Louise Hartung

Louise Hartung (1905–1965) was born in Münster, the youngest of eight children. From 1920, she trained as a classical singer in Paris, Milan, and Berlin. From the mid-1920s, she was active in Berlin’s artistic circles, where she met Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, Bertolt Brecht, and Kurt Weill. In 1928, she took part in the premiere of “The Threepenny Opera.” After the Second World War, Hartung worked for Berlin’s main youth welfare office, including in reading promotion. She was an early advocate of Astrid Lindgren’s books in Germany, and the two authors remained friends until Hartung’s death.