Application form for emergency intake procedure, 1958
Waltraud and Erich Kosak live with their six-year-old daughter in Helbra when they decide to leave the GDR at the end of the 1950s. The idea comes from Erich, who openly expresses his opinions at work in coal mining, which often leads to confrontations with authorities. Initially, Waltraud Kosak is unsure whether this step is the right one, as the family is currently building a house. In the end, however, she agrees, and the family travels separately to Berlin: Erich disguises himself as a traveling salesman, while Waltraud pretends to visit a relative in East Berlin with her daughter Carola. The deception almost gets uncovered: on the train, the daughter is questioned separately from the mother because an official finds it odd that Waltraud is carrying so much children’s toy. Nevertheless, Carola sticks to the story about visiting relatives, and thus mother and daughter finally reach West Berlin unhindered. In the reception camp in Berlin-Marienfelde, the Kosak family must first go through an intake process. The necessary steps are illustrated by the family’s application form – and it shows that not every procedure only takes two weeks. The first date stamp is from November 29, 1957. The admission is approved on December 9, 1957. However, the last entry in Marienfelde is still made on January 20, 1958. The application shows that the family is later transferred to Bremen. The journey finally goes via Hamburg to Bremerhaven, where the family initially lives in a camp – on Barkhausenstrasse. Erich Kosak dies in 1997. Waltraud Kosak still lives in Bremerhaven today.
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