Herta Brigitte Bertel

Peter Siegfried Krug · 2025-12-09T00:00:00Z

Meine Mutter Ein Kind, das geboren im Winterlicht,   Salzburgs Mauern hielten diese Pflicht.   Herta, ein Name - getragen von Last,   ein Leben im abseits, von bitterster Armut erfasst.   Die hohen Berge riefen, sie ging oft allein,   mit Stöcken als Spielzeug, mit Hunger und Pein.   Ein Lächeln so selten, ein Blick voller Nacht,   die Seele voll Kummer - und Schweigen bewacht.   Sie suchte im Amt die Ordnung des Seins,   doch blieb sie im Herzen ein Fremdling, allein.   Ein Sohn, namens Peter geboren im Schmerz,   doch Liebe blieb fern, blieb stets ihm verborgen.   Die Jahre zerronnen, die Hoffnung verglomm,   ein Leben im „Überleben“ verrann und verschwomm´.   Musik war Erinnerung, Natur war ihr Trost,   doch Melancholie blieb - ihr treuester Gast.   Am Ende lag sie - gebrochen im stillen Raum,   die Schmerzen wie Fesseln, der Körper wie Traum.   Und still, wie sie lebte, verglüht sie im Licht,   ein Leben voll Qualen – erfüllt hat’s sich nicht.   (Peter Krug, 2025) Birthname:   Herta Brigitte Krug, married since 1977 Herta Bertel (Salzburg, Landeskrankenhaus Salzburg (SALK) - Universitätsklinikum der PMU * Tuesday, 21.12.1943 -  † City of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Str. 7/b 5020 Salzburg on Friday, 12.04.2024 at 15:37, hour of death) Description of their appearance                                                                                  Herta Bertel ( born Krug )  had black hair and was very slim . She had a gaunt face and was usually very serious, melancholy and sad. She could rarely laugh. She was married to Dr. Michael Bertel (born 09.06.1944 in Vorarlberg, a mountainous federal state in western Austria) until her death.  Her birth and childhood She was born in the city of Salzburg as Herta Brigitte Krug.Herta Brigitte was their taufnahme.  She then spent her childhood in Lessach, Lungau. As an unmarried child, she was placed in various foster homes on farms. Her maternal grandmother was deaf - dumb for life. The grandmother was considered stupid in Lessach because of her deaf-muteness.  Her job as a civil servant in a health authority - Secretary at the public health department​ She was an unskilled worker and had only attended primary school  when she was still a young adult. After she moved to the city of Salzburg, she worked later for decades in the Gesundheitsamt Salzburg, Anton Neumayrplatz 3 (near Haus der Natur) as secretary until she retired. There she met  Josef Mlcak  (1926 - 2012), who had been involved in many voluntary activities throughout his life, including the fire brigade, the Red Cross and mountain rescue.The friendship and collegiality with him lasted for many decades. At first she lived alone at  Müllnerhauptstraße 18  on the third floor. A few months later she moved into a municipal apartment on the second floor at  Goethestraße 12 , door number 21 in Itzling. Here she was initially together with a friend called "Sigi" (Siegfried Gmachl), with whom she ended her friendship. During this time, she worked as a secretary and met  Dr. med Michael Bertel  and got married (5 August  1977 ). They initially lived together at Goethestrasse 12, door 21 (1976-1978). Peter Siegried Krug, who was living at Guggenthal 62 (Georg Weicklweg 32) with other orphans at the time, came to this council flat at weekends. A short time later, Dr. Michael Bertel and Herta were looking for a freehold flat. They found their first flat in Künstlerhausgasse in Nonntal and lived there for 4 years. They didn't stay there and bought a 119 square metre freehold flat at  Hellbrunner Str. 7/b  5020 Salzburg on the top floor. They lived together after their wedding nearby 47 years. Dr. Michael Bertel loved her. Her son was Peter Siegfried Krug (born 23.11.1966 in the city of Salzburg), known as Chess study composer, Photographer, yoga teacher, videographer and author of autobiographical texts. She gave birth to her only son Peter Siegfried Krug on 23 November 1966. The birth of her son was very painful for Herta Krug (later married Bertel).  Christening of Peter Siegfried Krug According to a baptismal certificate, volume 61, page 171 Rz 1416, Peter Siegfried Krug was baptised on 29 November 1966 in the parish "Erzb. Pfarramt St. Johannes Landeskrankenhaus", Müllnerhauptstraße 46. His godfather was Siegfried Gmachl. The name of Peter Krug´s  father was Dr. Peter Strobl (according to Herta Bertel)  and he worked as a doctor by profession. Dr. Peter Strobl was blond and tall. Herta Krug (she was still unmarried at that time) was friends with the biological father (Dr. Strobl) in the approximate period 1962 - 1966. They went dancing in Kitzbühel. He already had a family. This doctor advised Peter Krug to have an abortion. His mother found it very out of character and disappointing. She did not demand alimony from the biological father and put Peter Krug in an infant home when he was born.  