Letters Yad Vashem, Israël VII.
My dear Lientje! Paultje! Paulieneke! Monday 22-3-1943
Everything is now in order again with my tooth and my shoes, so I am complete once more and can properly appear for your birthday. Although it is different from previous years when nothing could keep me from coming to visit you with the traditional cake, etc., and wrapping all my wishes in a warm embrace. This time we must be glad that we are at least still in contact with each other, and we do not want to give up hope that in the coming years we will be able to celebrate all our anniversaries in the usual way again.
My beloved ones, how you spoil me. Your letters and the packages wrapped with so much love are uplifting in this unusual atmosphere, and that makes everything more bearable, and everyone takes curious notice of it. Everything has arrived safely so far, both in Vught and here, only from a package from Ilse some corned beef is probably missing. I was compensated for that the day before yesterday when the shoes arrived with the supplement. Together with three pairs of stockings they fit very well. Beautiful and comfortable, and brown doesn’t matter at all. I am happy with them and can send yours back to you, Lientje. I only wore them twice, so they are not damaged, but I kept the brushes and shoe polish for the new ones.
The delicious fruits are also splendid. Children, you are depriving yourselves of them again. I already consider myself a snob. Yesterday I had a pleasant afternoon again with Heinz, just like last Sunday with Dr. Bial, where I also met Mrs. Goldbaum, of whom I did not know that Ille (Ilse) knows her. When her Bouwits relatives lived with me in Beethovenstraat, I often saw her.
From there I went to visit Chaja, who had received a letter from Ilse. She lives in a small room with one lady and they would not let me leave; I had to stay for dinner. It was very pleasant, and so I arrived, as prescribed, just before eight o’clock in my barrack. There I found a note that I had to be at Dr. W. (Wallach?) at five o’clock. That was no longer possible, so I will go there today. Mrs. Landauer had still been with me before she wrote to Ilse, and also Meyers, who is already completely “Verwesterborked,” that is, looking somewhat neglected. I also meet many other acquaintances, but I do not grieve about that, because in my thoughts I am with you.
Impatiently I await news about Franz’s condition, which Ille (Ilse) reports to me daily. Dr. Bial says these are now frequently occurring symptoms whose cause is not known. I can sympathize with how unpleasant it must be for him. And you, Lientje, how is the pain in your hip? What does the doctor say about it? I hope and wish that you will feel better again.
Ilsje, do you still have no help? It really cannot be that you have to do everything alone all the time. And on top of that there are also the worries about me. Oh, children. My three girls, your letters do me more good than I can say, but Stap is a little tyrant, Paul, it is so funny how you write about Paulientje! Chaja says that I resemble you. “Exactly Paul,” she often says.
Dearest ones, we are and remain together!
A hug from Mother.
Everything is now in order again with my tooth and my shoes, so I am complete once more and can properly appear for your birthday. Although it is different from previous years when nothing could keep me from coming to visit you with the traditional cake, etc., and wrapping all my wishes in a warm embrace. This time we must be glad that we are at least still in contact with each other, and we do not want to give up hope that in the coming years we will be able to celebrate all our anniversaries in the usual way again.
My beloved ones, how you spoil me. Your letters and the packages wrapped with so much love are uplifting in this unusual atmosphere, and that makes everything more bearable, and everyone takes curious notice of it. Everything has arrived safely so far, both in Vught and here, only from a package from Ilse some corned beef is probably missing. I was compensated for that the day before yesterday when the shoes arrived with the supplement. Together with three pairs of stockings they fit very well. Beautiful and comfortable, and brown doesn’t matter at all. I am happy with them and can send yours back to you, Lientje. I only wore them twice, so they are not damaged, but I kept the brushes and shoe polish for the new ones.
The delicious fruits are also splendid. Children, you are depriving yourselves of them again. I already consider myself a snob. Yesterday I had a pleasant afternoon again with Heinz, just like last Sunday with Dr. Bial, where I also met Mrs. Goldbaum, of whom I did not know that Ille (Ilse) knows her. When her Bouwits relatives lived with me in Beethovenstraat, I often saw her.
