Supercentenarian Profile

Else Aßmann

Born:

1902-02-18

Glashütte, Brandenburg

Germany

Died:

2013-02-15

Berlin

Germany

✔ Age Certified by LongeviQuest

Else Aßmann (née Kaiser) was a German supercentenarian.

BIOGRAPHY

Else Aßmann was born in the village of Glashütte (now part of Baruth/Mark), Brandenburg, Germany, on 18 February 1902. She was the first of three children. On 23 December 1917, at the age of 15, she was standing in front of the Garrison Church in Potsdam when she saw Augusta Victoria, the last German Empress, approaching with her entourage. She spotted Else, her younger brother Willi, and the other young people gathered in front of the church. She stopped in front of Else, extended her hand, and personally congratulated the young people on their confirmation.

Else spent her childhood south of Berlin in the Brandenburg glacial valley. At the age of 12, the top student transferred from the local elementary school to a secondary school in Potsdam, although she spent as much time as possible with her parents in Baruth. Her father, Alfred Kaiser, was the director of a glassworks employing around 200 people. On 10 April 1917, Else met her future husband when a young industrial clerk from Silesia came to the glassworks seeking employment and introduced himself to the director. Both Else and her father took a liking to the young man, although it would be another eight years before Erich Aßmann married her, in 1925. Else initially went to Dresden, where, despite her ambition to become a doctor, she attended a school of domestic science.

After World War II, Else had to leave Brandenburg. In 1948, after 50 years as director, her father relinquished his position, and the glassworks became a state-owned enterprise. In West Berlin, the family initially lived in cramped conditions. Her husband, Erich, had found a job at the wholesale glass company Pubanz. By then, their children had long since grown up and moved out. Their son, Horst, who had trained as a glassmaker in keeping with the family tradition, found work at a lighting store. Their daughter, Gisela, was studying pharmacy. She would later marry Wolfgang Hanel, a journalist, reporter, editor, and television presenter. Her husband Erich passed away in 1967.

At the age of 110, it was reported that Else had visited a doctor only twice in her life. By then, she was already over 100 and had suffered two serious falls: the first resulted in a broken hip, while the second, at the age of 105, injured her other leg. She reportedly never used a walking aid, let alone a walker, and did not wear reading glasses.

Else Aßmann passed away in Berlin, on 15 February 2013, at the age of 110 years, 363 days.