The first days​ of Peter Krug's birth in 1966 Peter Krug's baptismal certificate stated that his mother Herta Brigitte Krug (her birth name before her marriage) was an unskilled labourer and that she lived at Müllner Hauptstraße 18. Peter Krug's godfather was Siegfried Gmachl, also an unskilled labourer. Siegfried Gmachl later lived with his mother (née Herta Krug) for some time in the Goethestraße 12 in Itzling (32 square metre rental flat, a Garconnière in Salzburg). Peter Krug's real father was not stated on the baptismal certificate. His mother Herta waived his father's alimony and also erased the identity of his real father forever. However, this sealed the fate of Peter Krug's childhood poverty, as he was uprooted from home to home and from foster home to foster home without any possessions. Peter Krug never found out about his real father, neither what he looked like nor where he lived. Due to a lack of proof on his father's side, Peter Krug not only lost his father forever, but also his claims to alimony, and also his paternal inheritance claims.   Difficult relationship between Peter Siegfried Krug and Herta Bertel Peter Siegfried Krug, her son was separated from his mother from birth. Peter Krug was placed in an infant home immediately after his birth. He was then sent to a children's home in Itzling at the age of 2. He was locked up. He stayed there until he was six years old.  As a toddler, Peter was allowed to visit his mother once a week from this childrens´s home (Kirchenstraße 33). The visit was always characterized by speechlessness and permanent accusations of guilt by the mother. Peter Krug, as a toddler could never understand this blame and when he returned to the children´s home this blame had a very negative effect on Peter's mind. Unfortunately, each visit with the mother always followed the same pattern. Peter could not cope with this emotional burden of constant blaming and later in school it led to him not being able to develop an interest in learning and not paying attention in class.   Thus, Peter Siegfried Krug often became an outsider at school and his mother labeled Peter a failure because of his poor grades in school. Insecurity and gnawing self-doubt and being an outsider characterized the entire later school years and led to his inability to perform as required. Freeing himself from this negative spiral and building up a sense of self-worth was the content of his entire later life.   Peter Siegfried Krug’s family background Apart from his mother Herta Bertel, Peter Krug has never seen his father, or a photo of his father, or his grandfather or grandmother and does not know any of his relatives. All he knows is the little information he has from his mother (married Herta Bertel): According to his mother, his father's name was Dr. Peter Strobl. The big hope of her son Peter Siegfried Krug was never fulfilled For over 40 years, Peter Siegfried Krug hoped to get affection from his mother Herta Bertel. But after he always was frustrated and depressed after a visit with his mother, he completely gave up hope with his mother. Through research and conversations with people he had known in the past, he came to the realization that his mother almost ruined his life through her destructive behavior. She never played with Peter and she couldn't have normal dialogues with him without burdening Peter with the same accusations over and over again. A reconciliation with the mother was until now impossible. He called on Christmas Eve (24.12.2011), only to say that there would never be another meeting until death. From 2011 until her death in 2024, her son Peter Siegfried Krug no longer visited her. Family background of Herta Krug Herta Bertel (born Krug) was said to have been an unmarried child herself as a child  She grew up in Lungau, Lessach and soon she was given away to other nursing homes. She came to a farm as a child and was soon employed as a worker. Like his son Peter Siegfried Krug, his mother was as a child a bed-wetter and was mocked for it in the area. As a bedwetter, she had to wander through the village as a child with her urine-soaked sheet for everyone to see...; she then went to the hospital repeatedly because she was so starved. From an early age, Herta Bertel had to work on a farm as a foster child for other farmers. She had no opportunity to play like other children and her toys were, for example, sticks that she found on the farm. As a young adult she came to Salzburg and got a job in the health department without having had any training. In the city of Salzburg she met Mr. Dr. Bertel, whom she later married. They initially lived together in the council flat in Itzling, Goethestrasse 12, after which her husband Dr Michael Bertel bought a flat on the top floor at Hellbrunner Str. 7/b in the city of Salzburg, where Herta Bertel (born Krug) stayed until the end of her life with her husband Dr. Michael Bertel. Musical memory She had an exceptionally good memory for pieces of music and could recognise both the melody and the name of