Sophie Reuschle

Sophie Reuschle 1939

Title The Swabian Heart

Paper cut Madonna

Sophie Reuschle-Rühlemann (born Sofie Häfner , born March 8, 1891 in Neuenstein , † October 21, 1982 in Bielefeld ) was a German writer .

Life

Sophie Reuschle was born on March 8, 1891 in Neuenstein (Württemberg) as the daughter of the day laborer Friedrich Häfner and his wife Margarethe, born in Brenner. Shortly after her birth, the father died and the mother and three children were on the poverty line. Through the mediation of the pastor from Neuenstein, she came as a foster child to the respected and wealthy family of lawyers of Hermann Friedrich Reuschle and his wife Sara, born in Mehr, in Borna (Saxony). When she entered the Bornaer Bürgererschule, now Dinter-Mittelschule , in 1897 she was adopted by the Reuschle family.

Her artistic talent developed at an early stage. She has enjoyed paper cutting and drawing since she was a child . But she also wrote her first poems, some of which she later set to music herself.

After the First World War , from which her fiancé did not return, she devoted herself increasingly to writing. Her first book was published in 1919 under the title The Wondrous Garden . Mostly she published books for children and young people, which were characterized by a strong religiousness. There are also many autobiographical traits in her books. With her books she tried to convey values. The family has always played an integral part, especially the woman in the family, although the image of women was already beginning to change. Based on her upbringing in a strictly Protestant family, however, she consistently represented these conservative views and thus had her readership.

Many of her books have been published several times. By 1924 their works as published The Swabian heart , the children from the house Rosli , The waiting Acker , The soul hiking flight or the golden harp in elaborate Zweifäusterdruck . “This is a series of books that are distinguished by their particularly careful equipment in terms of booking technology and artistic. (...) They are adorned with woodcuts, stone and pen drawings by the hand of the artist. ”(Erich Matthes Leipzig and Hartenstein / Erzgebirge publishing house) Sophie Reuschle often decorated her books with her artistically valuable paper cuttings or with her drawings Cousin Käthe Moßbach.

She remained closely connected to her homeland Swabia, which is also reflected in her stories. She was particularly influenced by the contact with her sister Lisa Häfner.

In 1924 Sophie Reuschle married the Leipzig engineer Herbert Rühlemann , who was a specialist in rocket technology . Sophie Reuschle stopped her writing and devoted herself entirely to the family, as she had propagated in her books. The Reuschle-Rühlemann family soon left Borna because their husband got a job in Sömmerda . In 1929 their only child, Reinhilde, was born in Erfurt.

After the seizure of power , the National Socialists tried to reissue Sophie Reuschle's books. However, it was suggested to her to replace the term “God” with “Leader”. Sophie Reuschle didn't want that. She did not want to let herself be captured by the National Socialists. The remaining stocks were collected and crushed. Sophie Reuschle fell into oblivion.

From 1939 she lived in Breslau and in 1944 came back to her mother in Borna with the first wave of refugees. The marriage was meanwhile at the cross point. Her husband, now a specialist in the V1 rocket , had had a lover for a long time. When the Americans handed Borna over to the Soviet occupation forces on June 1, 1945, they offered the family to move to the West. After fleeing via the Westerwald and Celle, Sophie Reuschle came to Bielefeld with her daughter. The marriage was divorced and Herbert Rühlemann lived and worked in America. To keep the family afloat, Sophie Reuschle held reading evenings and started writing poetry again. In 1948, for example, the book of stories, The Colorful Wreath, appeared . Many poems and stories from this time are shaped by the beauty and purity of nature, but also by a longing for the past and foreign countries.

Sophie Reuschle died on October 21, 1982 at the age of 91 and was buried in the Sennefriedhof in Bielefeld.

Works

• The wondrous garden . Published by Erich Matthes Leipzig / Hartenstein 1919.
• The children from the Röslihaus . Published by Erich Matthes Leipzig / Hartenstein 1920.
• The Swabian heart . Published by Erich Matthes Leipzig / Hartenstein 1920.
• The waiting field . Published by Erich Matthes Leipzig / Hartenstein 1920.
• The soul's wandering flight . Published by Erich Matthes Leipzig / Hartenstein 1920.
• Childhood . Published by Erich Matthes Leipzig / Hartenstein 1921.
• Peter Träumlein's Ascension . Published by Erich Matthes Leipzig / Hartenstein 1921.
• Marian songs . Published by Erich Matthes Leipzig / Hartenstein 1921 (set to music by Helene-Maria Petersen-Vietor in 1925).
• To be . Published by Erich Matthes Leipzig / Hartenstein 1921.
• The girl with the golden heart . Published by Erich Matthes Leipzig / Hartenstein 1922.
• From the diary of a strange saint . Published by Erich Matthes Leipzig / Hartenstein 1922.
• Chime sound . Publishing house for folk art and education R. Keutel Stuttgart 1922.
• The golden harp . Published by Erich Matthes Leipzig / Hartenstein 1924.
• Weaving and Life, A Spring Tale . Verlag W. Gensch Elberfeld 1924.
• The colorful wreath 1948.
• Snowdrop rings in 1949.
• Pichelhuber's Christmas 1950.
• The miracle of the holy night 1951.
• Poems . The Karlsruhe Messenger - Kurt Rüdiger, 1964.
• Bamboo whispers - images and sounds from Chinese . The Karlsruhe Messenger - Kurt Rüdiger, 1965.
• I am wind when hiking . Publishing house Der Steg im Kreis der Freunde, Dülmen 1977.
• Seven requests from a young Japanese woman . (The poem series in the volume, No. 27), Der Steg in the circle of friends, Dülmen 1978.

literature

• Flora Zöllner: German woman spirit in poetry and science Vol. II publishing house for folk art and popular education. Lahr in Baden 1927
• Thomas Bergner: Sophie Reuschle - A forgotten writer In: Bornaer Stadtjournal (Official Journal) No. 12/08, 13/08, 15/08 Südraum-Verlag. Borna 2008

Web links

• Literature by and about Sophie Reuschle in the catalog of the German National Library