In 1938 Berlin, Frieda Adam and Erna Puterman were working as seamstresses and enjoying a close friendship. But following the implementation of Nazi oppression the dynamic of their lives changed.
Erna Puterman was forced to leave her job, because she was Jewish. Yet the girls remained friends, Frieda refused to let the anti-Jewish laws affect her. In September 1942, Erna’s mother was exiled to Auschwitz leaving Erna to care for her deaf brother alone, Frieda helped. Frieda told Erna, ”as long as there is food for us, there will be food for you, too.” Erna and her brother went into hiding under Frieda’s protection.
Frieda sheltered Erna and her brother for two years in her home and continued to arrange for her safety until the end of the war.
Edited by Matthew London