From there I went to visit Chaja, who had received a letter from Ilse. She lives in a small room with one lady and they would not let me leave; I had to stay for dinner. It was very pleasant, and so I arrived, as prescribed, just before eight o’clock in my barrack. There I found a note that I had to be at Dr. W. (Wallach?) at five o’clock. That was no longer possible, so I will go there today. Mrs. Landauer had still been with me before she wrote to Ilse, and also Meyers, who is already completely “Verwesterborked,” that is, looking somewhat neglected. I also meet many other acquaintances, but I do not grieve about that, because in my thoughts I am with you.
Impatiently I await news about Franz’s condition, which Ille (Ilse) reports to me daily. Dr. Bial says these are now frequently occurring symptoms whose cause is not known. I can sympathize with how unpleasant it must be for him. And you, Lientje, how is the pain in your hip? What does the doctor say about it? I hope and wish that you will feel better again.
Ilsje, do you still have no help? It really cannot be that you have to do everything alone all the time. And on top of that there are also the worries about me. Oh, children. My three girls, your letters do me more good than I can say, but Stap is a little tyrant, Paul, it is so funny how you write about Paulientje! Chaja says that I resemble you. “Exactly Paul,” she often says.
Dearest ones, we are and remain together!
A hug from Mother.
Murdered in Auschwitz 10-9-1943.
Murdered in Auschwitz 10-9-1943.
Could this be the Mrs. Landauer who is mentioned by Ellen Citroen-Philippi?
My beloved ones, Westerbork, 19-4-1943
First of all, again many, many thanks for the wonderful and so welcome parcels! Everything has arrived well, no glass was broken, and the forget-me-nots have quickly revived in a vase of fresh water. They are standing in front of me and I enjoy them greatly. Also the parcel from Paul and the letters from all of you! Constant surprises!
When there is jam again, Ilsje, then please rather in a glass jar than in a cardboard cup. Those are usually crushed flat and that is a pity. Oatmeal or barley grits I can use well, also weekly half a loaf of bread, or rye bread, or pumpernickel. The portions here are getting smaller. Cooking is no longer possible; the stoves have been removed. There is still one in the washroom to warm food for babies. Outside there is a long queue of women at the 24 water taps for the approximately 300 female inmates—many beds have been added—one emergency toilet for the night. The flushing usually does not work, so one is immersed in the so-called Westerbork smell. During the day, for urgent needs, the toilet huts with 36 toilets are in use; they are 9 rows of toilets next to and behind each other without partitions, which invite conversations with neighbours. Toilet paper is especially welcome, and I also use it to wipe my wet nose.
What I urgently need is clean bedding, a not-too-large pillowcase and a sheet. The returned bedding will answer your questions about fleas, judging by the traces they leave behind—fortunately not on my thin body. The Hansaplast comes in handy for the burns I suffered during the struggle for a place near the stove. The fight against the drifting sand is hopeless. It gets into clothing, blankets—actually everything. To understand what life is like here, one must experience it oneself. It is simply unimaginable. Fortunately, the sun is still there. To wade through mud in rainy weather is a doubtful pleasure.
Now the list of new wishes. You make me so sad, my Ilsje, and myself as well, because I burden you so often and so much. But when everything else no longer works, I cannot do without your letters. They give me courage and strength!
Furthermore, Erna’s washing brush has been stolen; she longs for a new one. One of my pleasant ladies, named Zielenziger, would like a tea strainer like mine. A sanitary towel and stocking belt for Leni K. She is lying in the hospital barrack with bronchial catarrh. Two Jewish stars for Mrs. Elsbach, for me a few more towels so that I can change them. I would also like to have your woollen trousers back. They have been washed, but the dust has made them dirty again, as you can see. Also a piece of Sunlight soap, please.
Sophie and Bernard came to see me a few times. The first time I had potato cakes, mixed with the new, very good fish paste, oatmeal with onions, which they enjoyed very much. I hold my heart for them. Lena and another B. Citroen were also sent away immediately.
Last night between seven and half past eight I was in the hospital barrack with Mrs. Rosin, who is there with her mother, but is not herself ill. She is very worried and has many concerns. I went to Dr. Bial for her, whom she had already spoken to, and returned with reassuring news to her.
