Ernst Schwerin performed forced labor in the Deutsche Waffen- und Munitions-Fabrik arms production facility in Berlin. Warned by a colleague, he narrowly evaded arrest during “Operation Factory” at the end of February 1943. He went into hiding. Initially, Schwerin’s longstanding friend Wolfgang Ligotke and his parents took him in. The many air raids soon made their apartment too dangerous, so Schwerin hid on the Ligotkes’ sailing boat. He also spent occasional nights with the Heilmann family. Cioma Schönhaus and other persecuted Jews helped him to forge identity papers.
Schwerin planned to escape to Switzerland along with his friend Ruth Michaelis and another Jew in hiding, Gerd Ehrlich. Luise Meier, an acquaintance of his father, helped them. She had already helped several Jews to escape to Switzerland, with the support of locals. At the start of October 1943, the three young people took a train to Lake Constance. Luise Meier took them from Singen station to Josef Höfler, who led the refugees to the border. After about a kilometer on foot, they arrived on Swiss soil on October 9, 1943.
Ernst Schwerin emigrated to the United States in 1947 and changed his name to Ernest.