Anna Schmidt (showman)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anna Schmidt (* 5. May 1897 in Oberkotzau ; † 13. January 1931 ibid) was a German 540 pounds (ie 270 kg..) Heavy circus woman who has traveled under the stage name "Pink Debela" throughout Europe and the Vienna Prater as "thick Rosl from Munich “was famous.

Life

In the 1920s Anna Schmidt performed in the Vienna Prater , where she became famous as the “fat Rosl from Munich”. In the second half of the 1920s, her impresario Jakob Feigl , who was known as “ Barnum von Wien” , toured with her through numerous European cities. Shortly before her untimely death, "Rosa Debela" made guest appearances in Greece and Turkey.

" The death of the" fat Rosl ". Thousands of Viennese knew the “fat Rosl”, a young woman from Munich of colossal size who - as we reported yesterday - died on Monday. The showman Feigl sen. vom Prater was the impresario of the girl with whom he had been traveling from town to town for four years. Rosa, whose family name was Debela, was in Greece, Turkey and for a while in Vienna, where she performed in the Prateretablissement Feigls. The twenty-three-year-old, whose weight was given as 270 kg, was last in Prague. There she fell ill with angina . As her condition continued to deteriorate, Feigl rented a car in which he took fat Rosl to Ober-Kotzau near Hof in Bavaria - the girl's hometown - in a seven-hour drive . Rosa Debela, who led a restless wandering life for years, died in the peace of her parents' home. "

Essential parts of this obituary of the "Illustrierte Kronenzeitung" were adopted in 1968 by Hans Pemmer , the founder of the Pratermuseum , and in 1997 by the Viennese historian Marcello La Speranza in their relevant publications on artists, showmen and curiosity shows and thus, as it were, approved as a research status, although neither the day of death, Age of death or surname are correct.

“In the Apolloschau (Prater No. 139), opened by Oskar Glas in 1874, pretty much the entire program of a Prater showroom could be seen and so the giant Willi Wood and the giant child Luise Oppitz could not be missing. In the nineties [sic!] The 'dicke Rosl' from Munich performed here, whose real name was Debela and weighed 270 kg. You could later admire them in the 'Weltschau' at Feigl, where Jakob Feigl brought 'sensations' year after year from 1897 to 1933. Feigl traveled with fat Rosl, which took him to Turkey. Rosl died in 1931 of complications from angina. "

- Hans Pemmer: displays of abnormalities in Vienna from the middle of the 18th century. In: Viennese history sheets . Published by the Association for the History of the City of Vienna . No. 1. 1968. pp. 265-270. P. 268.

“In the old Prater there were still sickly fat people to marvel at, such as the 'Dicke Rosl' and the 'Dicke Mitzi'. These ladies had a deplorable fate. They were not tampered with. They were real. They suffered from her illness. An underactive thyroid was responsible for the enormous body size. Jakob Feigel [sic!], Her impresario, traveled from town to town with the 'Dicken Rosl'. Of course she could also be seen in the Prater. Rosa Debela, as she was called by her real name, also traveled to Turkey and Greece. The 23 year old woman from Munich [sic!] Had a beautiful face and black hair. Her weight was given as 270 kg. She last stayed in Prague in 1931. There she fell ill with angina. When her condition worsened, Feigel [sic!] Rented a car in which he brought fat Rosl to Ober-Kosau [sic!] Near Hof in Bavaria - the girl's hometown. She died there a short time later. "

- Marcello La Speranza: Prater Kaleidoscope. A photo-historical ascent and descent through the Wiener Wurstelprater. Vienna: Picus 1997. S. 58f.

Most of the biographical information given in these reports (appearances in the Prater in the 1890s, age and date of death, family and place names) is incorrect. Some of this information comes from the marketing measures with which Schmidt's appearances were advertised: When the 32-year-old toured Slovenia and Serbia in the winter of 1929/30 , she was sometimes referred to as the “fatest woman in the world” and partly as “the fatest girl” to the world ”and their age is given as 23 years. In addition, her height was stated as 178 cm and it was announced that she had become engaged to “Friedrich Zilmann from Vienna” and that her wedding was about to take place.

The Viennese German scholar Andreas Weigel was in 2012 thanks to targeted research official documents confirming that "Rosa Debela" ( The name says ) against the long-term state of research, no real name, but was the stage name of Anna Schmidt, in her home town as the "Giant Lady "Was known:" When she died in Oberkotzau, her body had to be brought outside through the window ". In this sense, the entry in the official death register also specifically states: "It weighed over 400 pounds and traveled all over Europe as a show object."

Weigel's interest in clarifying Anna Schmidt's life data and identity was triggered by the Vorarlberg artist original Max Riccabona , who claimed that in the summer of 1932 he met the Irish writer James Joyce in the “Löwenschwemme” in Feldkirch , where “back then” among other things the "Dicke Rosl from Munich" would have been a guest. Weigel's research into Anna Schmidt's possible stays in Vorarlberg revealed that she was in Bregenz at the end of 1928:

“The Vorarlberg painter Rudolf Wacker , who is considered to be“ one of the most important Austrian representatives of New Objectivity and Expressionism ”, reports in his diary that the“ Dicke Rosl ”from Munich performed in Bregenz at that time and was his own model:“ One 'Fat' was there. The 540 pound 'Rosl from Munich'. - I still have the old interest. A feverish desire to draw such a woman. ”
In a note, Rudolf Sagmeister, editor of Wacker's diaries, adds the following additional information:“ In Wacker's 'Sex' folder there is a photograph: 'Die dicke Rosl 540 pounds'. Inscribed on the back by Wacker: 'Bregenz, 30. Novb. 28th poster: Fat Rosl from Munich, weighs 540 pounds, you have to see that on 2 armchairs, she sleeps in 2 beds, the darling of all women, men and children! '”
Wacker, whose works were collected by Riccabona's uncle Max Perlhefter , was verifiably often visiting Max Riccabona's family in Feldkirch in the 1920s and 1930s. "

- Andreas Weigel: Max Riccabona's James-Joyce-Münchhausiaden. Correction of his dubious eyewitness and contemporary witness.

