Supercentenarian Profile

Gertrud Paulat

Born:

1915-05-18

Kaliningrad Oblast

Russia

Current Residence:

Monzernheim, Rhineland-Palatinate

Germany

Gertrud Paulat is a German supercentenarian.

BIOGRAPHY

Gertrud Paulat was born in East Prussia (now Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia) on 18 May 1915. Three months before the end of World War II, Gertrud was forced to flee her home near what was then Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). In the chaos, she tragically lost her five-year-old daughter and barely managed to reach Danzig. There, she narrowly missed boarding the MV Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship evacuating German civilians. However, missing the ship saved her life—it was sunk shortly afterward in the Baltic Sea.

Upon arriving in Travemünde, Gertrud found herself caught in an air raid. The first bunker she reached was already full. Desperate, she made it to a second one just in time. It proved to be a life-saving move—the first bunker was struck during the raid. After spending several years in East Frisia, Gertrud eventually settled in Rheinhessen in 1950. She found work at the Geil winery in Monzernheim, which became her new home.