„Wunderschön war alles, der Himmel voller Licht, das Grün zart, alles wie verklärt. Da fühlte ich Berlin wieder mal als Heimatstadt, die ich liebe. Das Schloß und dahinter die Marienkirche. Wie lang kenn ich das alles, habs in 20 Friedensjahren und in 4 Kriegsjahren gesehn und zur Revolutionszeit.“
Käthe Kollwitz, Tagebücher, 9. Mai 1919
The Berlin Käthe-Kollwitz-Museum was founded by art dealer, painter and collector Hans Pels-Leusden. In the mid-1980s, the perfect location for this private museum was found in the long-neglected quarter in the Charlottenburger Fasanenstrasse. In the vicinity of the Literarhaus and Gallery, later Grisebach auction house, the institution experienced successful 35 years.
After German reunification, in 1993 the New Guardhouse was designated as the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Dictatorship. The sculpture Pietà “Woman with dead son” (1938) by Käthe Kollwitz reminds as a memorial in the interior of the building. “The art of Kollwitz, however, was an attempt to rescue the image of man in the midst of an era of misanthropy.” (Christoph Stölzl, 1993)
As a young couple, Karl and Käthe Kollwitz moved into an apartment in 1891 at Weißenburger Strasse 25 in Prenzlauer Berg. Initially, Karl’s medical practice and Käthe’s work area were also located there. Later, additional living space were rented in the building. In 1892 and 1896, the two sons Hans and Peter were born. Again and again the married couple gave shelter to relatives and lodgers over long periods of time. In 1943 the house was destroyed by bombs.
Initially, Kollwitz had worked at home, in 1912 she rented a studio in the Siegmundshof studio house in the Hansaviertel. In 1928 she received two work rooms in the Prussian Aacademy of Arts on Hardenbergplatz, which she had to give up in 1934. She worked in the atelier community at Klosterstrasse in Berlin Mitte until 1940 and then moved back to her apartment on Weißenburger Strasse.
In 1919 Käthe Kollwitz became the first woman to be made a full member of the Prussian Academy of Arts, which had its premises on Pariser Platz. For a long time Kollwitz was active in the exhibition commission of the visual arts section. In 1928 she was appointed head of the master class for graphics. In February 1933 the National Socialists forced her to leave the academy
Several family members followed Karl and Käthe Kollwitz to Berlin, such as Karl’s sister Lisbeth or Käthe’s sister Lise. The brother Konrad Schmidt also lived here. They visited each other frequently and went on excursions to Berlins environs, to Caputh or Werder. The writer Gerhart Hauptmann was also visited in Erkner, where he lived until 1889.
The family grave is located in the Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery, where Käthe Kollwitz’s brother Konrad Schmidt found his final resting place in 1932. After the death of her brother-in-law Georg Stern, Kollwitz created the grave relief “Rest in the peace of his hands” in 1936. In 1940 her husband Karl Kollwitz was buried here. The ashes of Käthe Kollwitz, who died in Moritzburg in April 1945, were transferred here in summer 1945.
As early as 1947, Weißenburger Strasse and the adjoining Wörther Platz were dedicated to Käthe Kollwitz. The sculpture “Mother with two children” was initially placed in front of the ruins of her house, today the group of figures is located in Fröbelstrasse. In 1958 the sculptor Gustav Seitz created a large Kollwitz memorial for the square, a second version can be found in the Kollwitz Museum Berlin.
You can order the entire city walk with a lot of detailed information, pictures and a map showing all the places as a publication in our shop or purchase it on site in the museum.