Lilly Wust

Charlotte Elisabeth Wust ( Kappler; 1 November 1913 – 31 March 2006) was a German housewife, the wife of a German banking accountant and soldier during World War II. She was known for her romantic relationship with Felice Schragenheim, a Jewish member of the German Resistance. The story of their relationship is portrayed in the 1999 film Aimée & Jaguar, and in a book of the same name by Erica Fischer.

She was declared Righteous Among the Nations on 31 August 1995 by Yad Vashem for her efforts to rescue Jewish women and shield them from Nazi persecution during World War II.

Early life Wust was born in 1913 to a "traditional Berlin family". Her parents were former members of the Communist Party, but she grew up uninterested in politics. Around her 20th birthday, she fell in love with and married her husband, Günther, a banking accountant with Nazi sympathies. However, the marriage was ultimately an unhappy one for both Elisabeth and Günther, and both entered into extramarital affairs. One of these affairs resulted in Elisabeth's youngest son.

Following the birth of her fourth child, Wust became eligible for the Mother Cross, which also allowed her to employ a housekeeper, a position that was filled by Inge Wolf, a member of the German Resistance.

Interviewed in 2001, the 89-year-old Wust recalled her time with Schragenheim:

As a result of her involvement with Schragenheim, Elisabeth Wust faced increased scrutiny and harassment by Nazi officials, and was required to check in with local police every two days after Schragenheim's arrest, but this increased danger only strengthened Wust's resolve to shield other women at risk of a fate similar to that being experienced by Schragenheim. After meeting Lucie Friedländer, Katja Lazerstein, and Dr. Rosa Ohlendorf three weeks before Christmas in 1944, Wust then began hiding the women in an upper level of her Berlin home. All three of the rescued women went on to survive the war; however, Friedländer, having been so badly traumatized by her experiences, ultimately committed suicide.

Legacy and honors In 1981, in honor of her efforts to hide Schragenheim three women during the war, Wust was given the German Federal Service Cross.

During the early to mid-1990s, Elisabeth Wust sold the rights to the story of her love affair with Felice Schragenheim to Austrian journalist Erica Fischer, who studied Schragenheim's poetry and the couple's letters, researched the couple's lives further, and then wrote the 1994 book, Aimée & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943, which was then adapted for the screen, becoming the 1999 film, Aimée & Jaguar. Wust expressed approval of both the book and the film.

On 31 August 1995, Elisabeth Wust was declared Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem for her efforts to shield Jewish women from Nazi persecution.