Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 5 February 1944 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
7 pp. with envelope
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Hella Anna Maria Scholz was born in Berlin on 29 December 1928 as the younger of the two daughters of Bruno Scholz, a merchant in building materials, and Klara née Kaiser. She was educated in Berlin. In 1942, she met Günther Junge, a pilot with the German Luftwaffe. They remained a couple until Günther’s death in an air battle on 27 January 1944.
After the war, Hella worked as a laboratory assistant for a British military medical unit in Hannover. Here, she met her future husband, an Englishman named William Fuller. They married on 1 January 1951 at the Ploughley & Bullingdon Register Office in Oxford, and in February of that year Hella became a British citizen. She and her husband lived in Oxfordshire and had no children. Hella later moved to Penarth in Glamorgan, Wales, where she died on 31 January 2003.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
From Gertrud Junge in Nasiedle. Gertrud informs Hella about Günther’s death. On 27 January, Günther chased an enemy fighter from Deelen (Netherlands) to Berlin. That night at about 9 p.m., Günther’s father happened to be outside during an air raid alarm. He saw a seemingly damaged night fighter giving light signals and looking for the Tempelhof airfield flying over their house. A few minutes later, a Bf110 crashed into the nearby allotment gardens in Berlin-Britz. After many investigations, the two dead pilots were identified as Günther and his comrade Schlüter. Apparently, a flight mechanic had also been on board, but no one knows what happened to him. When Günther flew over his parents’ house to symbolically say goodbye, it was still standing. Two days later, it went up in flames. It is uncertain why Günther and Schlüter did not eject before they crashed. His brother Friedolf thinks that Schlüter was wounded, maybe Günther too, and that Günther was confident that he could safely land the plane. Günther is currently laid out in the reserve military hospital in Berlin Charlottenburg, Spandauer Chaussee 1. Even though he was advised not to go and see Günther, his father insists on seeing his son one last time. He will try everything to shed light on what really happened that night and is only a shadow of his former self. Gertrud tries to be a strong soldier’s mother even though she lost everything. She thanks Hella for the love she showed Günther. Gertrud wants to meet Hella and talk to her soon since she hopes to learn more about her son’s innermost thoughts from her. Günther’s last sign of life was a letter of 25 January. By the time it arrived, he was already dead. He also called his father in Berlin on 23 January and told him that he was a little sad that he had not shot any enemies yet and that this would change soon. Gertrud believes that Günther insisted on shooting an enemy fighter that night and that that is what got him killed. The funeral will likely take place on Wednesday, 6 February. Günther’s father will let Hella’s family in Berlin know. She tells Hella to get in touch with him to stay up-to-date. With envelope.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- German