Gertrud of le Fort

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Gertrud von le Fort around 1935

Gertrud Auguste Lina Elsbeth Mathilde Petrea Freiin von le Fort (born October 11, 1876 in Minden , † November 1, 1971 in Oberstdorf ) was a German writer . She also published under the pseudonyms Gerta von Stark and Petrea Vallerin .

Life

Memorial stone for Gertrud von le Fort in Boek

Gertrud von le Fort came from the Huguenot noble family le Fort and spent her childhood on the Boek family estate, now part of Rechlin an der Müritz in Mecklenburg , as well as in various garrison towns where her father Lothar von le Fort (1831-1902) a Prussian Colonel , was active. Her mother was Elsbeth (1842-1918), born von Wedel-Parlow . Up to the age of 14, Gertrud von le Fort received private lessons in her parents' home, partly from her father using the family archive. Only then did she attend the public school in Hildesheim . In 1896, the twenty year old made her first trip abroad to Vienna and northern Italy. In 1902 her father died, lastly Grand Ducal Commissioner for Police Matters in Ludwigslust. Gertrud went on further trips to other European countries. A stay in Rome in 1907 was of decisive importance for her further life and work .

From 1908 she studied Protestant theology , history , art history , literature and philosophy in Heidelberg , Marburg and Berlin , among other things as a student of Hans von Schubert and the religious philosopher Ernst Troeltsch , whose doctrine of faith (1925) she published posthumously based on her own lecture notes. When the war began in 1914, the von Ludwigslust family moved to Boek an der Müritz. Her younger brother Stephan von le Fort inherited the Boek estate in 1914.

After buying a house, Gertrud von le Fort lived in Baierbrunn near Munich from 1922 . Strongly attracted by the Catholic Church , she sought clarification of her denominational affiliation in her religious-philosophical studies, published the cycle of poems Hymns to the Church (1924) and converted to the Catholic Church in Rome in 1926. Gertrud von le Fort is seen as the German representative of the Renouveau catholique .

From Baierbrunn, Gertrud von le Fort made numerous trips to Italy and since 1933 gave lecture evenings in Switzerland and Germany . She made friends with Theodor Haeckel , Erich Przywara (through whom she got to know Edith Stein ) and the diplomat Paul Petit (through whom she made contact with Paul Claudel ). Their ideas of a “Christian Holy German Reich” and Catholicism stood in stark contrast to the ideology of National Socialism . Nevertheless, in 1938 she was able to publish her novel The Magdeburg Wedding with Insel Verlag . In 1939 Gertrud moved from le Fort to Oberstdorf im Allgäu , where her main residence remained until her death in 1971. Nevertheless, she stayed with friends in Switzerland for three years, from 1946 to 1949.

From 1950 Gertrud von le Fort was co-editor of the magazine Das literäre Deutschland and came into contact with Paul Claudel , Hermann Hesse , Reinhold Schneider , Friedrich Gogarten and Carl Zuckmayer . She thus developed into one of the most important Catholic writers of the 20th century.

Her grave is in the cemetery on Trettachstrasse in Oberstdorf.

Act

At the center of her novels, short stories, stories and poetry are questions of faith in mostly historical material; the Roman Catholic Church appears as a mediator and as a moral authority. Le Fort's work is about personal beliefs, the meaning of suffering and sacrifice, the church's confrontation with unbelief and human weakness, as well as psychological representations of spiritual developments, especially of women.

In 1928 she published her best-known work The Cloth of Veronica , the continuation of which she published in 1946 under the title Der Kranz der Engel . In The Last on the Scaffold (1932), she described the fate of the Compiègne martyrs , sixteen Carmelites who were guillotined during the French Revolution. Georges Bernanos (1888–1948) dramatized the material under the (German) title Die Begnadete Angst (1948); this piece in turn served as a template for the opera Dialogues des Carmélites by Francis Poulenc . Other works by Gertrud von le Forts are Hymns to the Church (1924), Hymns to Germany (1932), The Eternal Woman (1934), The Magdeburg Wedding (1938) and At the Gate of Heaven (1954).

