In the first post on my blog I want to introduce a biography of German novelist Gertrud von le Fort at the background of the time she lived in. Her extraordinary long life span (1876-1971) coincides with a period marked by unprecedented historical twists and was formed by them to a great extent.
The following summary will be based mainly on information provided on the website of the Gertrud von le Fort Gesellschaft, founded in 1982 in
Wurzburg,
Germany (http://www.gertrud-von-le-fort.de/).
Childhood
Gertrud von le Fort was born on 11th October 1876 in the town of Minden located in the present German state of North Rhine - Westphalia. As implied by her unusual name, she came from an aristocratic family with a rich European tradition.
Le Fort family had its origins in the North Italian region of Piemont. Following a short stay in Savoy, members of this family settled in the Swiss town of Geneva in the middle of the 16th century, which was at that time under rule of the famous reformer John Calvin. Original family predicate "li Forti" (sometimes also referred to as "Lifforti") was changed into French "le Fort". At the same time they adopted the new reformed belief. They succeeded in obtaining Geneva civil rights and ranked among respected families of that town. Many members of the le Fort family worked in services of royal families virtually accross all of the Europe. François le Fort (1656-1699) stands out among them in particular. After adventurous trips to France and Netherlands he eventually came to Russia where he worked in the service of Tsar Peter the Great. Thanks to his favour he rose to high status and made a large fortune. His heir became his nephew Pierre who moved from Russia to German region of Mecklenburg during the Northern War. He was great-great-grandfather of Gertrud's father.
Gertrud's father Lothar (1831-1902) was thus member of the Mecklenburg branch of the Swiss family of le Fort. He served as major in Prussian army, which inspired in him large sense of duty. But he was also a loving father, particularly being fond of his eldest daughter Gertrud. His job in army entailed the fact that the family often had to move. During the first years of Gertrud's life the family lived successively in Minden, Berlin, Kolblenz and Hildesheim. Nevertheless she and her siblings Elisabeth and Stephan, grew up in a very secure and loving background.
Her mother Elsabeth, née von Wedel-Parlow, (1842-1918) was a very pious and artistically talented woman who took care of their children's private education. She taught them biblical history, poems and songs, as well as painting and handicraft. Later on, her daughters and she read even modern authors, such as Keller, Meyer, Ibsen, and also great Russian and French storytellers.
Children acquired a very warm relationship towards nature too. They were spending their summer holidays with their relatives in the Mecklenburg countryside (at the family estate Boek by Müritzsee Lake, in the town of Misdroy/Miedzyzdroje on the Wolin island, and with their grandparents in the town of Polssen). These experiences had later a great influence on Gertrud's writings.
Early writings and academic studies
The first big change in Gertrud's life was represented by the death of her father in 1902. It happened four years after his retirement when the family moved to a quiet Mecklenburg town of Ludwigslust. The family then adhered to a strict period of mourning, which resulted in separation from social life. This strict separation might contribute to the fact that Gertrud remained unmarried. Mother along with her daughters devoted to literature – not only reading but also writing. At that time originated the first Gertrud's poems that were published in magazines (mostly under pseudonym Gertrud von Stark). In addition, they later did a lot of travelling. The main destinations of their travels were South Tyrol and Italy. A great impression left on her a visit to Rome in 1908 where she saw pope Pius X.
In 1908 the 32-year-old poet also started her university studies. Due to the private course of her education she could not present any certificate of secondary education, but the vice-chancellor of the Heidelberg university acknowledged her writings as a satisfactory substitute and gave permission for her matriculation. From 1908 to 1914 (intermittently and with long breaks) she attended universities in Heidelberg and Marburg. She was interested in lectures and seminars of distinguished professors in the field of Protestant theology, philosophy and history. The most important for her was Protestant theologian a philosopher Ernst Troeltsch with whom she remained in contact for the rest of his life. Based on her careful notes from lectures she published after his death his Glaubenlehre (1925). Gertrud mentioned in her later memoirs that her personal development towards Catholic faith would not be possible without his contribution.
Public commitment after World War I
Another turning point in Gertrud von le Fort's life was the end of the World War I which meant a great disaster for the defeated Germany. Shortly after her mother died, and in 1920 their family estate Boek was confiscated following her brother's participation in an attempt to anti-government monarchist coup. Gertrud suddenly found herself completely alone and at first without any means. The situation was even more difficult for her because she was accustomed to social etiquette and secured living from her background.