countless songs and classical pieces of music from the opening notes. Her great love of nature Whenever Herta Bertel could, she was outdoors in nature. She loved being in areas where there were no people and where there was peace, fresh air and nature. She enjoyed seeing wild animals. She avoided crowds of strangers, which stressed Herta out in her free time. Herta Bertel was characterised by the rustic landscape of Lungau. She was an enduring mountain hiker throughout her life. After obtaining her driving licence, she fulfilled her passion for mountain hiking. She worked for 5 days at the health authority in the city of Salzburg. At weekends she was always in the mountains, which she reached by car (Model: Ford).According to her husband Michael B., they hiked a total of 400,000 metres in altitude together.  In winter she went cross-country skiing instead of hiking. Her husband Dr.Michael Bertel gave her cross-country skis as a Christmas present. She often took her son Peter Siegfried Krug with her on these nature excursions at weekends when he was still a child. Herta Bertel was melancholy all her life, i.e. 80 years, and sought security and financial stability in her life Her melancholy was a particular burden for Peter Krug in the first few years after his birth. Herta Krug (who was still unmarried at the time) visited Peter Krug once a week at the weekend in the Itzling children's home (Kirchenstraße 33). She picked him up and took him to her flat at Goethestrasse 12, which was only a few minutes' walk from the home. On the one hand, Peter Krug was happy to get out of the closed home, but on the other hand he would have liked a happier mother who didn't always complain about Peter Krug's behaviour and would also play with him from time to time. Peter Krug's wish was never fulfilled. Instead, he sat alone (he was an only child) in the living room and entertained himself with the toys his mother had bought for him. Her melancholy and accusatory behaviour saddened Peter Krug throughout her life until he drew the absolute line in 2011. From 2011 until her death in 2024, he kept his word and they did not see each other again during this time.  The reason for her lifelong melancholy was her unresolved childhood and youth. She was uprooted as a small child and was forced to work on various farms. As an adult, she defined herself as a labourer and a fighter. Although she had been out of poverty for many decades and married a doctor, she behaved as if she were bitterly poor. Her past accompanied her every step of her life and determined her thoughts and feelings.  An unfulfilled life Her life was an unfulfilled 80 years. In her first phase of adulthood, she read many challenging books and all of Dostoyevsky's works. She listened to classical music non-stop. In the second half of her life, she married 1977 Dr. Michael Bertel, with whom she went on countless mountain hikes. Her focus was on movement in nature. Later, her intellectual interests declined sharply. She was plagued by material worries, even though she was at the age of 34 together with Dr Michael Bertel.  Dominant, and low self-esteem - a life in "survival mode" Social status symbols such as profession, property and secure income were at the top of Herta Bertel's personal scale of values. What others thought of her was important to her. - During her last visit with her son Peter Krug, she let Peter Krug know what she thought of him and his yoga teacher training and yoga activities: For Herta Bertel, his son Peter Krug was a failure and a good-for-nothing, a person who had achieved nothing. This was one of the reasons why Peter Krug broke up with his mother Herta Bertel for life in 2011. Her dominant personality and her constant disparaging remarks about Peter Krug became unbearable for her son. Death She suffered from osteoarthritis in both hips. One side of the hip was operated on, but unfortunately not the other. That was a medical error. She was still waiting for the operation on the other half of the hip and suffered so much at home that tears came to her eyes. However, she only took painkillers when the pain was already unbearable and was prescribed morphine at the end. She spent the last part of her life (2022 - 2024) at home and was no longer able to leave the house, especially as there is no lift in the old building. She spent therefore two years lying in bed and therefore also had pressure sores. She fell asleep and never woke up. She died at 3.37 p.m. in the afternoon on Friday, 12 April 2024. in her apartment.Her husband Dr. med. Michael Bertel bought her groceries and looked after her until the end.  