After entering the dry dock at the Schichau-Werke shipyard in Elbing, her guns were removed and repair work began at a leisurely rate. She was there, still awaiting the completion of repairs when the Soviet Army attacked the city in January 1945, and on 23 January the naval high command ordered all naval forces in the city to evacuate. "Emden" had her guns reinstalled and she embarked the remains of Paul von Hindenburg and his wife, which had been disinterred to prevent them from falling into the hands of the advancing Soviet Army. She carried them to Pillau, under tow from several icebreakers, where they were transferred to the transport ship . In Pillau, "Emden"s engines were put back in working order, though she was only able to use one of her propellers. "Emden" then steamed as fast as was possible to Kiel, where she arrived on 6 February. There, she went into drydock at the Deutsche Werke shipyard for repairs.