Chemnitz contemporary witnesses: Ursula Poerschmann
On the evening of 5 March 1945, my mother and I (my father was at war) and other residents were sitting in the air-raid shelter of our house at Holzweberstr. 47 (now Wiesenstr.) because of an air-raid alarm.
After our house was hit by an incendiary bomb, we had to leave the cellar. On the street we saw that there was a blaze to the left and right of Kasernenstr. (Clara-Zetkin-Str.) as far as Moritzstraße. We ran to Bernsbach Platz. On the way there we saw how the SA street (Reitbahnstrasse) was also on fire. Ritterstrasse was also on fire on the left-hand side as far as Zschopauer Strasse. A few houses on Fritz-Reuter-Str - Apollostr - Bernsdorfer Str - Reichenhainer Str were also on fire.
While the two Bernsbach schools were destroyed by demolition bombs, the fire inferno was caused by phosphorus bombs.
My mother and I ran after the many people who were running down Reichenhainer towards Erfenschlag. We also had to pass many burning houses (Stadtler Str., Dittesstr. including Dittesschule).
After short breaks to catch our breath and some compassionate people who gave us something to eat, we arrived in Ehrenfriedersdorf on 6 March in the afternoon. We were given shelter in a refugee camp in the Ehrenfriedersdorf school and were allowed to stay.
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