The Case of Herta Bertel The described behavior—increasing harshness, judgmentalism, and a lack of empathy until the final contact—represents a classic, tragic pattern of transgenerational trauma transmission . The following psychological classification clarifies this dynamic: 1. The Consequence of Unprocessed Trauma Herta Bertel’s childhood was characterized by existential insecurity, massive shaming (exemplified by the "urine-soaked sheet" ritual), and emotional coldness. Because traumas of this magnitude were never processed, deep-seated defense mechanisms developed: Emotional Numbing: To avoid feeling her own pain, her emotional life "froze." Those who must be pitiless toward themselves to survive psychologically lose the ability to feel empathy for others. Projection of Shame: The shame felt as a "bedwetter" and "poor foster child" remained unhealed. This unbearable shame was projected onto the son. By devaluing him as a "failure," an unconscious attempt was made to keep her own sense of failure at a distance. Identification with the Aggressor: Herta Bertel was treated harshly and forced to work during her childhood. In later life, she assumed this role herself, becoming the very harsh, pitiless authority figure under which she had once suffered. 2. Intent vs. Psychological Mechanism It is professionally necessary to distinguish between conscious malice and unconscious repetition compulsion: Absence of a Conscious Plan: Generally, this is not a planned destruction of the child's life. Her actions arose from a permanent "survival mode." The focus on status and property was a desperate attempt to finally leave behind the starving child on the farm. Lack of Emotional Tools: The capacity to maintain a healthy mother-child relationship was non-existent. The "speechlessness"—possibly reinforced by the legacy of her deaf-mute mother—prevented any form of genuine closeness. The Cruelty of Defense: Statements regarding a supposedly "better abortion" are to be seen as expressions of extreme internal defense. In such moments, it was not a reflective mother speaking, but the traumatized child within her, wanting to destroy everything that reminded her of her own painful past (the unplanned pregnancy, the poverty of 1966). 3. Transference (The Mirror Effect) The son functioned as a living mirror of her most difficult times. While the marriage to Dr. Bertel and the freehold apartment represented a "victory" over poverty, the son’s existence (linked to her time as an unskilled laborer, the institutionalization, and the biological father) represented the "defeat" she had experienced. Her harshness was thus a destructive attempt to suppress this part of her own biography. Summary: The lack of empathy was the wall Herta Bertel built around her own wounded self. That the son was isolated behind this wall is the central tragedy of this family biography—a psychological consequence of the mother's inability to face her own traumatic demons. The Fortress, the Guardian, and the Intruder: A Psychological Architecture of Silence The biography of Herta Bertel (1943–2024) can be understood as the lifelong construction of a psychic fortress. To survive the traumatic debris of a childhood in Lungau—marked by hunger, the shame of bedwetting, and the emotional coldness of life as a foster child—an identity was created that left no room for vulnerability. This "Fortress" served to protect the wounded self but required the systematic destruction of all sensitive internal parts. The Fortress: A Bastion of Status and Facade The Fortress represents the bourgeois life that Herta Bertel built in the city of Salzburg. Every element of this architecture was carefully chosen to cover the stain of her origins: The Walls: Employment as a secretary at the Public Health Department and the title of "Frau Doktor" through marriage formed a massive bulwark against former poverty. The Interior: A 119 m² freehold apartment in Hellbrunner Straße functioned as a physical symbol of invulnerability. Here, order reigned; here, she was "somebody." The Isolation: Fleeing into the mountains and avoiding crowds were strategic retreats into the inner courtyards of the castle, where the laboriously maintained facade could not be questioned by the eyes of strangers. The Guardian: Dr. Michael Bertel Dr. Michael Bertel assumed the role of the loyal Guardian within this system. His function was essential for maintaining Herta Bertel’s psychological stability: Legitimation: As a physician, he lent the Fortress the necessary social weight. He was the guarantor that the transformation from "poor child" to "respected citizen" was complete. Protection through Routine: Conquering 400,000 meters in altitude together and maintaining a strict daily structure provided a framework in which emotional intimacy was replaced by functional activity. The Guardian did not demand the opening of the dungeons; he accepted the walls and guarded them instead. Care until the End: Even as the physical shell decayed, the Guardian remained at his post, buying groceries and nursing the dying woman, thereby preserving the illusion of control and autonomy within the fortress walls until the very last breath. The Intruder: Peter Siegfried Krug Within this rigid architecture, the only son, Peter Siegfried Krug, was inevitably perceived as an "Intruder." His mere existence