Chemnitz contemporary witnesses: Anita Aurich
It was 5 March 1945.
I lived at 29 Bismarckstrasse with my brother, mother and grandmother. My father was a prisoner of war in France. When the sirens sounded, we went to the bomb shelter. I was 14, my brother was 12, and we crouched fearfully in the cellar with the hail of bombs above us. 2 prisoners of war came into our cellar, they were supporting a sick comrade. When it was over, we went outside. The sky was glowing red, there was some snow. The stock spinning mill was on fire. Prisoners of war were housed there. Mrs Kunze had a large ground-floor flat. She took my family and some of the residents into her flat. Nobody said a word - everyone had to come to terms with what had happened.
A few days later, my mother took us children to her aunt. She lived in the village. We were safe there.
Contemporary witness brochures
The eternal March
Memories of a childhood during the war
The last witnesses
When the old Chemnitz died in a hail of bombs