In the morning Mrs. Landauer stood in front of the window. I was just cleaning, but went with her to the hospital barrack where her mother lies and to whom she brought food. Then to her husband, who is lying in another hospital barrack with very high blood pressure. She had a terrible dilemma because today she must leave on the departing transport to Theresienstadt without her mother. On the doctors’ advice, she only needs to go with the next transport to Theresienstadt; this has made her calmer, and she asks you to inform her sister of this. In the evening I met her again at Mrs. R. Her mother is now in a very bad condition. Hopefully it will not last much longer.
And now something concerning the P. (Palestine?) matter. You have again made so much effort and run yourself ragged, my Ilsje, you are so unyielding. Our authorities here found the wording of the letter not clear enough and prefer to have something more concrete in hand. Hilde has informed you about this, but the letter did not get through. Now we wait patiently.
Mrs. R. told me that you, my dear Franz, are yourself again and look well. I am very glad about this. You probably do not realize how much good your few but sympathetic and encouraging words do, which are also filled with cheerful humour. And how much Susanna resembles you in this. Mrs. R. praised all four of you in the highest terms, and everyone who knows my children tells me how rich I am. As if I did not know that myself!
Yes, Lientje, you told me that as well. But I like hearing it from you! Your parcel was wonderful again; only one of the six lemons was damaged. The Ovomaltine bread—or whatever it is called?—did me good, but you say nothing about yourself, while Ilse wrote to me that things were not going well because of pain in your hip. Is it better again?
Things are still lively with you, so your standing among your friends does not seem to have suffered. How could it be otherwise? Little Paulien cannot be recognised anymore. She has suddenly become a big girl. Your little sunshine must be shining there happily for you—and for me as well.
Are you satisfied with Mr. Schröder’s portrait, Paulo? And is he himself? I collected this large bow from Dr. Wachtel. I do not see him often; he is busy at the office, but he is always cheerful.
Sanne, Helga was again very happy with your parcel, but it is actually not necessary. On the list that is posted daily I see their names—and those of their parents—at least six times a week. Her thanks, also for you, were sent to the entire class last time.
I would like to see Franz mending socks sometime. That is such a great help for you, Ilse. Barbara, you seem to have settled well into your many activities and are learning many new things. It comforts me that your lessons give you distraction. Always write whatever comes to your mind. I always imagine you as full of life. Do you still hear anything from Hans?
For Tilly and Lizzy many thanks! You are all embraced by
Omi-Mother
First of all, again many, many thanks for the wonderful and so welcome parcels! Everything has arrived well, no glass was broken, and the forget-me-nots have quickly revived in a vase of fresh water. They are standing in front of me and I enjoy them greatly. Also the parcel from Paul and the letters from all of you! Constant surprises!
When there is jam again, Ilsje, then please rather in a glass jar than in a cardboard cup. Those are usually crushed flat and that is a pity. Oatmeal or barley grits I can use well, also weekly half a loaf of bread, or rye bread, or pumpernickel. The portions here are getting smaller. Cooking is no longer possible; the stoves have been removed. There is still one in the washroom to warm food for babies. Outside there is a long queue of women at the 24 water taps for the approximately 300 female inmates—many beds have been added—one emergency toilet for the night. The flushing usually does not work, so one is immersed in the so-called Westerbork smell. During the day, for urgent needs, the toilet huts with 36 toilets are in use; they are 9 rows of toilets next to and behind each other without partitions, which invite conversations with neighbours. Toilet paper is especially welcome, and I also use it to wipe my wet nose.
What I urgently need is clean bedding, a not-too-large pillowcase and a sheet. The returned bedding will answer your questions about fleas, judging by the traces they leave behind—fortunately not on my thin body. The Hansaplast comes in handy for the burns I suffered during the struggle for a place near the stove. The fight against the drifting sand is hopeless. It gets into clothing, blankets—actually everything. To understand what life is like here, one must experience it oneself. It is simply unimaginable. Fortunately, the sun is still there. To wade through mud in rainy weather is a doubtful pleasure.
Now the list of new wishes. You make me so sad, my Ilsje, and myself as well, because I burden you so often and so much. But when everything else no longer works, I cannot do without your letters. They give me courage and strength!
Furthermore, Erna’s washing brush has been stolen; she longs for a new one. One of my pleasant ladies, named Zielenziger, would like a tea strainer like mine. A sanitary towel and stocking belt for Leni K. She is lying in the hospital barrack with bronchial catarrh. Two Jewish stars for Mrs. Elsbach, for me a few more towels so that I can change them. I would also like to have your woollen trousers back. They have been washed, but the dust has made them dirty again, as you can see. Also a piece of Sunlight soap, please.
