Roger P. Located ninety miles southeast of Berlin, Cottbus had about 55, inhabitants when the war began. Industrially insignificant, the city was largely spared the ravages of war until January By the end of the war, it had become the gathering place for Saints from many branches in eastern Germany.
The branch met in rented rooms at Lausitzerstrasse 53, a two-story structure owned by the Lehnig family. The upper story had been used as a restaurant but was converted into a chapel and a few classrooms. The cloakroom and the restrooms were located in an anteroom.
This property was very close to the train station, only a five-minute walk away, five minutes into the city and with the streetcar station close by. The branch observed the typical meeting schedule, with Sunday School held at a. Jutta Obst born later recalled that her parents always attended the meetings on Monday and Wednesday evenings, leaving their children at home under the care of their eldest son, Lothar. Although full-time missionaries were a rarity in Germany during the war, individual members continued to tell others about their church and their faith.
Heinrich was interested in the message and began to attend Church meetings in Cottbus. His wife, Anne Marie, was busy with their four little children but eventually attended with him. They were baptized together on July 18, , in the Spree River. They taught their children the truths of the gospel and loved the gospel dearly. Like so many other Latter-day Saint fathers, Heinrich did not want to go away to war, but in the call came.
Brother Hagen was gone for most of the war as a test pilot for new airplanes. Sister Hagen took care of their three little boys. Their home was spared destruction during the air raids and the artillery bombardments. Church events continued to be observed as well as possible during the war, as Joachim Lehnig attested:.
