Women's Portraits

Erdmute Gabler

Erdmute was born in 1929. The motto of the 81-year-old woman is: "Music, people and nature are my life".

Childhood and youth

Erdmute´s parents came from Dresden and Brandenburg. Her father was a bookseller. He settled in Ulm, because from there he could reach his beloved mountains very quickly.

In her childhood Erdmute often sang and she also hiked in the mountains. At the age of ten she climbed a mountain which is more than 3000 meters high.  Her childhood and youth were influenced by the Third Reich. Erdmute joined the Nazi youth organization and became a leader. She was fascinated by the outings, the feeling of community, the campsite fires, and the songs.  As a child she enjoyed singing Nazi songs without thinking of the contents. As an adult  she was shocked.

In the Second World War her father had to join the army. During a holiday in the mountains he died in a snow-storm, while the children and their mother were waiting for him in a mountain refuge. After the death of her father Erdmute´s mother ran the bookstore alone, and Erdmute helped her in the store. In 1944 the family home was completely destroyed in an air raid. Her mother and the two  daughters were evacuated to a village where they had to live in a tiny room. Often is was cold and they were hungry. For six months Erdmute had to work as a farm hand.  After seeing schoolchildren in a neighbouring town Erdmute begged her mother to let her go to school again. Her mother agreed, and during the week Erdmute stayed in the town with a family. After finishing the Gymnasium Erdmute wanted to study music, but there was not enough money.  Studying at a teachers`training college was free, and so she became a primary school teacher.  Later she continued her studies and obtained a degree for teaching German and English at a secondary school.

Working phase

Erdmute was an enthusiastic teacher and worked in different schools. She liked organizing trips and outings and she often sang with the children. In her classes she also explained to the children how Nazism had influenced her childhood and youth.

She played the flute and the gambe and participated in music workshops, where she met all kinds of people. Besides school she met with friends to make music, and she joined a group to play the flute and the gambe. She sang in two choirs, and she taught children how to play the flute. Often she went to a meditation centre, where she gained a number of interesting insights and a new outlook on life. She also enjoyed  outdoor activities such as hiking with friends, her sister and her mother.

All her relatives lived in the German Democratic Republic. Nearly every year she travelled there with her mother and her sister in order to keep in touch and to support them. In the school holidays Erdmute travelled a lot. Travelling widened her horizon and gave her new ideas and impressions.

Erdmute never married. Today she is sometimes wondering what her life would be like with children and  grandchildren.

Looking back, Erdmute says that the age between 30 and 60 were the most enjoyable part of her life: She liked her work, made a lot of music and, in the music groups, she met a lot of interesting people.

Retirement

Erdmute retired at the age of 62. Then she began to teach German to Russian Jews and she also helped Polish people. Thus she became interested in the countries they came from. Seven times she went to Poland and Russia.

Erdmute is interested in many subjects. She reads a lot, at the moment books about the preservation of our planet and the creation of earth, scientifically and spiritually.

She is not too much interested in politics. However, she watches the news on TV regularly and discusses it with other people. Often she watches historical programmes.

In addition she wrote a number of books. In 2007 she published "In die Stille lauschen"

("Listening to Silence") and a collection of poems. She has continued writing poems until today.

She wrote the book "Auch ich rief begeistert, Heil Hitler" ("Even I shouted Heil Hitler with enthusiasm") with the subtitle  "Mein Weg auf der Suche nach Wahrheit" ("My Way in Search for  Truth"). In this book she analyses Nazi songs and tries to understand and cope with her former enthusiam for the Third Reich.

A while ago she had to give up a lot of the things she liked to do in the past. She used to be a member of a peace group, and she was also in a group preparing church services. What is more, she cannot make big journeys any more.

Now she is 81 years of age. Every week she meditates in a group and she goes to a meditative dance. She also sings in a choir. She drives there in her own car. She would like to do more, for example play music in a group. However, the musicians she used to play with are too old now.

She has a close relationship to her sister. They take a deep interest in each other. They live in different apartments, but they often visit each other and have meals together.  Her sister is a devoted cook, Erdmute does not  like cooking so much. Right now she is planning a trip to Switzerland with her sister.

For  25 years Erdmute has had dogs. A dog has always been on her side. She does not need a computer, however. She prefers writing letters by hand and making phone calls.

Erdmute is content with her life. She has always been able to fulfil herself and to make her own decisions. Her work, music, travelling, and reading gave her great pleasure. Various experiences and friendships with different people enriched her life.

She read reports about people who were supposed to be dead, and since that time she has known that when we die "we will be enveloped in the great love".

Christel Freitag-Wagner