Johanna Klemm

Johanna Henriette Catharina Klemm , also Johanne Klemm (born November 13, 1856 in Bützow ; † April 23, 1924 in Schwerin ) was a German writer . Her publications for young girls in particular were distributed in large numbers from the end of the 19th century until the Second World War .

Life

Johanna Klemm was the daughter of a wealthy wine and coal merchant in Bützow, who provided his seven children with a solid education. She attended a private girls' school in her hometown, where she received piano and singing lessons in addition to English and French lessons. When she was not yet 17, she started a job as a teacher on a Mecklenburg estate. In 1878 she moved to a similar job with the family of Chamberlain von Voss in the former Cistercian convent Rühn near Bützow. She later processed her impressions from this time in her first and at the same time most successful novel, “Das kleine Klosterfräulein” (1898).

From 1885 she had her singing voice trained in Berlin in order to work as a singing teacher herself. In 1888 she moved to Rostock , where she lived with her sister Betty, a piano teacher. During this time she began to write, initially stories for adults, after the publication of her first youth novel "Das kleine Klosterfräulein", mostly literature for young girls. In 1901 the Klemm sisters moved to Schwerin. In 1906 Johanna suffered a stroke that paralyzed her left side. Nevertheless, until her death she published 21 publications, some of which were extensive. Johanna Klemm remained unmarried.

Services

In her literature, Johanna Klemm took on the joys and problems of girls of the time (age: around 13 to 19 years). She encouraged her readers to get a full education and take up a career. In this respect, she set the pace for the development of women's professional activity in the 20th century. She propagated honesty towards herself and others. In addition, her focus was on a good understanding within the family, on the importance of friendship, on respect and enthusiasm for art, on impartiality towards the so-called lower class and towards servants. In some respects she passed on the traditional image of women at the time. The Mecklenburgische Zeitung summarized in an article on April 25, 1924 about the death of Johanna Klemm: "Through all of her books there is a trait of noble, benevolent humanity, which has probably contributed significantly to her popularity."

Works

• The little nun (1898, at least 22 editions)
• Heros lamp and other short stories (1901)
• Nelly's Notebook (1903)
• Nina (1903)
• One thing is not suitable for everyone (1903)
• Mother tongue and other short stories (1906)
• Eva König (1906) ( digitized version )
• The two black browns (1909, at least 19 editions)
• His little sister (1910, at least 17 editions)
• A modern Paris (1910)
• Monika (1912, at least 11 editions)
• Mrs. Regine and her daughters (1914)
• Home Magic (1915)
• Life is Striving (1915)
• Three little rice from one tribe (1915, at least 17 editions)
• We Fight With (1916)
• The riddle of Grünweide (1917, at least 13 editions)
• Thanksgiving (1917)
• On your own floe (1920)
• With a light step on a steady hand (1920)
• Abroad (1920)
• From all sorts of nests (1921)
• Forest Asylum (1921?)
• From narrow and wide (1922, at least 9 editions)
• The daughters of Rodenhalde (1922)
• Faithfully managed (1923)
• Bloom and Mature (1923)
• Like a Flower (1924)
• The probationary year (1924)
• Hollberg House (1925)

estate

Original letters from Johanna Klemm and her family, donated by a descendant of her eldest sister, are kept in the Krummes Haus Museum (Bützow) .

literature

• Christoph von Lowtzow, From lost time. The forgotten successful author Johanna Klemm (1856–1924). Life, work, three short stories. Print on Demand, Quickborn near Hamburg 2002 and 2007.

Web links

• Literature by and about Johanna Klemm in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by Johanna Klemm in the Gutenberg-DE project
• Literature about Johanna Klemm in the state bibliography MV