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Who was Käthe Kruse? |
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Käthe Kruse was born in Breslau as Katharina Simon on 17 September 1883. She longed to be an actress and at the age of 16 she took acting lessen from actor Otto Gerlach. |
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| 17 years old | ||
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At the age of 17, she was offered a contract at the Berlin Lessing Theatre. In Berlin Katharina made a career for herself as Hedda Somin. When she was 19 Käthe Simon, or rather Hedda Somin, met the well-known artist and sculptor Max Kruse, who was 30 years her senior and fell in love with him. For Käthe Max was the most attractive man in Berlin. She wanted to bear his children, but she did not want to marry him. |
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| 19 years old | Käthe and Max | |
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Out of this relationship Käthe's oldest daughter Maria Speranza (Mimerle) was born on 2 December 1902. Max decided that Berlin was not the place to raise children and he sent Käthe and Maria to Ascona near Lago Maggiore. Her second daughter Sofia Ostara (Fifi) was born in Switzerland near Oberwaid, St. Gallen in 1904. Max worked in Berlin and stayed there, but visited his young family frequently. |
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| Käthe and Mimerle | In 1905, Mimerle wanted a doll for Christmas. Käthe asked Max to buy her a china faced doll in Berlin. Max, however, wrote to her "No, I won't buy you a doll! They are horrible. How can a hard, cold and stiff doll evoke feelings of motherly love in a child? Make one yourself as you sure are creative." | |
| There was no better way to develop her artistic talents. Käthe made her first doll; a towel filled with warm sand, knots in the fabric for hands and feet and a potato wrapped in cloth for a head. With a dead match she drew its eyes, mouth and nostrils. It certainly was no masterpiece, but Mimerle loved it. The doll was called 'Oscar' after Max's brother. More dolls followed and the Kruse family grew, too. |
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| In 1909 their third daughter Johanna Ermfriede (Hannerle) was born, named after her stillborn brother Johan (1908). Shortly before Hannerle's birth Max and Käthe decided to get married. In March 1909 the wedding was celebrated in Munich. | ||
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Berlin 1910-1911 In 1910, Käthe and the children returned to Berlin. During her previous wanderings in Munich she had found a 'Fiamingohead', a replica of a child's head by the Flemish Baroque sculptor Frans Duquesnoy, called Fiamingo (1597 – 1643). Käthe Kruse was delighted and started experimenting with the head and so the Käthe Kruse doll was born. Käthe intended to make the dolls exclusively for her own children. |
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| However, when she was invited to contribute to an exposition of dolls called 'Spielzeug aus eigener Hand' (home-made toys) in the Tietz department store (now KaDeWe) in Berlin, Käthe decided to make a series of dolls for this occasion. The dolls were natural, unbreakable and made to be loved! Her hand-made cloth dolls attracted a great deal of attention; it was just what people needed. Both the toy trade and the doll industry were very interested. | ||
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The Kruse family agreed that Käthe should not make the dolls herself. In December 1910 they entered into a contract with 'Kämmer und Reinhardt' (K&R) who were going to make Käthe's dolls. 'Baby Bauz' was put on the market as a Käthe Kruse doll, but only few of them were sold. Max and Käthe were dissatisfied with the dolls made by K&R and the cooperation only lasted a few months. | |
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In the autumn of 1911 she
received a telegram from America asking her to produce 150 dolls
before 8 November and she decided to make the dolls herself after
all. Their house in Berlin was quickly converted into an improvised
workplace. |
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Bad Köse on the River Salle 1912 – 1950 The house in Berlin soon became too small and Käthe had to look for another working accommodation. In 1912, Hannerle fell ill with whooping cough and the family moved house to Bad Kösen. Käthe had her first real working place in the Friedrichstraße, where she continued her work. |
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| Hanne with dolls | ||
| In Berlin, their first son and heir Michael was born in 1911. In 1912, Jochen (Jockerle) was born in Bad Kösen. |
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| Family in 1914 | ||
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In 1918 son Friedebald was born, who sat for a bust at the age of three on behalf of sculptor Igor von Jakimow. This bust later served as a model for 'the German Child'. In 1921, Käthe gave birth to her last son Max. In 1923, she had to look for a larger working place again. The disused 'Pädagoguim' in the Friedrichstraße was converted into the Käthe Kruse Company. | |
| Friedebald | ||
| Apart from dolls and educational dolls, which were by then world-famous, the company began to produce shop-window dummies. Business was booming as never before and Käthe was awarded a gold medal at the World Fair in Paris in 1937. However, there was also grief. In 1942 her husband Max died at the age of 88. In 1943 her son Jochen died and in 1944 her son Friedebald. | ||
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Donauwörth 1950-1956. After the war, Bad Kösen was occupied by Soviet troops and Käthe had to work under hard conditions. In April 1950 she fled Bad Kösen, leaving all her belongings behind and came to the West via Berlin. |
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| Käthe and Max | Supported by her children (Michael established a working place in Donauwörth in 1947, Max had been working in Bad Pyrmont since 1945 and came to Donauwörth in 1949) Käthe Kruse embarked on rebuilding her life's work. | Käthe and Michael |
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She stayed in Donauwörth until she retreated from the company and moved house to Munich in 1956. In the same year, Käthe was awarded the 'Bundesverdienstkreuz 1e Klasse', an honour seldom given to women. In 1958, Michael and Max also retreated from the company and daughter Hanne and her husband Heinz Adler continued her mother's lifework successfully. |
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| Hanne | Heinz Adler | |
| Hanne Adler-Kruse was awarded the 'Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande' in December 1989. On 19 July 1989 Kätchen, as her children called Käthe affectionately, died at the age of 84 in Murnau at the Staffelsee. Her life had been eventful and worrisome, but also happy and successful. The name Käthe Kruse will be remembered for generations because of her dolls. | ||
