Chemnitz contemporary witnesses: Gertraude Hilbert
I can't forget those nights. I still remember them clearly. When the power went out and we were sitting in the dark cellar, I was overcome with fear.
A burning siren flew into the room. Panic broke out immediately. People wanted to get out. The folding stools fell over. People were pushing and shoving. You could hardly move forwards. It was important for me not to lose my mother and brother.
For a long time afterwards, I didn't realise that there was no longer a home, that everything in the flat had been burnt - our goldfish, my dolls and the toys.
Contemporary witness brochures
The eternal March
Picture: Stadt Chemnitz
Memories of a childhood during the war
The last witnesses
When the old Chemnitz died in a hail of bombs