Josefine Winter (since 1914 Winter Edle von Wigmar; born 21 December 1873 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

; died 20 January 1943 in the

Theresienstadt ghetto Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

) was an Austrian painter, composer and writer.

Life

Josefine, or Josephine, was born in Vienna, the daughter of

Rudolf Auspitz Rudolf Auspitz (Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over ...

(1837-1906) and Helene Lieben (1838-1896). In 1879, her mother fell ill with depression and was put in the Préfargier psychiatric hospital near

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

. The children were placed in the care of a governess, Marie Heidenhain from

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, who became the father's new wife after the mother's death in 1896 Josefine was educated by private tutors, but as a girl was not allowed to study. Like her mother, she began to paint. Her teachers were

Emanuel Stöckler Emanuel Stöckler (24 December 1819, Nikolsburg - 5 November 1893, Bozen) was an Austrian painter, notable for his interior portraits. Life and work His father was a pharmacist who wanted him to become a doctor. His interests took another turn ...

and

Ludwig Michalek Ludwig Michalek (13 April 1859 – 24 September 1942) was an Austrian portrait painter, graphic artist and copper engraver. Life and work Michalek was born on 13 April 1859 in Timișoara, Temeswar, Austrian Empire. His father was a railroad eng ...

. Although both parents were patrons of the

Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde The (), also known as the (German for 'Viennese Music Association'), is an Austrian music organization that was founded in 1812 by Beethoven’s friend Joseph Sonnleithner, general secretary of the Court Theatre in Vienna, Austria. Overview ...

in Vienna, they did not notice her musical talent. She received only the piano lessons customary at the time for children from "good homes." Through visits to performances of the

Vienna Court Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by A ...

, Josefine became enthusiastic about

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', w ...

's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' and began to play the melodies she heard on the piano. The pianist Lili Michalek became her first teacher before she became a student of

Josef Bohuslav Foerster Josef Bohuslav Foerster (30 December 1859 – 29 May 1951) was a Czech composer and musicologist. He is often referred to as J. B. Foerster, and his surname is sometimes spelled Förster. Life Foerster was born in Prague. His ancestors were of ...

at the New Vienna Conservatory. In 1894, she married Alfred Fröhlich von Feldau (died 6 April 1913) and had two children, Hilde (born 26 December 1895) and Walter (born 22 September 1897; died 21 September 1960). Her name changed to Josefine Fröhlich Rosa Edle von Feldau. She divorced her first husband and married the Viennese doctor and poet Josef Winter (born 2 February 1857 in Vienna; died 6 July 1916 in Vienna).Susanne Blumesberger, Michael Doppelhofer, Gabriele Mauthe: '' Handbuch österreichischer Autorinnen und Autoren jüdischer Herkunft 18. bis 20. Jahrhundert.'' Band 1: ''A–I''. Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. Saur, München 2002, , p. 389 With Winter, she had a daughter, Marianne von Nechansky-Winter (21 April 1902 - 24 August 1985), a painter, and a son, Gerhard (born 29 April 1903). Josefine took over the management of a children's care home during the First World War. Using her fortune, her husband founded, among other things, a lung

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

and mobile epidemic laboratories for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, for which he was awarded the title "Edler von Wigmar" in 1914. Josephine became Josefine Rosa Winter Edle von Wigmar. Her husband died from heart disease in July 1916.

Nazi persecution

After the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

of Austria in 1938, she was persecuted by the Nazis as a Jew. Due to the anti-Jewish Nuremberg Race Laws, Josefine Winter was expelled from her villa at Anastasius-Grün-Gasse 54 in the ''Cottage'' district of

Währing Währing () is the 18th Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna and lies in northwestern Vienna on the edge of the Vienna Woods. It was formed in 1892 from the unification of the older suburbs of Währing, Weinhaus, Gersthof, Pötzleinsdorf, Neus ...

to Vereinigte Textilwerke K. H. Barthel & Co, a company linked to the Gabersdorf labour camp, was forced into a "collective apartment" in the Second District at Springergasse 27 and lost all her rights. She tried to regain them with a personal letter to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

. Her assets were "

Aryanized Aryanization () was the Nazi term for the seizure of property from Jews and its transfer to non-Jews, and the forced expulsion of Jews from economic life in Nazi Germany, Axis-aligned states, and their occupied territories. It entailed the tra ...

", that is, transferred to non-Jewish owners, and she was deported on Transport IV/4 to the

Theresienstadt Ghetto Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

on 15 July 1942, where she died on 20 January 1943. The Winter family's art collection included a large number of works by

Rudolf von Alt Rudolf Ritter von Alt (; 28 August 1812 – 12 March 1905) was an Austrian landscape and architectural painter. Born as Rudolf Alt, he acquired the title of Ritter after being knighted in 1889. Biography Born in Vienna, he was the son of the ...

and one of Rembrandt's works that was destined for the Führer Museum.

Works

Compositions

She set to music texts by female poets of her time, such as Paula Preradović and Hilda Benjamin. * ''Die Patrizier von Ragusa'' (Preradović) * ''Spruch der Halme'' (Benjamin) * ''Verlöbnis'' * ''Lied in Moll'' * ''Im Buchenwald'' (Winter) * ''Seelenlied'' * ''Das ist der Tag des Herrn'' * ''Requiem'' (

Conrad Ferdinand Meyer Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (11 October 1825 – 28 November 1898) was a Swiss poet and historical novelist, a master of literary realism who is mainly remembered for stirring narrative ballads like "Die Füße im Feuer" (The Feet in the Fire). Biog ...

) * ''Jetzt rede Du!''

Autobiography

* ''Fünfzig Jahre eines Wiener Hauses.'' Wilhelm Braumüller, Wien/Leipzig 1927.

Paintings

Encyclopedias of Austrian painting of the 19th century reference her.Heinrich Fuchs: ''Die österreichischen Maler des 19. Jahrhunderts''. Selbstverlag, Wien 1979, Ergänzungsband 2, L–Z, p. K 158. Selbstverlag, Wien 1979 She had an exhibition in 1923 and 1924 in the

Vienna Künstlerhaus The Künstlerhaus in Vienna's 1st district has accommodated the Künstlerhaus Vereinigung since 1868. It is located in the Ringstrassenzone in between Akademiestraße, Bösendorferstraße and Musikvereinsplatz. The building was erected betwee ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winter, Josefine 1943 deaths 1873 births Jews from Austria-Hungary Austrian people who died in the Theresienstadt Ghetto Austrian autobiographers 20th-century Austrian classical composers 19th-century Austrian composers 20th-century Austrian composers Austrian women classical composers Austrian Jews who died in the Holocaust 19th-century Austrian women composers 20th-century Austrian women composers