Women's Portraits

Dorothea Richter

Childhood and education

Dorothea Richter was born in Opole in Upper Silesia as the second of three sisters. Her parents had a very social attitude, which had shaped her live.
When the family, during her elementary school period, moved to a village, she was there the girl of the city. She played theater, made music and motivated the village children with her interests and ideas. To attend the convent high school, she had to go back to Oppole to live wirh her gandparents and from the age of 10 years she had an extraordinary autonomy and had to do any decision by herself.

After finishing middle school she started a business education in a department store in Opole. Previously, she completed the obligatory service for young people on a farm where she had to work very hard, but she was treated always correctly by the farmers.
Shortly after the beginneng of the second world war, her father died. Her sisters were married early. The mother worked as a housekeeper in a military training camp. She got a job in a commercial enterprise.

Flight to Western Germany and Marriage

In early 1945, the young woman fled from the Russians in direction of West Germany. She arrived a few months later in Minden, where she started working on a farm. By chance, she soon had contact with her family and her fiancé from Opole. Released from American captivity her future husband was lodged in the house of a war comerade in a large kitchen of an old villa in Olpe. There he brought his fiancée and they married immediately. From an old truck the young engineer rigged up a transport vehicle and started operating a small business. "The difficult time was anyway a good time, we had a great circle of friends, who was ready for any help. I sang in a choir with wonderful performances of oratorios," told me Mrs. Richter. The cuisine served five years as an accommodation. Dorothea's mother and grandfather also lived temporarily with  the young couple. 1949 her son Hartmut was born there. After a few months turned out that he was suffering from an incurable mental disability. From now, the sorrow for the son became the center of her life. She accepted the fate of how it was and wanted to make the best out of it with all her energy.

Professional Life

A brother of her husband, a former teacher, offered them a new existence near of Stuttgart. The small family should join the newly established bus companiy. In 1950 they moved into a house in Filderstadt near of Stuttgart. For the child's education nothing was too expensive, but usually there was not enough money. So the mother worked with all her efforts. The progress of the son made great joy. He learned to read and write. In young age, he was employed in a sheltered workshop. To reach this place, the mother had to travel 70 km every day by car. Because of her  cheerful disposition, her skillful operation and the talent to  handle with people helpful and kind allowed her to get a good job as a publishing executive. The place of the job was on the way to Hartmut's workshop.
In addition to her family the Silesian Association was also very important. With old and new friends from the old country, the Silesian couple committed to the common free time and spent a lot of nice and sociable years in this region. They even were honoured for their social work by the community.

Hartmut however, made trouble again and again with his disability and disturbed many people. The family was looking for a suitable environment for their son. The accommodation in a house for mental disabled "Tannenhof in Ulm-Wiblingen was finally a satisfactory solution. Hartmut was promoted there and felt like home. The parents visited him regularly, and to all special days, he came home.

Retirement

Meanwhile, the couple reached the retirement age and they stopped working. A new life began. They had enough money and time to realize a dream to see the world. Only a calendar is left, which documents the travelling time of the couple, explained Mrs. Richter during my visit. No continent was left out. In New Zealand they drove round in a rented car. In Nepal, they experienced the mountains and above all the gracious people. So it was in America, India, South and North Africa, China and many other countries. Unfortunately, Mr. Richter fell ill seriously with 84 years. The idea matured to give up the house in Filderstadt and to move into an apartment close to their son. But unfortunately, Mr. Richter could enjoy the new home in Ulm, a few steps away from the house for disabled of his son, for only a few months.

New home in Ulm

Mrs. Richter, now 83 years old, soon felt homelike in the surroundings of her  3-room apartment in a Wiblinger building. Before moving, all unnessessary  things had been sorted  out. It was not easy to separate from  many cherished things. In this way, unfortunately, travel records and albums unwillingly have been lost.

The newcomer quickly made several friends in her apartment house . She was introduced into the social and cultural life of the district where she participates now very actively.

New activities

In the home for the disabled, she especially found a series of meaningful activities. Some roommate of her son and Hartmut himself, of course, are always very happy about her frequent visits which she creates very entertaining with hours of reading and tinkering. By her cheerful and encouraging nature, she seems to be an indispensable support of home care.

Looking back and Perspectives

She looks back gratefully on her life and feels happy and satisfied. "Hartmut keeps me alive," she insists, "it could have been worse if I see other cases in the home". The mother and son always spend weekends together at her home.

Her enthusiasm for travelling, nevertheless, has not decreased. New ventures led her to the Münsterland visiting various relatives, or to the former home in Silesia in contemporary Poland and recently on a cruise through the Mediterranean. In the summer of 2011 she has booked a trip to Andalusia.. The now 88-old lady is hoping still staying fit and healthy for a while, she wants going on to follow her motto, "get to know people, be helpful and to explore the world", she is optimistic about the future.

Technical Part of the Interview

The interview was performed on 28 April 2011 in the afternoon at the home of Mrs. Dorothea Richter. She offered tea and biscuits. Interviewer was Brigitte Nguyen- Duong. For technical assistance, a tape recorder was running during the three-hour conversation. The prepared questionnaire was used only for the initial questions. It was unfavorable to hear longer stories from the biography,. The questions would have been disturbing. The final assessment of life was recorded with a video camera. Finally, the portait of  Mrs Richter was set up based on the voluminous notes.

Mrs Richter agrees with the publication of her portrait and her photos on the EWA Website.

Brigitte Nguyen-Duong