J. Elke Ertle Living History Program
Object number2014.001.0063
Date06/07/2014
ClassificationsOral Histories
Oral history interview subject
J. Elke Ertle
Oral history interviewer
Stephen Fagin
ObjectOral history
Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumBorn digital (.mov file)
DimensionsDuration: 46 Minutes
Collections
DescriptionVideotaped Living History public program with J. Elke Ertle. A native of Germany, Ertle was an eyewitness to President Kennedy's historic speech in West Berlin on June 26, 1963. She turned eighteen on the day before the assassination. Ertle later immigrated to the United States and wrote a book about her early life, "Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl's Journey to Freedom" (2013).
Program conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on June 6, 2014 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is forty-six minutes long.
Curatorial CommentaryJ. Elke Ertle initially recorded a telephone interview with the Museum in 2013. The following year, she visited The Sixth Floor Museum and participated in two public programs (June 6th and this program on June 7th), as well as a new video oral history. Her autobiography, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl's Journey to Freedom (2013), may be found here in the Museum's Library Collection: Bibliovation | Details for Walled-in. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
As of winter 2025, J. Elke Ertle continues to share her memories of West Berlin via speaking engagements and maintains a blog on her website, Walled-In. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
