Today I received an e-mail from Sebastian Schuth, head of the archive of the Spandau City History Museum. Attached to it was a newspaper article from the Spandauer Volksblatt of 19 February 1972 (Archive signature IV C Z ZA PA 1038), written by a Uwe-Michael Troppenz, the title:

Segelboote für Millionäre und Vögel für sich selbst
(Sailboats for millionaires and birds for themselves)

Fritz Neumann: "Ich male am liebsten, was ich sehe ..."
(Fritz Neumann: "My favourite thing to paint is what I see ...")

The article is about the person who has been sought after here for years, the Spandau artist Fritz Neumann. The article has now revealed a few more details:

• Fritz Neumann was born in December 1897
• Studied at an art school from 1912 to 1916, where he also met his future wife Hedwig Neumann (born as Klinge)
• Was in Verdun during the First World War
• Managed an advertising studio afterwards
• Started his own business as a painter and etcher in 1930. (This can be roughly traced in the address books )
• Took part in World War 2 “from the very beginning”

We also learn that his wife published her works under her maiden name, Hede Klinge, even after their marriage. As well as the fact that he worked for the “Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung” - certainly after the First World War.

In addition to the stages of his life, the various motifs and places from which Neumann drew his inspiration are also discussed.

Origin and family

With this data, for example, an entry on Geneanet.org can be found, which allows the data to be narrowed down further:

• Full name: Franz Robert Fritz Neumann
• Date of birth: 6 December 1897
• Date of death: 8 June 1984
• Wife: Anna Hedwig Klinge
  • Date of birth: 21 September 1895
  • Date of death: 5 November 1980
  • Wedding day 2 May 1925
• Parents:
  • Ludwig Karl Franz Neumann, 1858-1933, (Letterpress) printer
  • Clara Emilie Emma Wusterhausen, 1871-1942
• Brother: Wilhelm Franz Rudolf Neumann, 1901-

Connections to other articles

By the way, the name “Hede Klinge” already appears by pure luck in an older article about copyright entries , now it becomes obvious that it was not so coincidental.

And it is also clear that the Fritz Neumann from the Archiv der Reichskunstkammer is not “our” Fritz Neumann.

Update 24.10.2024

In the meantime, I have also received another reference from Torsten Steinberg: He sent me an extract from the death register . According to this, Fritz Neumann died on 8 June 1984 in the Havelhöhe Community Hospital in Berlin Spandau.

Documents

• Civil register entries for Fritz Neumann
• Fritz Neumann at the Academy of Fine Arts, Berlin

Short description: Etching of a Tiger by Fritz Neumann.

Notes: Thanks to Mark Strong of Meibohm Fine Arts for providing the images.

Images by Mark Strong of Meibohm Fine Arts .

Short description: Three colorized etchings of Birds. Two of them already known: 1 , 3 .

Notes: Found on Kleinanzeigen.

Short description: A horse

Notes: Found on eBay.

Short description: A colourised print of a bird by Fritz Neumann. The bird is either a Baltimore oriole or another New World oriole species. Since there are no records that Neumann has ever been in America (yet), he might have seen it at an Aviary.

Notes: Found on eBay

Short description: Coloured etching of a flamingo by Fritz Neumann

Notes: Found on in an antiquarian bookshop in Hannover. The embossed mark of J.C. Blumenberg is clearly recognisable. Matching the title of the newspaper article on Fritz Neumann .

Fritz Neumann’s wife, Hedwig, also known as Hede Klinge (her birth name), can be found, unlike Fritz , in the membership register of the Reichskunstkammer Berlin :

• Membership 1933 - 1945
• Shelfmark A Rep. 243-04 No. 6263 in the Berlin State Archives

As it is known from the newspaper article that Fritz Neumann’s wife also worked as an artist, here are some references from the catalogue of copyright entries. More about this catalogue can be found in the corresponding article on Fritz Neumann .

Summary

The marriage certificate shows another address for Fritz Neumann: Lettestraße 1.

A search of the address reveals that it is most likely his father’s, Ludwig Karl Franz Neumann address, as there is an F. Neumann, book printer, sometimes also typesetter, can be traced there from 1904:

Address books

Address book 1904

(Der Kopf der Spalte befindet sich vor dem Umbruch)

Address book 1915

Address book 1917

Address book 1920

Address book 1925

Address book 1926

Address book 1927

Address book 1929

Address book 1930

Address book 1931

Address book 1932

Address book 1933

This shows that Fritz Neumann’s father lived at Lettestraße 1 between 1904 and 1933 and worked as a typesetter between 1927 and 1931, otherwise as a printer. As Fritz Neumann had this address when he married, it can be assumed that he lived at home until 1925.

Sources

The digital copies of the sources are linked to the respective excerpts. As the URN:NBN resolver of the DNB is used, these can also be cited.

Name lists of the civil status registers

In addition, already known data can also be found in name directories of Berlin registry offices:

• Landesarchiv Berlin, P Rep. 221 registry office Berlin Xb Nr. 605 Name index birth register 1897, S. 167 -
• Landesarchiv Berlin, P Rep.806 registry office Berlin IX Nr. 658 Name index marriage register 1925, S. 33

Thanks to Evelyn Kraßmann for the tip.

The newspaper article in the Spandauer Volksblatt of 19 February 1972 shows that he attended an art school between 1912 and 1916. Now there is the first indication that he was enrolled for one semester at the Akademische Hochschule für die Bildenden Künste in the winter semester of 1912/13:

The excerpt comes from the Alphabetical index of names WS 1909/10 to SS 1924 of the Academy of Fine Arts, page 92, shelfmark UdK Archive 6-204

Thanks to Dr Anastasia Dittmann from the Archive of the Berlin University of the Arts for pointing this out.