Sophie and Bernard came to see me a few times. The first time I had potato cakes, mixed with the new, very good fish paste, oatmeal with onions, which they enjoyed very much. I hold my heart for them. Lena and another B. Citroen were also sent away immediately.
Last night between seven and half past eight I was in the hospital barrack with Mrs. Rosin, who is there with her mother, but is not herself ill. She is very worried and has many concerns. I went to Dr. Bial for her, whom she had already spoken to, and returned with reassuring news to her.
In the morning Mrs. Landauer stood in front of the window. I was just cleaning, but went with her to the hospital barrack where her mother lies and to whom she brought food. Then to her husband, who is lying in another hospital barrack with very high blood pressure. She had a terrible dilemma because today she must leave on the departing transport to Theresienstadt without her mother. On the doctors’ advice, she only needs to go with the next transport to Theresienstadt; this has made her calmer, and she asks you to inform her sister of this. In the evening I met her again at Mrs. R. Her mother is now in a very bad condition. Hopefully it will not last much longer.
And now something concerning the P. (Palestine?) matter. You have again made so much effort and run yourself ragged, my Ilsje, you are so unyielding. Our authorities here found the wording of the letter not clear enough and prefer to have something more concrete in hand. Hilde has informed you about this, but the letter did not get through. Now we wait patiently.
Mrs. R. told me that you, my dear Franz, are yourself again and look well. I am very glad about this. You probably do not realize how much good your few but sympathetic and encouraging words do, which are also filled with cheerful humour. And how much Susanna resembles you in this. Mrs. R. praised all four of you in the highest terms, and everyone who knows my children tells me how rich I am. As if I did not know that myself!
Yes, Lientje, you told me that as well. But I like hearing it from you! Your parcel was wonderful again; only one of the six lemons was damaged. The Ovomaltine bread—or whatever it is called?—did me good, but you say nothing about yourself, while Ilse wrote to me that things were not going well because of pain in your hip. Is it better again?
Things are still lively with you, so your standing among your friends does not seem to have suffered. How could it be otherwise? Little Paulien cannot be recognised anymore. She has suddenly become a big girl. Your little sunshine must be shining there happily for you—and for me as well.
Are you satisfied with Mr. Schröder’s portrait, Paulo? And is he himself? I collected this large bow from Dr. Wachtel. I do not see him often; he is busy at the office, but he is always cheerful.
Sanne, Helga was again very happy with your parcel, but it is actually not necessary. On the list that is posted daily I see their names—and those of their parents—at least six times a week. Her thanks, also for you, were sent to the entire class last time.
I would like to see Franz mending socks sometime. That is such a great help for you, Ilse. Barbara, you seem to have settled well into your many activities and are learning many new things. It comforts me that your lessons give you distraction. Always write whatever comes to your mind. I always imagine you as full of life. Do you still hear anything from Hans?
For Tilly and Lizzy many thanks! You are all embraced by
Omi-Mother
Who is Leni K? Kaempfer?
Kan dit de genoemde mevrouw Elsbach zijn?
Who are Sophie and Bernard?
Who are Lena and B. Citroen?
Who are Lena and B. Citroen?
Might Betje Rosin-Minco be the mentioned Mrs. Rosin? Her mother-in-law is Anna Babette Buchenbacher, born 5-10-1884 in Furth, Germany.
Bestaat er een portret van een zeker Schröder geschilderd door Paul Citroen?
Georg Muche (8 May 1895 – 26 March 1987) was a German painter, printmaker, architect, author, and teacher.
Georg Muche was born on 8 May 1895 in Querfurt, in the Prussian Province of Saxony, and grew up in the Rhön area. His father, Felix Muche, was a naïve painter and art collector who was known as Felix Ramholz.
Muche's art studies began in 1913 in Munich at the School for Painting and the Graphic Arts which had been founded by Anton Ažbe and was then owned by Paul Weinhold and Felix Eisengräber. In 1914 he applied to the Royal Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, but failed the entrance examination. His study of painting resumed in 1915, with Martin Brandenburg, when he moved to Berlin. At this time he had already been influenced by Wassily Kandinsky and Max Ernst, and became one of the earliest proponents of abstract art in Germany.