Honors and memberships

Bust of Gertrud von le Fort created by Walter Kalot

Works

Poetry

  • The old oak tree , 1893
  • Ocean waves , 1893
  • Return , 1893
  • The Eternal Lamp , 1895
  • Two old houses , 1895
  • Poems , 1900
  • The royal children , 1903
  • Christ Song , 1905
  • The emigrants , 1905
  • The melancholy flower , 1906
  • The autumn woman , 1906
  • Bird's Dream , 1906
  • There was a margrave over the Rhine in 1907
  • Songs and Legends , 1912
  • Star song , 1914
  • Song of a Silesian Sex , 1914
  • Lullabies of the emigrants , 1914
  • The emigrants , 1914
  • The cathedral after the battle , 1914
  • Song of a Galician Nun , 1915
  • All Souls' Day , 1915
  • The Sibyl , 1920
  • German suffering , 1923
  • Hymns to the Church , 1924;
  • Hymns to Germany , 1932;
  • Poems , 1949 (expanded 1953 and 1970)
  • Aphorisms , 1962
  • The Wall , 1966

Novels

stories

Autobiographical

  • Records and Memories , 1951
  • Half of Life , 1965.

Essays

  • Female figures in Schiller's life , 1905
  • Women's tragedies in the Tower , 1906
  • The Eternal Woman , 1933
  • The eternal woman. The woman in time. The timeless woman. , 1934
  • Our way through the night , 1949
  • Woman and Technology , 1959
  • What I Believe In and other articles , 1968

Editorial activity

  • Ernst Troeltsch, Doctrine of Faith. After lectures in Heidelberg in 1911 and 1912 , 1925 (posthumously to Troeltsch)

anthology

  • Gertrud von le Fort. Reader. Selected stories. , Introduction and commentary by Gundula Harand and Gudrun Trausmuth , Würzburg 2012

