Her father later worked as a railroad man in Savonlinna where Mäkelä attended an elementary school for two years.

At the age of 19, Mäkelä moved to Vyborg, working as a maid, kitchen helper and waitress.

In April 1921, she graduated the Red Officer School as a platoon leader and served in the Soviet Border Troops.

Under the alias ”Erna Mether” Mäkelä was the head of SKP's intelligence department until she was caught and sentenced for five years in prison.

As the party's underground operations were suppressed in 1929, Mäkelä joined the SKP office in Stockholm before moving permanently to the Soviet Union.