Luise Wegscheider was born in March 1949 during of the Berlin blockade that ended just six weeks later in May. Hildegard Wegscheider was her grandfather’s first wife. She resides in Berlin enjoying her retirement after 40 years of teaching.
She has published two novels under the pseudonym “Vera Wendt” Ilona — verführt zur Stasi-Agentin in Bonn (2015) and Nicht nur am Leben bleiben (2020).
Hildegard Wegscheider and I share a surname, kinship ties, and a profession.
What an eventful life she led! Hildegard Wegscheider née Ziegler experienced the conservative monarchy of the German Empire, the unstable Weimar Republic with its inflation, the Great Depression, the cruelties of the Nazi dictatorship, two world wars, and finally the beginnings of reconstruction and political division in her devastated country. Growing up in a time when few women possessed rights and were subordinate to men - and this was not only the case in Germany - she spent a lifetime fighting for women’s rights and women’s education.
She was the first wife of my grandfather, Dr. Max Wegscheider. In 1906 they divorced and Max married my grandmother Martha. The children from both marriages went on regular vacations with their father and felt they belonged together throughout their lives. They passed on this sense of family to my generation.
“Öhmi” died when I was four years old. I have no personal memories of her. The idea of writing about her life came to me during the preparations for my last book.
Credits - Impressum
Original title in German: Aufrecht, mutig und bescheiden
©2021 Luise Wegscheider
©2022 Luise Wegscheider
Publisher: Self published through Amazon.com
Translated from German by Dr. Alan Nothnagle
Cover design and website: Vanguardistas
Luise's photographer: Vivian Werk
ISBN: 9798355500542
Printed in the USA
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