Civilian Censorship Division

Munich, Germany

After leaving the hospital, Kurt helped set Gerda up in Munich where she was able to get a job for the first time.

After being in the hospital for several months, Kurt made arrangements for Gerda to go to Munich, Germany. Germany at the time was now occupied by Allied powers (United States, England, France, and Russia) and there was a need for workers who could speak German and were not former Nazis. Gerda was able to get a job at the Civilian Censorship Division. (Klein, 243) Her job was to read mail from Germans to see if there were any Nazis hiding in public or the surrounding areas. If anything was found, Gerda would report it to the division for further action.

While in Munich, Gerda would visit the German Museum. She describes the visit as a reminder of the displaced families because of the war, “I often visited the German Museum which now housed a multitude of displaced persons. There, too, were the offices of UNRRA, where daily were posted names of people who had survived and were looking for their kin. I would scan the lists, hoping to find a familiar name.” (Klein, 244) Gerda still had hope that one day she would see some information on her family and that they were able to survive the war.

In September of 1945, Kurt visited Gerda in Munich to let her know that he would have to travel back to the United States. Gerda thought that she would never see Kurt again after this, but the surprise came when Kurt told her that he wanted to marry her. (Klein, 245). Kurt would travel home to get arrangements together so the two could be married and Gerda would be able to immigrate to the United States. Over the next year, Gerda and Kurt would exchange letters with each other until Kurt came back for her in 1946.

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