Gerda Christian

Gerda Christian (December 13, 1913 – April 14, 1997; born "Gerda Daranowski") was one of the private secretaries of Adolf Hitler during World War II.

Biography

"Dara" (how Hitler referred to her) started working for him in 1937 after his secretaries Johanna Wolf and Christa Schroeder had complained about having too much work. They asked for assistance but Hitler hesitated because he didn't want to employ a third secretary. He had grown accustomed to Wolf and Schroeder and did not wish to see a completely new face in his inner circle. He finally gave in and hired Gerda Daranowski, who had been working for Elisabeth Arden.

She married Luftwaffe officer Eckhard Christian in February 1943 and took a break from her employment for Hitler. She was replaced by Traudl Junge, but re-entered service in early 1943.

One of the last remaining occupants of the Führerbunker at the end of the war, Christian tried to escape Berlin on 1 May along with a large group including secretaries Else Krüger and Traudl Junge. The group, hiding in a cellar, was captured by the Soviets on the morning of 2 May. Christian was repeatedly gang raped by soldiers of the Red Army in the woods near Berlin. [Cite book |last= O'Donnell|first= James P. |title= The Bunker |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=fR0afUUXVOkC&pg=PA211&lpg=PA211&dq=%22gerda+christian%22+raped&source=web&ots=2LwpbYiHYZ&sig=_TgUJd1hyq5BzlUWF2G7_1LL5-Y&hl=en |accessdate= 2008-12-04 |year= 2001 |publisher= De Capo Press |isbn=0306809583]

After the war, she lived in Düsseldorf, where she worked at the Hotel Eden. She was a friend of Werner Naumann, a former state secretary in the Third Reich's propaganda ministry and a leader of a postwar neo-Nazi group. She died of cancer in Düsseldorf in 1997.

Portrayal in the media

Gerda Christian has been portrayed by the following actresses in film and television productions.
* Sheila Gish in the 1973 British film "".cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070184/ | title = Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973) | accessdate = May 8 | accessdaymonth = | accessmonthday = | accessyear = 2008 | author = | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | date = | year = | month = | format = | work = | publisher = IMDb.com | pages = | language = English | doi = | archiveurl = | archivedate = | quote = ]
* Mitzi Rogers in the 1973 British television production "The Death of Adolf Hitler".cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283307/ | title = The Death of Adolf Hitler (1973) (TV) | accessdate = May 8 | accessdaymonth = | accessmonthday = | accessyear = 2008 | author = | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | date = | year = | month = | format = | work = | publisher = IMDb.com | pages = | language = English | doi = | archiveurl = | archivedate = | quote = ]
* Birgit Minichmayr in the 2004 German film "Downfall" ("Der Untergang").cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363163/ | title = Untergang, Der (2004) | accessdate = May 8 | accessdaymonth = | accessmonthday = | accessyear = 2008 | author = | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | date = | year = | month = | format = | work = | publisher = IMDb.com | pages = | language = English | doi = | archiveurl = | archivedate = | quote = ]

References