literature

  • Hedwig Bach (Ed.): Poetry is a form of love. Encounter with Gertrud von Le Fort and her work. On the 100th birthday on October 11, 1976. Ehrenwirth, Munich 1976
  • Eugen Biser : Borderline experiences. The meaning of the religious borderline situations in the works of Gertrud von le Forts . Diss., University of Freiburg 1956.
  • Eugen Biser: Persuasion to love. The poetic interpretation of existence Gertrud von le Forts . Habbel, Regensburg 1980, ISBN 3-7748-0361-7 .
  • Lothar Bossle (Ed.): German Christian female poets of the 20th century. Gertrud von le Fort, Ruth Schaumann, Elisabeth Langgässer. Festschrift for Friedrich Kienecker on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Creator, Würzburg 1990, ISBN 3-89247-047-2
  • Gerda Brenning: Explanations on "The Last on the Scaffold", on "The Consolata" and on "The Court of the Sea." King's Explanations , 286. C. Bange Verlag , Hollfeld (1962)
  • Gisela Brinker-Gabler, Karola Ludwig, Angela Wöffen: Lexicon of German-speaking women writers 1800–1945. dtv Munich, 1986. ISBN 3-423-03282-0 . Pp. 190-195.
  • Hugo Bruggisser: Gertrud von le Fort. The poetic work. Keller, Winterthur 1959 (also: Diss. Phil. University of Zurich 1959)
  • Sabine Düren: The woman in the field of tension between emancipation and faith. A study of theological-anthropological statements about the nature of women in German-language literature of the first half of the 20th century with special consideration of Edith Stein, Sigrid Undset, Gertrud von LeFort and Ilse von Stach (= theory and research. Theology. Vol. 34 = Theory and Research. Vol. 535). Roderer, Regensburg 1998, ISBN 3-89073-237-2 (At the same time: Augsburg, Universität, Dissertation, 1998).
  • Maria Eschbach: The importance of Gertrud von Le Forts in our time (= shape and work. Vol. 1, ZDB -ID 532783-0 ). Schnell, Warendorf 1948.
  • Maria Eschbach: "To believe means to listen to love". Faith walks with Gertrud von le Fort and Hans Urs von Balthasar. Schöningh, Paderborn 2005, ISBN 3-506-72974-8 .
  • Alfred Focke: Gertrud von Le Fort. Overall view and foundations of her poetry. Styria, Graz et al. 1960.
  • Roswitha Goslich: Finding Orientation in the Age of Fear. Gertrud von le Forts Path to Mysticism (= German texts and studies. Vol. 71). Olms, Hildesheim et al. 2003, ISBN 3-487-11897-1 (At the same time: Munich, University, dissertation: Spiritual orientation crisis in the age of fear. Gertrud von le Fort's answer in life and work. ).
  • Philipp W. Hildmann: Searching for God's trail. Gertrud von le Fort and Gerhard Hildmann. In: Communications from the Ernst Troeltsch Society. Vol. 14, 2001, ISSN  0178-3025 , pp. 75-90.
  • Hajo Jappe: Gertrud von le Fort. The narrative work. Unterberger, Meran 1950.
  • Antje Kleinewefers: “A whole new love for love”. Gertrud von le Fort. Works from 1946 and 1947. Interpretations. Plöger, Annweiler 2003, ISBN 3-89857-174-2
  • Margaret Klopfle Devinney: The legends of Gertrud von le Fort. Text and audience (= Studies in modern German literature. Vol. 27). Lang, New York NY et al. 1989, ISBN 0-8204-0719-4 .
  • Gisbert Kranz : Gertrud von Le Fort as an artist . Schöningh, Paderborn 1959.
  • Gisbert Kranz: Gertrud von Le Fort. Life and work in data, pictures and testimonials. Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1976. ISBN 3-458-01895-6 .
  • Renate Krüger : Departure from Mecklenburg. Gertrud von LeFort and her world. Allitera, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-935877-02-1
  • Helene Kuhlmann: From listening and obeying. A study on Gertrud von le Fort. Paulus-Verlag, Recklinghausen 1950.
  • Eleonore von La Chevallerie:  Le Fort, Gertrud Freiin von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-428-00195-8 , pp. 57-59 ( digitized version ).
  • Nicholas J. Meyerhofer: Gertrud von LeFort (= heads of the 20th century. Vol. 119). Morgenbuch-Verlag, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-371-00376-0 .
  • Joël Pottier: "And you want to save your roof, Christless West!" Gertrud von le Forts sympathy for the fate of the displaced (= Germany and its neighbors. H. 17). Cultural Foundation of the German Displaced Persons , Bonn 1996, ISBN 3-88557-161-7 .
  • Klaus Porstner: Love of God and neighbor in Gertrud von le Fort. A moral theological investigation based on the novel "The wreath of angels". Vienna 1972 (Vienna, University, Catholic theological dissertation of December 14, 1972).
  • Wolfgang Schütz: Koblenz heads. People from the city's history - namesake for streets and squares. Ed .: Bernd Weber, Verlag für Werbung Blätter GmbH, Mülheim-Kärlich 2005 (2nd revised and expanded edition).

Web links

Commons : Gertrud von Le Fort  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Gertrud von Le Fort  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bernd Kettern:  Le Fort, Gertrud von. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 4, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, ISBN 3-88309-038-7 , Sp. 1348-1356.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  2. ↑ Wilhelm Kühlmann / Roman Luckscheiter (Ed.): Modern and Antimodern. The Renouveau catholique and German literature. Contributions to the Heidelberg Colloquium from September 12 to 16, 2006 , Rombach Verlag 2008.
  3. ^ Ernst Klee : The culture lexicon for the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-10-039326-5 , p. 357.
  4. ↑ Highest award for special cultural achievements and merits
  5. ↑ therein: The wife of Pilate, 1955; The Judgment of the Sea, 1943; The Ostracized, 1953; The Consolata, 1947; The Daughter of Jephthah, 1964; At the Gate of Heaven, 1954
personal data
SURNAME Le Fort, Gertrud von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Freiin von Le Fort, Gertrud Auguste Lina Elsbeth Mathilde Petrea; Stark, Gerta von; Vallerin, Petrea
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer
DATE OF BIRTH October 11, 1876
PLACE OF BIRTH Minden
DATE OF DEATH 1st November 1971
Place of death Oberstdorf