Walburga von Raffler-Engel's
Travel Map

1920

Walburga Engel was born in Munich, Germany.

1932

Her maternal grandmother sent her grandfather to visit. He was semi-paralyzed and needed to use a wheelchair but when taking him out the youngsters in the neighborhood made fun of him. Walburga talked back to them, making up her mind that she would attempt to fight injustice as she could.

1933

Walburga’s mother remarried. (Her parents had divorced.)

1934

Walburga’s mother moved to Italy with her children and her new husband. This is where Walburga was raised. The reason for her marriage was fear for what would happen in Germany with Hitler in power.

1935

Walburga’s father (biological) died of natural causes in Berlin, Germany.

1936

Walburga’s maternal grandfather died in Berlin, Germany.

1938

Walburga joined the partisans in Northern Italy, traveling with hidden messages underneath her tongue in order to swallow it in a moment’s notice. She also carried and delivered weapons. Her step-father, mother, and sisters went to Switzerland. By the end of the year, Walburga left for Switzerland and worked with a group of Italian partisans there, coding radio messages for an espionage organization.

1945

September 2: The war ended; however, Walburga continued to participate in resistance activities.

1949

Walburga came to the United States in 1949. She moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1965, where Dr. von Raffler-Engel, PhD. established a linguistics program at Vanderbilt University.

Walburga’s step-father died in Biel, Switzerland.

2009

November 28: Walburga von Raffler-Engel passed away in San Antonio, Texas at the age of 89.

(Obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sanantonio/obituary.aspx?pid=136768640)