Malva Schalek  (1882-1944)

Schaleck was born in Prague on 18 February 1882, to a wealthy and culture d Jewish family, which came originally from Bohemia .  She was the youngest of four children.  On the ground floor of the building in which the family lived was a large book shop, which they owned, along with a lending library, a music library (Musik Schaleck) and a furniture store (Möbel Schaleck) in other parts of the city.

Her grandfather (Josef) and father (Gustav) took part in the cultural and political activities of the Czech nationalist movement, and the bookshop was a salon for intellectuals, an activity which did not cease even after her father’s sudden death (1889) and was continued by her mother, Judith, née Wohl.  Several years later, her mother remarried Dr. Schnitzer, and the family moved to Hohenelbe, where Malva completed her secondary school education.  Afterwards she moved to Munich , where for a year she studied art at the Frauenakademie.  Then she moved to Vienna , where she opened a studio.  Relatives who lived there helped her financially and with social connections.  While in Vienna , Schaleck acquired a reputation as a portrait artist — with the subjects of her paintings being mainly middle and upper class Jews.  Her reputation as a portrait artist also reached Prague .

Schaleck’s Uncle Peppi, a banker, who was the brother-in-law of Johann Strauss Jr. and very involved in artistic circles in Vienna , was very proud of her artistic work, and set up a studio for her in the building of the Theater an der Wien.  He even introduced her to artists and members of high society in Vienna , some of who became models for her works, as. For example, Katerina Schratt, who was the mistress of the Kaiser, Franz Josef.  Malva Schaleck was also involved in artistic circles, which included the composers Johann Strauss Jr. and Brahms.

After the Anschlus – the annexation of Austria to Germany – in March 1938, and the introduction of anti-Semitic laws by the Nazis, Schaleck fled Vienna , leaving behind all her works in her studio.  She was accompanied by her aunt, Emma Richter, whose son had been murdered a short time previously by the Nazis because of his political activity.  The two moved to Leitmoritz in Czechoslovakia , where Malva’s brother, Robert, who was a policeman in the city, lived.  Her life there was characterized by fear and distress.  She was dependent on the generosity of many people, and while in flight she learned of the terrible fate of some of her family.

In 1942 Malva Schaleck was transported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, which was a time of great physical difficulties and emotional distress for her.  In Theresienstadt, despite her failing health, she painted many works in secret, in which she depicted scenes of life in Theresienstadt.  Her works, done in pencil, charcoal and watercolors, were hidden in the walls of the buildings and discovered after liberation.  They are a faithful testimony to various aspects of the living conditions in the Theresienstadt ghetto-camp.

After refusing to draw a doctor who was a collaborator, Malva Schaleck was sent to Auschwitz on 18th May 1944 and perished there.

Dr.  Pnina Rosenberg

Art Curator

Lisa Fittko (allias: Elizabeth Ekstein)

*) Catherine Stodolsky, geb. Ekstein, ist Historikerin und die Nichte von Lisa Fittko. Geboren in Paris und aufgewachsen in der Nähe von Chicago, lebt sie seit 1973 in Deutschland und lehrt Gender History, Oral History und zur Exilgeschichte Nazi-Deutschlands am Institut für Geschichte der Maximilians-Universität München. Catherine Stodolsky ist Mitglied der Familie Simon-Schalek-Ekstein und Verfasserin einer Biografie über ihre Tante Lisa Fittko.