Johanna "Hanka" Grothendieck (1900–1957) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. The partner of Russian anarchist

Sascha Schapiro __NOTOC__ Alexander "Sascha" Schapiro (, ; – 1942), also known by the ''noms de guerre'' Alexander Tanarov, Sascha Piotr, and Sergei, was a Jewish Ukrainian anarchist who fought in both the Russian Civil War and the Spanish Civil War. Born to ...

and mother of the mathematician

Alexander Grothendieck Alexander Grothendieck, later Alexandre Grothendieck in French (; ; ; 28 March 1928 – 13 November 2014), was a German-born French mathematician who became the leading figure in the creation of modern algebraic geometry. His research ext ...

, in 1933, she fled

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where she made a living as a German teacher. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she and her son were held in a number of French internment camps; the Nazis killed her husband in the Holocaust.

Biography

Johanna Grothendieck was born in the

North German Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hambur ...

town of

Blankenese Blankenese () is a suburban quarter in the borough of Altona in the western part of Hamburg, Germany; until 1938 it was an independent municipality in Holstein. It is located on the right bank of the Elbe river. With a population of 13,637 as of ...

, on 21 August 1900. Her surname, Grothendieck, comes from the Plattdütsch word for "big dike". After growing up, she moved to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, where she married Alf Raddatz, with whom she had a daughter Maidi. In 1924, she met

, a veteran of the

Makhnovist movement The Makhnovshchina (, ) was a mass movement to establish anarchist communism in southern and eastern Ukraine during the Ukrainian War of Independence of 1917–1921. Named after Nestor Makhno, the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Insurg ...

. Schapiro introduced himself to Raddatz with the words "I will steal your wife", and the two began a relationship together. Throughout the 1920s, she was involved in

far-left politics Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some ...

and became a

. On 28 March 1928, she gave birth to their son,

. The family lived together in the German capital until

Adolf Hitler's rise to power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the ''German Workers' Party, Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Par ...

in 1933, when Grothendieck and Schapiro fled to

, leaving their son in

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family mem ...

in Germany. They moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where Grothendieck taught the

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

. Following the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, she and Schapiro went to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

to support the

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. In September 1937, she moved to

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

, where she worked as a

governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

for a local police commissioner. There she collaborated with the Makhnovist veteran

Volin Vsevolod Mikhailovich Eikhenbaum (18 September 1945), commonly known by his pseudonym Volin, was a Russian anarchist intellectual. He became involved in revolutionary socialist politics during the 1905 Russian Revolution, for which he was forc ...

, as well as the French anarchist

André Prudhommeaux André Prudhommeaux (15 October 1902 – 13 November 1968) was a French anarchist bookstore owner whose shop in Paris specialized in social history and was a place for many debates and discussions. He was an agronomist, libertarian, editor o ...

, on the anarchist journal ''Terre Libre''. In May 1939, she returned to Paris, where she reunited with her husband and son. At the outbreak of

, in September 1939, the family moved to Nîmes, but Schapiro was arrested and interned in

Camp Vernet Le Vernet Internment Camp, or Camp Vernet, was a concentration camp in Le Vernet, Ariège, near Pamiers, in the French Pyrenees. It was built in 1918 as a barracks, but after World War I it was used as an internment camp for prisoners of war. ...

the following month. Following the

Nazi occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

, he was deported to the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

, where the Nazis murdered him. In March 1940, Grothendieck and her son left Nîmes in order to support a colony of Spanish refugees in

Mouriès Mouriès (; , ) is a commune in France, commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department in southern France. Population Economy Mouriès is known for its olive oil production, calling itself "the olive oil capital of Fra ...

, which was later moved to

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. On 1 August 1940, the

Vichy regime Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...

arrested Grothendieck herself, and interned her and her son in the Rieucros Camp. The authorities then transferred her to the , while her son managed to find refuge at the

Le Collège-Lycée Cévenol International The Collège Cévenol—later known as Le Collège-Lycée Cévenol International—was a unique and historic international secondary school located in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, in the département of Haute-Loire, France. It enrolled day students from ...

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon Le Chambon-sur-Lignon (, literally "Le Chambon on Lignon"; ) is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France. Residents have been primarily Huguenot or Protestant since the 17th century. During World War II these Huguenot ...

. Following the

Liberation of France The liberation of France () in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany in ...

, Grothendieck reunited with her son in

Meyrargues Meyrargues (; ) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. Population Personalities *Writer Joseph d'Arbaud was born in Meyrargues. * Raouia Rouabhia - Algerian international volleyball player See also *Communes ...

. While Alexander began studying

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

, Grothendieck herself began writing an

autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel, also known as an autobiographical fiction, fictional autobiography, or autobiographical fiction novel, is a type of novel which uses autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The ...

and reunited with Prudhommeaux. In 1948, she and her son moved to

. She settled in the Parisian suburb of

Bois-Colombes Bois-Colombes () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department, in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. International companies such as Colgate-Palmolive, IBM and Aviva have their French headquart ...

, where she died on 16 December 1957. Her son dedicated his

doctoral dissertation A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

to his mother.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grothendieck, Hanka 1900 births 1957 deaths 20th-century German women writers Emigrants from Nazi Germany to France Exiles from Nazi Germany German anarchists People from Altona, Hamburg