Despite all the adverse circumstances she finally managed to find a new home in South Germany: first in Baierbrunn by Munich (from 1922) and later in the Alpine town of Oberstdorf (from 1941). She overcame a deep physical and psychological crisis, and it resulted in her conversion to the Catholic Church (in 1926), and also meant a new impetus for her writing. However, her shift towards Catholicism did not mean a radical split from the Protestant tradition. She kept saying that she brought all the treasures of Protestant piety with her to the Catholic Church. She was saying that she had overcome confessional division in her own person and thus was living a kind of ecumenical existence.
In 1920's similar personal spiritual development can be seen also among other intellectuals and artists. This stream of new religiosity stood in opposition to general political, economical and moral disaster that brought about World War I. And it was not only a German specific, but a trend across the whole of Europe. In England we could find Oxford School continuing in the legacy of cardinal Newman; In France there had been "renoveau catholique" movement since the end of the 19th century.
From the early 20th century German Catholic intellectuals had been gathered round the newly established journal Hochland which was one of the most influential cultural magazines of that time. The best-known contributors were, among others, Erich Przywara and Theodor Haecker. Gertrud had the opportunity to meet them and talk to them. This dialogue is then considerably reflected in her work. Her writings were also reviewed in the Hochland, and thus she was introduced to a wider audience of readers.
Another important grouping of this German "Catholic Spring" was formed round remarkable theologian and philosopher Romano Guardini. In 1920's he was active at Rothenfels/Main castle that was a centre of the Catholic youth movement. He also lectured on the Department of religious philosophy and Christian world view at the Humboldt University in Berlin and his work received much acclaim far beyond the Catholic circles. As early as 1921 Gertrud von le Fort read Guardini's The Spirit of the Liturgy and in the following years helped to bring it to awareness of the general public. Guardini did the same when Gertrud von le Fort published her book of poetry Hymns to the Church in 1924: it was read in the Catholic youth movement and gained popularity there.
The poetry collection Hymns to the Church was released two years before the author's conversion. It is very personal lyric poetry, much inspired by the tradition of Psalms, and owing much to the German expressionism and romanticism. Gertrud von le Fort counted this collection as her first work, even though she had already written a lot of literary works since 1898. Through this book she had suddenly become well-known even outside Germany. Only now, at the age of 48, she was firmly convinced of her talent and did not let anything discourage her from the further writing career any longer.
In 1932 Gertrud met with Edith Stein in Munich. The meeting left a deep impression on her and their mutual correspondence proceeded in the following years. Edith Stein entered the order of the Discalced Carmelites in Cologne in 1933, and Gertrud von le Fort later paid a visit to her. This experience was significantly reflected in the book of essays Die Ewige Frau (The Eternal Woman) which I would like to present in next posts on my blog.
Period from the onset of National Socialism to Gertrud's death
Gertrud von le Fort had pointed out some risks involved in the ideology of National Socialism already before its onset. Since 1933 her popularity among readers started to decrease. She kept on writing and made a lot of trips around Germany, Switzerland and France where she met with her readers. The ruling regime, however, started to disapprove her, until she was in 1938 definitely silenced by literary criticism. Since 1941 she lived in her house in the Alpine town of Oberstdorf in the state of "inner emigration".
After war she was holding lecture tours in favour of the Red Cross and disadvantaged German students. In this period she also received many awards. Let's mention just a few of them: Baden State Prize (Droste-Preis) in 1948, Gottfried Keller Prize (Martin Bodmer Foundation) in 1952, honorary doctorate at the Catholic theological faculty of the Munich University in 1956, Great Federal Cross of Merit with star in 1966. In 1949 she was proposed to the Nobel Prize for literature by writer Hermann Hesse.
She also wrote a considerable amount of literary works in the period after World War II (between the age of 70 and 92). However, they did not receive such acclaim as those from interwar period – the interest was limited almost exclusively to the Catholic environment. It was partly due to the fact that the readers took interest in younger authors who had personal experince with the horrors of war.
Gertrud von le Fort died at night from 31st October to 1st Novemer 1971 in Oberstdorf. She was buried in a honorary grave at the local forest cemetery. A symbolic significance might be assigned to the date of her death: 31st October is celebrated as the Reformation Day in Protestant churches in rememberance of Martin Luther; on 1st November the feast of All Saints is held in the Catholic Church. It may lead us into thinking about an important theme of her life and work – the unity of Christians.
