I
AM MY OWN WIFE
Who Was Charlotte Von Mahlsdorf?
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf was born on March 18, 1928 in Berlin-Mahlsdorf
as Lothar Berfelde, son of Max and Gretchen Berfelde. Although
physically male, Lothar felt more like a girl and from his
childhood was already interested in girls’ clothes and
“old stuff.” During his childhood, he helped a
second-hand goods dealer to clear out apartments, mostly those
of deported Jews, and occasionally he kept certain individual
items for himself. Lothar’s father Max was a devoted
member of the Nazi Party and became a party leader in Mahlsdorf;
he was an overbearing and abusive man and, in 1942, he forced
his son to join the Hitler Youth. While specific details are
sketchy, Lothar claimed to have beaten his father to death
in self-defense in 1944. For the murder, Lothar spent several
weeks in a psychiatric institution, eventually being sentenced
to four years detention as an anti-social juvenile delinquent.
He did not serve out his entire term in prison due to the
fall of the Nazis – he claimed to have been released
during a bombing that destroyed his prison cell.
Following his release from prison, Lothar worked as a second-hand
goods dealer and dressed in feminine way: he began to refer
to himself as a woman, and eventually adopted the name “Charlotte
von Mahlsdorf” – “Charlotte” after
a favorite aunt’s lover who had been euthanized during
the Nazi regime and “von Mahlsdorf” after the
suburb of Berlin in which she had been born. Charlotte continued
saving and collecting historical household items from bombed-out
or abandoned houses. Charlotte moved into a dilapidated eighteenth
century mansion where she stored her collection and worked
diligently to restore the old building; for her efforts, Charlotte
was awarded the manor house rent free. In 1960, Charlotte
opened a museum dedicated to displaying everyday articles
from the Gründerzeit period of Germany history (1890-1900)
in the partially reconstructed Mahlsdorf manor house. The
museum became well known in cinematic, artistic and gay circles
and often hosted meetings and celebrations. In 1974, the East
German authorities announced they would bring the museum and
its exhibits under state control. In protest, Charlotte von
Mahlsdorf began giving away the exhibits to visitors. No one
is clear exactly why the authorities’ attempt was stopped
in 1976 and Charlotte was able to keep the museum, but many
say that it was because Charlotte was an Inoffizieller
Mitarbeiter (unofficial coworker) of the Stasi until
1976. It has been alleged that Charlotte reported on friends
and others to the Stasi, as many East Germans of the time
period did. However, as Charlotte herself was very vague about
her involvement with the Stasi, the extent to which she was
involved with the Stasi is unknown.
In the early 1990s, Charlotte’s Stasi file became public
and in 1991, one year after the dissolution of East Germany
and the reunification of the country, neo-Nazis attacked participants
at one of her celebrations in the museum. Several participants
in the festivities were seriously injured leading Charlotte
to announce she was considering leaving Germany. In 1997,
she moved to Porla Brunn, Sweden where she opened (with moderate
success) a new museum. Charlotte’s beloved Gründerzeit
Museum was purchased by the city of Berlin. Charlotte von
Mahlsdorf died from heart failure during a return visit to
her museum on April 30, 2002. A memorial to Charlotte was
planned for the first anniversary of her death with the inscription
“Ich bin meine eigene Frau (I am my own wife) –
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf – 18.März 1928-30.April
2002.” However, Charlotte’s relatives demanded
the inscription be changed. Although Charlotte von Mahlsdorf
had been known almost exclusively by her chosen name, her
relatives pushed through the inscription “Lothar
Berfelde, 1928-2002, gennant Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. Dem
Museumsgrunder zur Erinnerung” (Lothar Berfelde, 1928-2002,
known as Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. In memory of the founder
of the museum.)
-adapted from Portland Center Stage’s
article adapted from Wikipedia.com by Stefan Kay (reprinted
courtesy of Portland Center Stage)
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