Christa Winsloe (1888-1944) was truly a force to be reckoned with. Not only did she write groundbreaking, commercially successful scripts depicting love between women, but she put her life on the line to harbor refugees during Europe’s darkest days.
Christa Winsloe (1888-1944) was truly a force to be reckoned with. Not only did she write groundbreaking, commercially successful scripts depicting love between women, but she put her life on the line to harbor refugees during Europe’s darkest days.
Special thanks to our exclusive Pride Month sponsor, Mercedes-Benz! Mercedes-Benz continues to support and stand with the LGBTQIA+ community. Listen all month long as we celebrate women whose authentic expression in their lives and bodies of work have expanded the norms of gender and sexuality in the performing arts.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Miranda Maday, host of The Things we Carry, and this is Womanica.
I’m so excited to be one of your guest hosts for the final week of Womanica this Pride month. This month, Womanica is highlighting queer stars of the stage and screen.
Today’s queer star is truly a force to be reckoned with. Not only did she write groundbreaking, commercially successful scripts depicting love between women, but she put her life on the line to harbor refugees during Europe’s darkest days. Let’s talk about the incredible Christa Winsloe.
Christa Winsloe was born December 23, 1888 in Darmstadt, Germany.
After Christa’s mother died unexpectedly in 1900, her father sent her to a particularly strict, disciplinarian boarding school in Potsdam [pots-damn]. Her experience attending that repressive institution greatly influenced her later work.
In 1909, Christa started studying sculpture at the Munich Arts and Crafts School – despite the fact this craft was considered “unfeminine,” and despite her family’s protests. Christa particularly enjoyed sculpting animals.
Christa married the successful writer Baron Ludwig Hatvany in 1913. During this time, she wrote her first works, including an unpublished story called “The Black Sheep,” about a girl who feels like a social outsider. Then, Christa wrote the novella Men Return Home, in which the female protagonist decides to dress as a man after being assaulted.
The marriage with Ludwig didn’t last. After she and her husband split, Christa moved to Munich, where she continued her sculpting and writing career – including her first plays. Though her plays didn’t hit the stage just yet, her other work was published in various newspapers or magazines.
Then, in 1930, Christa’s play “Knight Nérestan," also known as “Yesterday and Today,” was released. The play, which featured only women performers, told the story of a forbidden romance between a teacher and a student at a strict Prussian boarding school. It was partially inspired by Christa’s experience at her own boarding school.
The story has a tragic ending, with the student committing suicide after ultimately being rejected by her teacher. Though the content of the play was rather dark, Christa still broke new ground writing a piece that sympathetically depicted lesbian romance. The play was a success and prompted “Mädchen in Uniform” or, “Girls in Uniform.”
Though Christa was one of the screenwriters on the film, the lesbian romance was significantly toned down – and the ending was changed so the protagonist is rescued at the last second before her suicide. “Girls in Uniform” was shown worldwide to critical success.
Christa continued to write works about women’s roles in society, or gender relations. Many of her protagonists cross dress, fall in love with other women, or struggle to fit into typical expectations. In 1933, Christa even published a novelized version of Girls in Uniform called “The Child Manuela,” which had a bolder approach to the lesbian relationship.
As Hitler took power in Germany, Christa began helping at-risk refugees escape the country. Her partner at the time, the American journalist Dorothy Thompson, had been expelled from Germany for speaking out against the Third Reich. The couple split their time between Italy and the United States. However, Christa found herself struggling to keep her career afloat. Writing in English was challenging, and Hollywood wasn’t interested in her movie scripts. In 1935, Christa returned to Europe and spent the next few years in Italy, Hungary, Austria, and Germany.
As Hitler’s reign continued, it wasn’t long before Christa’s work was considered “undesired literature,” thanks to its queer themes. Christa was deemed a political threat, and her options for publishing work in German started to decline.
In 1935, she published Life Begins, a book about a young woman sculptor deciding to live openly with her lover – another woman.
In 1939, she wrote the film Girls in Distress, about a child experiencing her parents’ divorce. The film didn’t garner the same success as her earlier work, and shortly after its release, World War II broke out. Christa moved to France and met a new partner named Simone Gentet. They would stick together throughout the war.
Christa remained committed to writing, but it was more difficult than ever to publish work in France – especially after the German occupation started. Nonetheless, she kept trying to create art. Christa wrote to a friend in 1944, “Of course you think of yourself as ridiculous, to hide your head in the sand of your imagination. But after the war there also must be books and plays.”
However, Christa was hardly hiding her head in the sand. Even though food and money were scarce, Christa and her partner Simone tried to shelter refugees whenever they could. Christa even wrote to her ex-partner Dorothy to ask for financial assistance.
In 1944, after receiving an evacuation order, Christa and Simone left their home to travel toward the town of Cluny [kloo-nee]. The couple decided to make their way to Hungary to meet with Christa’s sister-in-law. But they never left France.
On June 10th, 1944, Christa and Simone were mistaken for Nazi spies and killed by four French soldiers in a forest near Cluny. Christa was 55 years old.
Though Christa was found not to be a spy, the four soldiers were acquitted due to lack of evidence four years later.
All month, we’re highlighting queer stars of the stage and screen. For more information find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to creators Jenny and Liz Kaplan for inviting me to guest host.
Talk to you tomorrow!