In Berlin, Muche became associated with Herwarth Walden and his Sturm artist group, working as Walden's exhibition assistant at the Sturm Gallery. He also taught painting at the Sturm Art School from 1916 to 1920. Muche's exposure to the Expressionist world influenced him to become more unconventional in his work, creating abstractions that combined elements of Cubism with the colour ideals of Der Blaue Reiter and Marc Chagall. He participated in three exhibitions from 1916 to 1918, each of which paired his work with that another artists: Max Ernst (1916), Paul Klee, and Alexander Archipenko (1918). From 1913 to 1923, Muche produced prints which showed a strong influence by Klee, as well as Marc Chagall.
His art career was interrupted with a one-year stint in the military, serving on the Western Front in 1917 during World War I.
Walter Gropius invited Muche in 1919 to join the Bauhaus art school in Weimar. At the urging of Lyonel Feininger, he accepted, becoming the youngest Master of Form. Herwarth Walden had given him a five-year contract with Sturm in 1917, but Muche dissolved it prematurely to gain some independence for his Bauhaus work.
At Bauhaus, he headed the weaving workshop from 1919 to 1925 and directed the preliminary course from 1921 to 1922. Muche married Elsa (El) Franke, who was a Bauhaus student, in 1922. After 1922 his style evolved from pure abstraction towards more figurative and organic leanings, a sort of lyric surrealism.
Muche was in charge of the 1923 Bauhaus Exhibition, their first major exhibition, for which he designed an experimental house known as "Haus am Horn". It was constructed in 1923 as the first practical implementation of the new Bauhaus building style. Such principles were key influences on 20th-century architecture. Haus am Horn was designed to showcase economical housing, providing a functional design using prefabricated materials for quick and inexpensive construction. The house, which demonstrates a keen understanding of the use of space, has been called "a true artwork of the realization of abstract monumental beauty". In 1996 the Haus am Horn became part of the World Heritage Site now called the Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau. Muche was the leading proponent of the Bauhaus architectural group. In 1926 he, along with Richard Paulick, designed the innovative Stahlhaus (Steel House) at Dessau-Törten. From 1925 to 1927 he headed the Bauhaus' weaving workshop in Dessau.
Muche left the Bauhaus in 1927 to join the faculty of Johannes Itten's Modern Art School of Berlin, where he taught until 1930. For 1929's 10 Years of the November Group Exhibition, Muche oversaw the abstract and constructive design and architecture departments. Starting in 1931, until he was dismissed by the Nazis in 1933, he was a professor at the State Academy for Art and Applied Arts in Breslau, where he taught with Oskar Schlemmer. He then resumed teaching in Berlin, at the School for Art and Work, under the directorship of Hugo Häring. He remained there until 1938.
Thirteen Muche paintings and two prints were confiscated from museums by the Nazis and at least two of those works were displayed in the 1937 Munich exhibition Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art). This exhibit was intended to inflame public opinion against modernism, which was presented as a conspiracy by people who hated German decency, and to incite revulsion against the "perverse Jewish spirit" penetrating German culture, although only six of the 112 artists included in the exhibition were in fact Jewish.
After spending some time in Italy, Muche wrote a book, Buon Fresco – Briefe aus Italien über Handwerk und Stil der echten Freskomalerei, on fresco painting. He exhibited his own frescoes at a Berlin gallery. From 1939 to 1958 Muche was on the faculty of the School for Textile Engineers in Krefeld, holding the position of artist director of the Master Class for Textile Art. He also worked in Wuppertal at an institute developing painting materials. His associates there included Oskar Schlemmer and Willi Baumeister.
He settled in Lindau, on the eastern side of Lake Constance, in 1960. There he continued his painting and graphic art work as a freelancer. His work in the 1970s included a series of paintings and drawings making up the Tafel der Schuld (Panels of Guilt). In 1979 he was awarded the Lovis Corinth Prize by the city of Regensburg. In 1980 Berlin's Bauhaus Archive assembled an extensive retrospective, Georg Muche – Das künstlerische Werk 1912–1927. Muche died in Lindau on 26 March 1987. Source: Wikipedia.
