Elisabeth Schmitz grew up in Hanau. She was the youngest daughter of the senior-school teacher August Schmitz and his wife Clara Maria.
Elisabeth Schmitz graduated from school in 1914. She studied history, theology, and German literature, gaining a PhD in 1920. After training, she worked as a teacher in Berlin.
Elisabeth Schmitz was active in the Protestant church and joined the Confessional Church in 1934. In 1935 she wrote a memorandum calling on the Confessional Church to protest the persecution of Jews. Her appeal went largely unheeded.
Unwilling to teach as the National Socialists dictated, Elisabeth Schmitz took early retirement in 1939. Along with former colleagues and students, she supported Jews in hiding. This circle of helpers also included Elisabeth Abegg. They obtained food, money, and accommodation. Schmitz temporarily housed the Jewish kindergarten teacher Liselotte Pereles in her home.
In 1943 Elisabeth Schmitz returned to her hometown of Hanau, where she experienced the end of the war.