Harriet Ellen Siderowna von Rathlef-Keilmann, (3 January 1887 – 1 May 1933), was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

sculptor and writer of children's books.

Life and work

She was born to a prominent Jewish family in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

, a province of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. She married Harald von Rathlef, a lieutenant in the Czarist Regiment of the Alexander Hussars, in 1908 in Riga. The couple had four children. The family fled to Germany on December 28, 1918, in an effort to escape from revolutionary Russia. The family settled near

Weimar, Germany Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbourin ...

, where she studied under

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-American architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in conne ...

at the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

until 1921. She divorced her husband in 1922 and supported her children with the income from her sculptures, graphics and illustrations. In 1925 she became a major proponent of

Anna Anderson Anna Anderson (born Franziska Schanzkowska, 16 December 1896 – 12 February 1984) was an impostor who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia. Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia, Nicholas II an ...

's claim to be

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

. She befriended the claimant and wrote a series of articles about her. In the same year she converted to Roman Catholicism. She was involved in artistic circles and social causes in Berlin, but was forced to resign from the Society of Berlin Women Artists when

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

rose to power. Alarmed by the political developments in Nazi Germany, she hoped to leave the country. Before she could make definite plans, she died in Berlin on 1 May 1933 of a burst

appendix Appendix, or its plural form appendices, may refer to: __NOTOC__ In documents * Addendum, an addition made to a document by its author after its initial printing or publication * Bibliography, a systematic list of books and other works * Index (pub ...

.Kurth, p. 275 In

Falk Harnack Falk Harnack (2 March 1913 – 3 September 1991) was a German director and screenwriter. During Germany's Nazi era, he was also active with the German Resistance and toward the end of World War II, the partisans in Greece. Harnack was from a famil ...

's 1956 film, ''

The Story of Anastasia ''The Story of Anastasia'' and in the UK, ''Is Anna Anderson Anastasia?'' (German: ''Anastasia, die letzte Zarentochter''), is a German film directed by Falk Harnack. The 1956 film is based on the true story of Anna Anderson, who was pulled from ...

'', she was portrayed by German actress

Käthe Braun Käthe Braun (11 November 1913 – 9 September 1994) was a German stage and film actress. She was married to director Falk Harnack and acted in several of his films. Career Katharina Braun was born in Wasserburg am Inn. After studying actin ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathlef, Harriet von 1887 births 1933 deaths German women artists Bauhaus alumni Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism German children's writers German Roman Catholics Artists from Riga White Russian emigrants to Germany German women children's writers Baltic-German people Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany