinking of that woman, as you are.

War is such a tragedy. This woman probably had more than one loss in her life, due to war, and I can't even imagine her pain. War leaves a trail of tears no matter what side you're on.

Waterrose said...

Yes, the story has haunted me since seeing her. For me, Berlin was haunting in many aspects...with so many stories.

Heather Leavers said...

Great story - and congrats on getting republished!

Linda said...

A wonderful account. I have been to Berlin many times, and I find it a fascinating city that has so many corners where untold stories seem to hang in the air. Thanks for telling this one.

-Engelfelt

l'actrice said...

What a story Rose and what an amazing experience. Since I've been living in Berlin for a few years, I could feel the dark sides.

Unknown said...

Swam in that pool many times in '77 & '78.
Remember the statues that stood outside it.
Believe I spoke with the once while getting pomfrits from the cart outside the gate.
Worked at Tempelhof in the airport hangers which were being used as warehouses.
I met Gerhardt.. the 'keeper of the keys' at Tempelhof.. Rumor was He had been a teenager when the troops took the airport.. somehow wound up with the keys to many of the buildings & tunnels and the troops kept him around and he stayed working there for his wholelife.. old before his time.
I worked the 25 anniversary of the Airlift giving tours of the candy bomber and a c141.

Unknown said...

Edit.. spoke with the 'woman' once...

Ethan R said...

Good reeading

Anonymous said...

Read your wonderful story . I was there 60-62. With the Army. Worked at Templehof. Thank you

Anonymous said...

My husband and I were in Berlin in 71-72. He was stationed at Andrews also. I’m pretty sure we lived in the same building you did. Our address was 49A Ringstra. It was on the corner of Ringstra and Finckensteinallee. We had a German couple upstairs named Herbert and Frieda. They had a daughter named Heidi who spoke English. My oldest daughter was born in Berlin. I was only 19 at the time but it was an experience. My daughter and her daughters and I had planned to go to Berlin but Covid put a stop to that. Maybe some day we can go back and she can see where she was born. It was such a shock to see where you lived when you were there. I think there were always Americans living in that apartment. Opa and Oma were like our grandparents while we were there. They didn’t speak English but we communicated. Brought back a lot of memories.

Anonymous said...

We lived in West Berlin 1975-1978 and went to Andrews Barracks all the time. My Dad did tell us the story of the dead in the pool, and that it was never drained because the smell from the bodies had penetrated the cement. I told that story to someone recently who had also been stationed at Andrews and they corroborated the story. Our first apartment was on the economy, but then we moved into our housing located right across the street from the high school. Thank you for your story.

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