Eva Leo
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Eva Leo (2 December 1901 in
Diepholz Diepholz (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Deefholt'') is a town and capital of the district of Diepholz in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the rivers Hunte and Lohne, approximately 45 km northeast of Osnabrück, and 60 km southwes ...
– 10 April 1998 in
Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...
) was a German
Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...
Metal Sculptor, the youngest child of Johannes Dittrich and his wife, Elisabeth Borchers Dittrich. She had three brothers and six sisters.


Education and profession

After finishing high school in
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
and spending a year as an au pair in the household of her oldest sister, she enrolled in the
University of the Arts Bremen The University of the Arts Bremen (German: Hochschule für Künste Bremen, HfK Bremen) is a public university in Bremen, Germany. It is one of the most successful arts institutions, and its origins date back to 1873. The University of the Arts B ...
to learn the art of
China painting China painting, or porcelain painting, is the decoration of glazed porcelain objects, such as plates, bowls, vases or statues. The body of the object may be hard-paste porcelain, developed in China in the 7th or 8th century, or soft-paste porce ...
. Her parents lived nearby in Lesum, where her father was the regional
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
of the Evangelical (Lutheran) Church. After finishing her studies in Bremen, she completed an apprenticeship with Friedrich Harjes,Geschichte Harjes Page 5, 2nd Photo
/ref> a metal sculptor in Burgdam. She spent a few months studying art with Wilhelm Groß (de), a wood sculptor in Eden near
Oranienburg Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel. Geography Oranienburg is on the banks of the River Havel, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin. Division of the town Oranienburg consists of ni ...
. In 1932 she completed her Master’s examination in
Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...
and became the first female Master Metal Sculptor in Germany. Without financial assistance, she outfitted a workshop in Hildesheim and established herself as a freelance sculptor. She built her reputation filling commissions for churches and church architects such as Rudolf Jäger, creating baptismal fonts, Communion services, crucifixes, candlesticks, lamps, and
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
s depicting Biblical motifs. Alsterdorf Alsterdorf () is a quarter in the Hamburg-Nord borough of the Hamburg, Germany. The name derives from the river Alster and its artificial lakes Außenalster and Binnenalster in the centre of Hamburg. In 2023 the population was 15,108. History On ...
Church" mode="packed" parrow="0"> Dittrich Eva 1938 1 Palmarum StNicolaus.jpg, Palm Sunday Dittrich Eva 1938 2 Weihnachten StNicolaus.jpg, Christmas Dittrich Eva 1938 3 Ostern StNicolaus.jpg, Easter Dittrich Eva 1938 4 Himmelfahrt StNicolaus.jpg, Ascension Dittrich Eva 1938 5 Pfingsten StNicolaus.jpg, Pentecost In the summer of 1937, she met and befriended Paul Leo in an exhibit of religious art in the Neustädter Church in
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
. They stayed in touch, exchanging letters and meeting from time to time. In November 1938, Leo was incarcerated in
Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...
because of his Jewish ancestry. He was released two months later with the requirement that he leave Germany within two months.


Voluntary emigration

Dittrich decided to resettle in the US together with Paul Leo and left Germany on August 30, 1939 (one day before the war started) with two suitcases and a round trip ticket to
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, for a “weekend trip” so as not to arouse suspicion. They discovered that they would not be allowed to marry in Holland because of its status as a neutral country and the fact that their marriage would be illegal in Germany. As a refugee, Leo qualified for visas for himself and his daughter. Since Eva Dittrich was a non-Jewish German citizen, she was not in danger and not eligible for a visa. Together with Paul’s brother Ulrich Leo, his wife Helene, and their two sons, she traveled to Venezuela. In the summer of 1940, Paul Leo traveled to Venezuela and the two married in Caracas. On August 5, 1940, the family became US residents. Until 1943, Paul and Eva Leo lived in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, Pennsylvania. In 1943 they moved to
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
where Paul ministered to congregations consisting of third and fourth generation German immigrants, first in
Karnes City Karnes City is a city in and the county seat of Karnes County, Texas, United States. Its population was 3,111 at the 2020 census, up from 3,042 at the 2010 census. The town was named after Henry Karnes of the Texas Revolution. Karnes is ...
and later in Cave Creek and
Crabapple ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 32–57 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples (sometimes known in North America as crabapples) and wild apples. The genus i ...
. In 1950, the family moved to
Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...
, where Paul became a professor of Greek and New Testament (along with Theological German) at
Wartburg Theological Seminary Wartburg Theological Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Dubuque, Iowa. It offers three graduate-level degrees (MA, MA Diaconal Ministry, and M.Div.), a Theological Education for Emerging Ministries certificate ...
. When Paul Leo died suddenly in 1958, Eva Leo took over his Theological German students, reading
Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...
and other theologians in the original German. She was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Theology by Wartburg Seminary for her contributions to the upcoming generation of theologians. In 1960 she resumed her work as a metal sculptor, first by creating her husband’s grave marker. From 1960 until her death in 1998, her art consisted of reliefs for doors, altars, processional crosses, grave markers, and wall decorations. Eva Leo has two biological children and a stepdaughter: Anne Leo Ellis (1931, children’s writer); Christopher Leo (1941, political scientist) and Monica Leo (1944, puppeteer).


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leo, Eva German women sculptors 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century American sculptors 1901 births 1998 deaths 20th-century German women artists German emigrants to the United States 20th-century American women sculptors University of the Arts Bremen alumni People from Diepholz