Oda Schaefer (really Oda Lange, born December 21, 1900, in

Berlin-Wilmersdorf Wilmersdorf () is an inner-city locality of Berlin which lies south-west of the central city. Formerly a borough by itself, Wilmersdorf became part of the new borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf following Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. H ...

as Oda Krus; died September 4, 1988, in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

) was a German writer and journalist.

Life

Oda Schaefer was the daughter of Eberhard Kraus, one of the early Baltic writers and journalist, and his wife Alice Baertels, who came from a merchant family in

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Oda Schaefer attended a secondary school in

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 ...

and then went to a private arts school for training in

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

. She then worked as a commercial artist. In 1923, she married the painter Albert Schaefer-Ast, with whom she had a son in 1924. The marriage ended after a short time in divorce. In 1926, Schaefer moved for family reasons to

Liegnitz Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. L ...

. There she met the writer

Horst Lange Horst Lange (6 October 1904 – 6 July 1971) was a German poet who published during the Third Reich and is regarded as a proponent of ''Inner emigration''. His writings have been categorised as ''Naturmagie'' and his novel ''Schwarze Weide'' is re ...

, with whom she returned to Berlin in 1931 and married in 1933. From 1928, Schaefer wrote fashion magazine articles, poems, and plays. During the

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

she was with Lange and

Günter Eich Günter Eich (; 1 February 1907 – 20 December 1972) was a German poet, radio playwright, and writer. He was born in Lebus, on the Oder River, and educated in Leipzig, Berlin, and Paris. Life Eich made his first appearance in print with some p ...

in the circle around the literary magazine

The Column ''The Column'' () is a 1968 Romanian historical film directed by Mircea Drăgan. The film was selected as the Romanian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 41st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. The action starts n ...

, which was affiliated with Inner Immigration, a movement of writers and artists who were opposed to National Socialism but did not leave Germany.

Peter Huchel Peter Huchel (April 3, 1903 – April 30, 1981), born Hellmut Huchel, was a German poet and editor. Life Huchel was born in Lichterfelde (now part of Berlin). From 1923 to 1926, Huchel studied literature and philosophy in Berlin, Freiburg and ...

and

Elisabeth Langgässer Elisabeth Langgässer (23 February 1899 – 25 July 1950) was a German author and teacher. She is known for lyrical poetry and novels. Her short story '' Saisonbeginn'', for example, provides a graphically human portrayal of a 1930s German Alpine ...

were close friends with her at this time. Works by her appeared in the journal The Interior Kingdom, and the Frankfurter Newspaper. Schaefer was a member of the Reich Chamber. Although Shaefer and her husband were opponents of the Nazi regime, and helped Jews by hiding them for a while, at the same time they wrote for officially sanctioned publications. In the aftermath of World War II, Oda's son was missing and her husband was severely injured. They lived for a while in the middle of a forest and then in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, before going to Munich in 1950, where she freelanced for various newspapers and broadcasts. Schaefer's literary work consists primarily of poetry in traditional forms inspired by the naturalist poet

Wilhelm Lehmann Wilhelm Lehmann was a German artist, teacher, and writer. Wilhelm Lehmann (Puerto Cabello 1882– Eckernförde Eckernförde (; , sometimes also ; , sometimes also ) is a city located in the of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein, no ...

and

George von Vring George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorg ...

. With Horst Lange she wrote

Trümmerliteratur ''Trümmerliteratur'' ("rubble literature"), also called ''Kahlschlagliteratur'' ("clear-cutting literature"), is a literary movement that began shortly after World War II in Germany and lasted until about 1950. It is primarily concerned with t ...

of the post-war period along with the authors of the

Group 47 Gruppe 47 (Group 47) was a group of participants in German writers' meetings, invited by Hans Werner Richter between 1947 and 1967. The meetings served the dual goals of literary criticism as well as the promotion of young, unknown authors. In a ...

. Schaefer, a member of the

Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung The Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (in English German Academy for Language and Literature) was founded on 28 August 1949, on the 200th birthday of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in the Paulskirche, Frankfurt, Paulskirche in Frankfurt. I ...

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

and the PEN Center of the Federal Republic of Germany, received in 1951 a prize of the

Academy of Sciences and Literature The Academy of Sciences and Literature () is a scientific academy in Mainz, Germany. It was established in 1949 on an initiative of Alfred Döblin. The academy's goal is to support science and literature, and in doing so to help preserve and pro ...

; in 1952, the Honorary Prize of the

Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts Bavarian is the adjective form of the German state of Bavaria, and refers to people of ancestry from Bavaria. Bavarian may also refer to: * Bavarii, a Germanic tribe * Bavarians, a nation and ethnographic group of Germans * Bavarian, Iran, a villag ...

; in 1955, Literature Prize from the Society for the Promotion of German Literature; in 1959, Literature Prize from the City of Munich; in 1964, the

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

, First Class; in 1975, Literature Prize of the Cultural Committee of the Federal Association of German Industry; and in 1973, the

Schwabing Art Prize Since 1961, the Schwabing Art Prize has been awarded annually by the city of Munich to persons or institutions that have their seat in the Munich district Schwabing or whose achievements have been made "in the spirit of Schwabing tradition". It is ...

. Schaefer's biography inspired her grand-nephew

Chris Kraus Chris Kraus may refer to: * Chris Kraus (director) (born 1963), German author and film director *Chris Kraus (writer) Chris Kraus (born 1955) is an American-born writer, critic, editor, filmmaker, performance artist, and educator. Her work includ ...

for his feature film ''

The Poll Diaries ''The Poll Diaries'' () is a 2010 German drama film directed by Chris Kraus. ''The Poll Diaries'' was the most expensive film that had ever been made in Estonia at the time. Later, ''Truth and Justice'' (2019) became the most expensive Estonian ...

'', with

Paula Beer Paula Beer (; born 23 February 1995 in Mainz) is a German actress. Career She first became known as a teenager for her main role in Chris Kraus' 2010 film ''Poll''. Her breakthrough came in 2016, when she starred in François Ozon's '' Frantz ...

in the lead role.

Works

*''The Wind Harp''. Berlin 1939 *''Earthly Conduct''. Munich 1946 *''The Chestnut Bud''. Munich 1947 *''Unparalleled Rose''. Stuttgart 1948 *''Cat Walk''. Munich 1956 *''Grass Tune''. Munich 1959 *''The Boutique''. Munich 1963 *''Ladies Only, or From the Art of Being a Woman''. Zurich 1963 *''And You Ask Me, What Love Is''. Munich (inter alia) 1968 *''Also if You Dream, the Time Goes''. Munich 1970 *''The Green Clay''. Munich 1973 *''The Skin in the World''. Munich (inter alia) 1976 *''The Vibrant Festivities Over Grief''. Munich 1977 *''Recurrence''. Munich (inter alia) 1985 *''Ballads and Poems''. Munich 1995

Works about Shaefer

* * Monika Bächer: ''Oda Schaefer (1900–1988). Leben und Werk''. Aisthesis, Bielefeld 2006, .

External links

*
Ausgewählte Gedichte
beim Arnshaugk-Verlag
Poll – Film von Chris Kraus über Oda Schaefer mit Interview über sie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaefer, Oda 1900 births 1988 deaths German women poets 20th-century German poets 20th-century German women writers Members of the German Academy for Language and Literature Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany