Walter Frankenstein lived in Berlin with his wife Leonie and their newborn son Peter-Uri. The couple had to perform forced labor. At the end of February 1943, they narrowly evaded “Operation Factory” and went underground.
The family mainly hid separately. Walter Frankenstein spent his nights in forests or on ruined plots. After some time, Arthur Ketzer let the Frankensteins live on his property. In February 1944, however, his house was destroyed in an air raid, and Walter Frankenstein had to return to sleeping outdoors. He earned money performing unskilled labor. To find rest and a little sleep, he attended theater or opera performances almost every day.
The family came together again via Edith Berlow, and Frankenstein saw his second son Michael for the first time after he was born in hiding. All four of them hid with a sex worker named Dora until their liberation.
In November 1945 Leonie and her two sons were able to emigrate to Palestine, which was under British mandate at the time. Walter Frankenstein did not receive entry permission. An attempt to enter illegally failed and he was interned by the British. The family were not reunited until the summer of 1947.