Anna Schmidt died on January 13, 1931 at the age of 33: "Exactly ten years to the day before James Joyce, to whom she owes her scientific interest in her identity and her life."

Photographs

swell

literature

  • The "fat Rosl" died. In: " Illustrierte Kronen-Zeitung ". January 15, 1931.
  • The death of the "fat Rosl". In: "Illustrierte Kronen-Zeitung". January 16, 1931. p. 5.
  • Hans Pemmer: Exhibitions of abnormalities in Vienna from the middle of the 18th century. In: Viennese history sheets . Published by the Association for the History of the City of Vienna . No. 1. 1968. pp. 265-270. P. 268.
  • Max Riccabona: Epiphany in the lion flood. James Joyce in Vorarlberg. In: Protocols. Viennese half-yearly publication for literature, fine arts and music (1977). Issue 1. pp. 133-141. P. 138f. - Claims that the "fat Rosl" was in the Feldkirch "Löwenschwemme".
  • Marcello La Speranza: Prater Kaleidoscope. A photo-historical ascent and descent through the Wiener Wurstelprater. Vienna: Picus 1997. S. 58f.
  • Gabriele Edelmann: “Displays of 'abnormalities' and 'freaks' in Vienna. An examination of the performance practice of Prodigien. ” (PDF file; 2.06 MB) Diploma thesis. 2009. See p. 114. Section 8.2.5. Naming: “… The Viennese colossal ladies liked to use pet names like“ Prater-Mizzi ”(Maria Zacharias) or“ Die dicke Rosl ”(Rosa Debela). ... ".
  • Andreas Weigel: Max Riccabona's fictional encounter with James Joyce . Required correction of a dubious contemporary witness. In: " miromente ". No. 25 September 2011. pp. 34-44. P. 38f. - This post contains a longer section on Max Riccabona's description of the "fat Rosl from Munich".
  • Andreas Weigel: Max Riccabona's James-Joyce- Münchhausiaden . Correction of his dubious contemporary witness. In: Rheticus. Series of publications by the Rheticus Society . No. 55, 2012, pp. 92-107, especially pp. 96-97. For the first time, this article contains the officially guaranteed life data of the "fat Rosl from Munich".

Web links

  • Andreas Weigel: Max Riccabona's fictional encounter with James Joyce. Correction of his dubious eyewitness and contemporary witness. - The updated and significantly expanded web version of the " Miromente " and "Rheticus" article contains a longer section on Max Riccabona's description of the "fat Rosl from Munich" as well as in the "Addendum: First officially guaranteed biographical details about Rosa Debela."
  • Lisbeth Kaupenjohann: "Giant Lady" from Oberkotzau. Anna Barbara Schmidt once became famous as "fat Rosl". In: Frankenpost . July 31, 2012. City and district of Hof. P. 13.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Postcard "Die dicke Rosl, 540 pounds". ( Memento from January 30, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ a b "Debela" means "fat" and "fat" in the Croatian, Serbian and Slovenian languages.
  3. ↑ "Jakob Feigl, from 1897 to 1933 owner of the show booth with the title 'Feigls Weltschau' was widely regarded as the best commander of the Prater with the decorative and flattering nickname 'the Barnum of Vienna', based on the legendary American impresario, showman, King of the circus and master of humbug. [...] 'Real abnormalities' were also presented here, such as albinos or the 'Big Rosl', with whom Feigl also went on guest tours. " Gerhard Eberstaller: (Almost) forgotten: Varieté in Vienna. In: Wiener Zeitung . April 2, 2002.
  4. ↑ The death of the "fat Rosl". "Illustrierte Kronen-Zeitung". January 16, 1931. p. 5.
  5. ↑ See the commented portrait photo documentation: 'Fat Rozika', sitting.
  6. ↑ A world sensation in Maribor . The thickest girl in the world. In: Mariborer Zeitung of May 16, 1930.
  7. ↑ "The fatest woman in the world" is getting married. In: Mariborer Zeitung of December 24, 1929.
  8. ↑ a b Message from Doris Rödel (Evangelical Lutheran Parish Office Oberkotzau) to Andreas Weigel. May 23, 2012.
  9. ↑ Death book of the Evangelical Lutheran Parish Office in Oberkotzau.
  10. ↑ a b Andreas Weigel: Max Riccabonas James-Joyce-Münchhausiaden. Correction of his dubious eyewitness and contemporary witness. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 16, 2012 ; accessed on August 16, 2013 .
personal data
SURNAME Schmidt, Anna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Debela, Rosa (stage name); Dick Rosl from Munich (artist name); Schmidt, Anna Barbara
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German showwoman
DATE OF BIRTH May 5, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH Oberkotzau
DATE OF DEATH January 13, 1931
Place of death Oberkotzau