Georg Muche was born on 8 May 1895 in Querfurt, in the Prussian Province of Saxony, and grew up in the Rhön area. His father, Felix Muche, was a naïve painter and art collector who was known as Felix Ramholz.
Muche's art studies began in 1913 in Munich at the School for Painting and the Graphic Arts which had been founded by Anton Ažbe and was then owned by Paul Weinhold and Felix Eisengräber. In 1914 he applied to the Royal Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, but failed the entrance examination. His study of painting resumed in 1915, with Martin Brandenburg, when he moved to Berlin. At this time he had already been influenced by Wassily Kandinsky and Max Ernst, and became one of the earliest proponents of abstract art in Germany.
In Berlin, Muche became associated with Herwarth Walden and his Sturm artist group, working as Walden's exhibition assistant at the Sturm Gallery. He also taught painting at the Sturm Art School from 1916 to 1920. Muche's exposure to the Expressionist world influenced him to become more unconventional in his work, creating abstractions that combined elements of Cubism with the colour ideals of Der Blaue Reiter and Marc Chagall. He participated in three exhibitions from 1916 to 1918, each of which paired his work with that another artists: Max Ernst (1916), Paul Klee, and Alexander Archipenko (1918). From 1913 to 1923, Muche produced prints which showed a strong influence by Klee, as well as Marc Chagall.
His art career was interrupted with a one-year stint in the military, serving on the Western Front in 1917 during World War I.
Walter Gropius invited Muche in 1919 to join the Bauhaus art school in Weimar. At the urging of Lyonel Feininger, he accepted, becoming the youngest Master of Form. Herwarth Walden had given him a five-year contract with Sturm in 1917, but Muche dissolved it prematurely to gain some independence for his Bauhaus work.
At Bauhaus, he headed the weaving workshop from 1919 to 1925 and directed the preliminary course from 1921 to 1922. Muche married Elsa (El) Franke, who was a Bauhaus student, in 1922. After 1922 his style evolved from pure abstraction towards more figurative and organic leanings, a sort of lyric surrealism.
Muche was in charge of the 1923 Bauhaus Exhibition, their first major exhibition, for which he designed an experimental house known as "Haus am Horn". It was constructed in 1923 as the first practical implementation of the new Bauhaus building style. Such principles were key influences on 20th-century architecture. Haus am Horn was designed to showcase economical housing, providing a functional design using prefabricated materials for quick and inexpensive construction. The house, which demonstrates a keen understanding of the use of space, has been called "a true artwork of the realization of abstract monumental beauty". In 1996 the Haus am Horn became part of the World Heritage Site now called the Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau. Muche was the leading proponent of the Bauhaus architectural group. In 1926 he, along with Richard Paulick, designed the innovative Stahlhaus (Steel House) at Dessau-Törten. From 1925 to 1927 he headed the Bauhaus' weaving workshop in Dessau.
Muche left the Bauhaus in 1927 to join the faculty of Johannes Itten's Modern Art School of Berlin, where he taught until 1930. For 1929's 10 Years of the November Group Exhibition, Muche oversaw the abstract and constructive design and architecture departments. Starting in 1931, until he was dismissed by the Nazis in 1933, he was a professor at the State Academy for Art and Applied Arts in Breslau, where he taught with Oskar Schlemmer. He then resumed teaching in Berlin, at the School for Art and Work, under the directorship of Hugo Häring. He remained there until 1938.
Thirteen Muche paintings and two prints were confiscated from museums by the Nazis and at least two of those works were displayed in the 1937 Munich exhibition Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art). This exhibit was intended to inflame public opinion against modernism, which was presented as a conspiracy by people who hated German decency, and to incite revulsion against the "perverse Jewish spirit" penetrating German culture, although only six of the 112 artists included in the exhibition were in fact Jewish.
After spending some time in Italy, Muche wrote a book, Buon Fresco – Briefe aus Italien über Handwerk und Stil der echten Freskomalerei, on fresco painting. He exhibited his own frescoes at a Berlin gallery. From 1939 to 1958 Muche was on the faculty of the School for Textile Engineers in Krefeld, holding the position of artist director of the Master Class for Textile Art. He also worked in Wuppertal at an institute developing painting materials. His associates there included Oskar Schlemmer and Willi Baumeister.
