Mathilde (Hilde) Staberock worked as a porter in an office building in Berlin-Charlottenburg during the 1940s. From 1943 at the latest, the widow let several Jews living underground stay overnight in the offices, including Emmi Brandt and 15-year-old Eva Caro. When the building was hit in an air raid on November 23, 1943, she found a new job as an elevator operator.
In May 1944 Staberock accompanied Emmi Brandt and Eva Caro on a train to Singen. Local men were to take them to the Swiss border and show them the way across. However, the women lost their way, and were denounced and imprisoned. Their escape helpers were arrested, as was Staberock. Their case was transferred to the “People’s Court” in July 1944. They were liable to the death sentence or lifetime imprisonment in penal institutions for “aiding the enemy,” but the trial no longer took place. After eleven months in custody, spent in prison in Singen and then in Stockach on Lake Constance, Hilde Staberock was liberated on April 21, 1945.