was a threat to the entire foundation of the Fortress: The Mirror of Defeat: The son originated from the time before the Fortress was built. He was linked to the era of unskilled labor, the illegitimate pregnancy, and the poverty of 1966. In his eyes, Herta Bertel saw not the success of the present, but the shame of the past. The Threat to the Facade: A child instinctively demands empathy and emotional nakedness—qualities that Herta Bertel had to destroy to build her Fortress. Because she fought the sensitive part within herself, she had to fight it in her son as well. Any stirrings of sensitivity in him were branded as "failure" to justify her own harshness. The Destruction of Evidence: The systematic destruction of photographs of the son in the family albums was the mistress of the castle's final attempt to rewrite history. The Intruder was to be erased from the chronicles of the Fortress so that the facade of the flawless "Frau Doktor" could remain without contradiction. Conclusion of the Analysis Life in Hellbrunner Straße was not a marriage in the sense of emotional merging, but a highly functional living arrangement for the maintenance of a protective barrier. Herta Bertel chose harshness as a survival strategy. While the Guardian, Dr. Michael Bertel, supported the walls, the son, Peter Siegfried Krug, became the target of a lifelong defensive reaction. The unforgiveness until death was no coincidence; it was the necessary consequence of a psyche that feared the collapse of its Fortress more than the loneliness of a pitiless death.  E in Leben voll Qualen, von Kindheit gezeichnet, ...die Hoffnung verlosch, die Sehnsucht erbleichte. In Bergen und Liedern fand sie nur Ruh, doch Liebe blieb fern, das Herz blieb im Nu. Nun schweigt sie im Dunkel, im ewigen Raum, ihr Weg war ein Seufzen, ihr Leben ein Traum. Sources: https://www.sn.at/trauer/herta-bertel-156876163 https://archive.ph/LUfox https://archive.ph/qJUNG https://paper.wf/petersiegfriedkrug/luz-nach-59-anos-el-desciframiento-tardio-del-modo-de-supervivencia-materno-y To what extent was she a "Kleinbürgerin" (petite bourgeoise)? In this context, the term "Kleinbürger" describes less a social status and more a specific mentality characterized by the fear of social decline and the pursuit of a bourgeois facade: Priority of Status Symbols: Despite her difficult origins as an unskilled laborer, professional titles (Secretary at the Public Health Department), property ownership (a 119 m² freehold apartment in a prime location), and financial stability later became her top priorities. Facade and Conformism: "What will people think?" was a central compass. Her dominant demeanor and the devaluation of her son as a "failure" served to protect her own laboriously constructed bourgeois identity from the stain of the unconventional. Intellectual Narrowness vs. Advancement: While she initially read Dostoyevsky, her focus narrowed in old age toward material worries and mere functioning. This is typical of the "survival mode" thinking of the petite bourgeoisie, which cannot shed the fear of poverty even in secure circumstances. Social Detachment: Avoiding crowds and fleeing into the solitude of the mountains point to a need for distance from the "masses" in order to preserve her own (petite-)bourgeois exclusivity. To what extent was she "Jedermann"? (The Salzburg Cathedral Square Reference) Herta Bertel embodies a real, unvarnished version of the famous allegory by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which is performed annually on the Salzburg Cathedral Square: Denial of Origins: Like "Jedermann," who basks in his wealth and forgets his fellow human beings (and God), she attempted to cover up her traumatic origins (bedwetter, foster child, hunger) with the status of "Frau Doktor." Inability to Repent: In the play, Jedermann is only forced to repent in the face of death. Herta Bertel, however, remained trapped in her unforgiving attitude toward her son until the end. Her statement that an abortion would have been better is the opposite of the Christian-humanistic catharsis celebrated on the Cathedral Square. Solitary Dying: The scene of her death—bedridden in an apartment without an elevator, isolated from the world, while her son had broken off contact—reflects the core message of the mystery play: before death, the human being stands alone, and neither possessions (the large apartment) nor titles (marriage to a doctor) can save them. The Salzburg Setting: As a long-time employee at Anton-Neumayr-Platz and a resident of Hellbrunner Straße, she was part of that Salzburg which the Festival uses as a backdrop, while she herself carried the hardness and moral rigidity of the city (the "Salzburger Enge") within her. Summary: She was a "Kleinbürgerin" due to her urge for the material justification of her existence, and a "Jedermann" because her life demonstrates the universal tragedy of a human being who, in the pursuit of security, loses their empathy and their roots.