He settled in Lindau, on the eastern side of Lake Constance, in 1960. There he continued his painting and graphic art work as a freelancer. His work in the 1970s included a series of paintings and drawings making up the Tafel der Schuld (Panels of Guilt). In 1979 he was awarded the Lovis Corinth Prize by the city of Regensburg. In 1980 Berlin's Bauhaus Archive assembled an extensive retrospective, Georg Muche – Das künstlerische Werk 1912–1927. Muche died in Lindau on 26 March 1987. Source: Wikipedia.
Dear Paul and Lientje, 6-5-1943
You spoil me so much! That Muche—our whole youth is in it. Paul, I cried at many passages. I experienced all of this so intensely; everything became so vividly clear again to me. And all those intellectual movements in which you and I were involved at the time. I did not then understand the connections, but now it has all become completely clear to me.
And I did not know that you already knew Muche in Brandenburg. His sphinx-like figure stands clearly before my eyes again. Man, you have given me tremendous joy with this. And Meyer's and the Sturm bookshop and Der Sturm—I experienced all of it very consciously. You always very kindly carried me along with you. And I grew up with these things.
Incidentally, I must have already been quite mature at that time to experience everything so consciously and to be able to process it all with my intellectual development. How clearly I still see the first Muche you used to explain expressionism to me. It is as if I can reproduce every stripe and colour again.
So, many, many thanks!
You spoil me so much! That Muche—our whole youth is in it. Paul, I cried at many passages. I experienced all of this so intensely; everything became so vividly clear again to me. And all those intellectual movements in which you and I were involved at the time. I did not then understand the connections, but now it has all become completely clear to me.
And I did not know that you already knew Muche in Brandenburg. His sphinx-like figure stands clearly before my eyes again. Man, you have given me tremendous joy with this. And Meyer's and the Sturm bookshop and Der Sturm—I experienced all of it very consciously. You always very kindly carried me along with you. And I grew up with these things.
Incidentally, I must have already been quite mature at that time to experience everything so consciously and to be able to process it all with my intellectual development. How clearly I still see the first Muche you used to explain expressionism to me. It is as if I can reproduce every stripe and colour again.
So, many, many thanks!
And Lientje, you have also given me great pleasure with the darned socks and the beautifully repaired blouse, even if it is somewhat materialistic. That counts just the same! Thank you!
About Mother, Mrs. Rosin—who has in the meantime been sent onward—wrote that everyone looks fresh and healthy, especially your mother. Not at all comparable to the emaciated and tired woman I once saw at your place. Red, round cheeks, youthful and beautifully dressed; most people are neatly dressed during their stay here. Your mother, like you yourselves, is a great support to me; she is a wonderful woman.
In the meantime, I have heard that many “stamped” people have been sent on from there; they speak of 700 people, because there was too little care available here. I am now waiting for post with all the details. I hope to receive something in the next few days, and also news from Heinz again.
Tomorrow I must go to P. again. He wanted to try whether it might still be possible to settle things with money alone, or with a novel. Things are also going wrong here with butter. But I will still send Mother half a pound of margarine that was sent to us from Nijmegen. A week ago I also sent half an ounce of cheese.
We have no plans at all. I am not yet so afraid for us that things will go wrong. Barbara is now well prepared.
Goodbye, dears,
your Ilse
About Mother, Mrs. Rosin—who has in the meantime been sent onward—wrote that everyone looks fresh and healthy, especially your mother. Not at all comparable to the emaciated and tired woman I once saw at your place. Red, round cheeks, youthful and beautifully dressed; most people are neatly dressed during their stay here. Your mother, like you yourselves, is a great support to me; she is a wonderful woman.
In the meantime, I have heard that many “stamped” people have been sent on from there; they speak of 700 people, because there was too little care available here. I am now waiting for post with all the details. I hope to receive something in the next few days, and also news from Heinz again.
Tomorrow I must go to P. again. He wanted to try whether it might still be possible to settle things with money alone, or with a novel. Things are also going wrong here with butter. But I will still send Mother half a pound of margarine that was sent to us from Nijmegen. A week ago I also sent half an ounce of cheese.
We have no plans at all. I am not yet so afraid for us that things will go wrong. Barbara is now well prepared.
Goodbye, dears,
your Ilse
WEGGUM.COM
Would it be possible that Ilse became this book by Muche from Paul and Lien?