Selma Hopp lived with her Jewish husband Paul in Berlin-Lichtenberg. Her husband died in January 1942. When a Jewish relative, Charlotte Hopp, turned to her in the summer of 1942 and asked her to take in her husband Erich, who was living in hiding, Selma Hopp was immediately prepared to help. She took Erich Hopp into her two-room apartment, which he never left for safety reasons.
Charlotte Hopp went out every day to obtain extra food, since Selma Hopp was already sharing her food rations with her deceased husband’s cousin. Erich’s son Wolfgang also stayed with Selma Hopp for a time. After around two years, in September 1944, Erich Hopp was able to move in with his wife in Eichwalde southeast of Berlin, where the whole family experienced the liberation in the home of Karl Marguerre.
Selma Hopp’s building was destroyed by bombs in the fall of 1944, shortly after Erich Hopp had left his hiding place.