Maria Mathi

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Maria Mathi (born November 5, 1889 in Hadamar ( Hesse ); † June 26, 1961 in Heiligenberg ) was a German writer , poet and translator . With her historical novel If only the Sparrowhawk doesn't come , she reached a wide audience.

Life

Maria Mathis birthplace in Hadamar

Maria Mathi came from a long-established family in the small Hessian town of Hadamar . She grew up with her two sisters as the daughter of the mayor , public prosecutor and fire chief Adolf Mathi, who died early. Maria Mathi attended the Limburg Marienschule and wrote poems and smaller plays as a pupil.

In 1912 she married Ernst Schmid, a high school teacher from Darmstadt who had a doctorate, and moved with him to Saargemünd in Lorraine , where the couple lived until they were expelled in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles. It wasn't until 1920 that Dr. Schmid regained his professional footing, as he got a job at the Augustinergymnasium in Friedberg / Hessen . As a result of Ernst Schmid's early retirement for political reasons in 1937, there was another change of location to the Lake Constance region, where Maria Mathi, who officially bore her husband's name, lived in great seclusion until her death.

Maria Mathi published the diary of an expectant woman in 1914 and a volume of stories in 1925 under the title Schnitter Tod and Gärtner Gott . In the years 1933 to 1945 Maria Mathi, who was not a member of the Reichsschrifttumskammer and thus had no possibility of publication, stayed away from the public literature business. She was only able to place five poems in the Lake Constance Book in 1943 and 1944 , a regional yearbook that was not harmonized by the National Socialists. The historical novel Im Schatten der Giesenfrau , set in the time of the Thirty Years' War and thematizing the witch hunt , was published in 1948. Maria Mathi published more than 150 poems during her lifetime in various daily newspapers, magazines and annual publications. She translated poems by Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allan Poe . Of particular note is her transmission of Poe's poem The Raven , published in 1954. She also wrote for literary magazines such as the literary monthly Das Goldene Tor published by Alfred Döblin . The author took part in numerous literary broadcasts in the still young Federal Republic of Germany and was considered a well-known German writer after the Second World War .

The novel If only the Sparrowhawk does not come , which Mathi wrote between 1949 and 1951, deals with the murder and persecution of Hadamar Jews during the Nazi era. In her work, the author processes both fictitious and real events from the history of her personally known Hadamar families and thus creates a mixture of coming to terms with the past, development and historical novels that is important in literary and local history. Among other things, the text gives insights into everyday Jewish life in the countryside. The text provides character studies, illuminates the interpersonal relationships between the characters and the escalation of personal conflicts that have existed for generations, which are accelerated by social and political developments. Mainly, however, the novel makes an early literary contribution to addressing the Nazi atrocities, especially since the systematic murders in the Hadamar Nazi killing center are included in the plot. The author initially struggled to find a publisher for the novel. After publication, however, there were numerous new editions and translations in different languages. The novel was discussed in almost all German daily newspapers and received a very positive response, especially in other European countries. Initially feared Maria Mathi that after the publication of Sperber did not return to their old home, picking up on this novel material have earned her Hadamar enemies.

The city of Hadamar named a street after Maria Mathi. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the writer's death, the Maria Mathis urn was transferred from Karlsruhe to Hadamar and buried on June 13, 2011 in the course of a solemn ceremony and with the active participation of the population in the old Hadamar cemetery.

Works (selection)

  • Diary of a woman to be. Novel. 1914.
  • Dom in the fog poem. In: Friedberger Geschichtsblätter, 5, 1922, p. 65.
  • Reaper Death and Gardener God. Stories. 1925.
  • In the shadow of the giant woman. Historical novel. 1948.
  • If only the sparrowhawk doesn't come. Novel. 1955.

literature

  • Martina Hartmann-Menz: Maria Mathi - An appreciation. In: Yearbook for the Limburg-Weilburg district 2011, p. 239.
  • Martina Hartmann-Menz: Maria Caroline Mathi - On the unity of life and work of the Hadamar poet. Series of publications on the history and culture of the Limburg-Weilburg district. Kisselmedien, Beselich 2011.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Franz-Josef Sehr : The foundation of the Nassau fire brigade association . In: Yearbook for the Limburg-Weilburg district 2012 . The district committee of the district of Limburg-Weilburg, Limburg-Weilburg 2011, ISBN 3-927006-48-3 , p. 65-67 .
personal data
SURNAME Mathi, Maria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer and poet
DATE OF BIRTH November 5, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Hadamar , Hesse
DATE OF DEATH June 26, 1961
Place of death Heiligenberg , Lake Constance district