Annemarie Schwarzenbach: Swiss Writer and Photo-Journalist
Annemarie Schwarzenbach (23 May 1908 – 15 November 1942) was a Swiss writer, journalist and photographer. She documented the early events of World War II as a photo-journalist and became known for her anti-fascist activism and bohemian life across Europe.
Early Life and Education
Annemarie Minna Renée Schwarzenbach was born in Zurich, Switzerland. When she was four, her family moved to the Bocken Estate in Horgen, near Lake Zurich. Her father, Alfred, was a wealthy businessman in the silk industry. Her mother, Renée Schwarzenbach-Wille, was the daughter of Swiss general Ulrich Wille, descended from German aristocracy, and was an Olympic equestrian sportswoman and amateur photographer. Her mother’s bisexuality was tolerated by her father.
From an early age, Schwarzenbach dressed and acted like a boy, a behaviour her parents did not discourage and which she retained throughout her life. She often was mistaken for a young man. At her private school in Zurich, she studied mainly German, history and music. She was a keen piano player with a heart set on becoming a writer. She studied in Zurich and Paris, earning her doctorate in history from the University of Zurich at age 23. Shortly after completing her studies, she published her first novella, Freunde um Bernhard (Friends of Bernhard), which was well received.
Career and Achievements
In 1930, Schwarzenbach made contact with Erika and Klaus Mann, children of novelist Thomas Mann. She developed a relationship with Erika, though it was brief; Erika’s attention turned to actress Therese Giehse. Schwarzenbach and Erika remained friends, and she became close to Klaus Mann, becoming a frequent visitor to the Mann family home. With Klaus, she began using drugs and immersed herself in Berlin’s artistic and bohemian culture during the final years of the Weimar Republic. She lived in Westend, drove fast cars, and threw herself into Berlin’s night-life. Her androgynous beauty attracted both men and women.
The Nazi takeover in 1933 ended Schwarzenbach’s Berlin life. Her family pressured her to renounce her friendships with the Manns and support Germany under Hitler, but she was a committed anti-Fascist whose circle included Jews and political refugees. Instead, she helped Klaus Mann finance Die Sammlung, an anti-Fascist literary review that published articles and stories by exiled German writers. Family tensions and pressure led her to attempt suicide, causing scandal in her conservative Swiss circle.
In 1933, Schwarzenbach travelled to Spain with photographer Marianne Breslauer to report on the Pyrenees. Later that year she travelled to Persia. She accompanied Klaus Mann to the Soviet Writers Union Congress in Moscow. In 1935, she married French diplomat Achille-Claude Clarac in Persia; both were homosexual, and the marriage was one of convenience, allowing her to obtain a French diplomatic passport for unrestricted travel. They lived together in Tehran but moved to an isolated countryside area to escape summer heat. The lonely existence worsened her morphine addiction, which she had been using for years for various ailments.
Schwarzenbach worked as a photo-journalist, embarking on many lesbian relationships and travelling extensively. In America, young novelist Carson McCullers became infatuated with her and dedicated Reflections in a Golden Eye to Schwarzenbach. She reported on the early events of World War II before her death.
Notable Events and Milestones
In May 1932, Schwarzenbach planned a car trip to Persia with Klaus and Erika Mann and artist Ricki Hallgarten. On 5 May, the evening before departure, Hallgarten shot himself in his house in Utting on the Ammersee, suffering from depression. This was Schwarzenbach’s first direct encounter with death.
Schwarzenbach died on 15 November 1942 from a head injury following a fall.
Additional Resources
Annemarie Schwarzenbach’s life and work remain subjects of scholarly interest, particularly regarding her contributions to anti-fascist journalism and her role in the bohemian artistic circles of Weimar Berlin and interwar Europe. Readers seeking more detailed information about her photographs, published writings, and correspondence can consult biographical archives and the extensive Wikipedia entry dedicated to her life and career.
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