Clementine Krämer

Clementine Sophie Krämer (née Cahnmann; 7 October 1873 – 4 November 1942) was a German Jewish writer of poetry, novellas and short stories. She was also an activist in the German Jewish community and was ultimately detained in Theresienstadt concentration camp, where she died.

Biography Krämer was born Clementine Sophie Cahnmann on 7 October 1873 in Rheinbischofsheim, a borough of Rheinau, Baden-Württemberg. Her parents were Gustav Cahnmann, a merchant, and Augusta Levi, and she had an older brother named Sigwart. When she was seven years old, the family moved to Karlsruhe.

She remained in Karlsruhe until 1891, when she married banker Max Krämer and they moved to Munich together.

In Munich, Krämer became involved in Jewish social work at the B'nai B'rith center in Munich, where she taught immigrant women in German and literature. She was also tangentially involved in the German women's suffrage movement through the Munich branch of the Deutscher Verein für Frauenstimmrecht (German Society for Women's Suffrage).

Common themes in her writing include Jewish family life, the relationship between German Jews and Judaism, and World War I, as well as pacifism and feminism. She also wrote numerous children's stories, including Fritzschen in Traumland (1919), although she had no children herself; most of the children in her stories were based on her six nieces and nephews. She often wrote in Bavarian dialects.

During World War I, Krämer sought assistance from Jewish business owners in providing to families of dead soldiers. After the war, her husband's business went bankrupt and she began working at S. Eichengrün & Co., a Jewish textile shop, in 1929. After Adolf Hitler assumed power in Germany in 1933, she made numerous attempts to flee Nazi persecution.

Although a relative from the United States provided her with an affidavit of support, she was unable to leave Germany before World War II began and the American consulates in Germany were closed. She attempted to migrate to Denmark, China, and Cuba, all without success before being sent to Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1942. Already ill before her detainment, she died on 4 November 1942, shortly after arriving at Theresienstadt.