Remembering Charlotte von Mahlsdorf: East German Trans Woman and Renowned Curator

By AJ Birt, Second Year History

Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (1928-2002) is not a name that many would recognise, but for 2022’s International Transgender Day of Visibility, writing on a controversial East German figure felt like an interesting dive into trans history. Whilst not a pioneer or activist per se, Mahlsdorf is a historical trans figure that we should not ignore. 

Born in 1928, Mahlsdorf lived in an abusive household. For many gender non conforming (GNC) people, especially those that express this from a young age, abuse is common. However, Mahlsdorf’s situation was contextually as bad as it could get for early twentieth-century Germany; her father was a Nazi, and she was forced to join the Hitler Youth.

Not all of her youth was appalling, however. She had a lesbian, GNC aunt and a supportive mother, both of whom encouraged her to live truthfully. Mahlsdorf herself described her childhood as her being ‘a little girl in a boy’s body’. An escape from her father came in the form of the Second World War, most of which Mahlsdorf spent in a youth prison due to murdering said Nazi father with a rolling pin. The Western liberation of Germany at the end of the war saw Mahlsdorf gain her freedom, and her curating journey continued.

Since being a child, Mahlsdorf described herself as being a collector of ‘junk’. Her focus on antiquities surrounded the Grunderzeit era of German history, 1870-1900, concerning the foundation of the German Empire. Whilst Mahlsdorf herself said she was just concerned with ‘pretty things’, James Conway argues that her obsession with the Grunderzeit era may have been a longing for the conformity and structure that her own life lacked. (1)

Mahlsdorf through her own LGBTQ+ status is, one would assume, a revolutionary figure in East Germany. However, East Germany was the more sexually progressive of the two sides of Germany; due to a desire to not be seen as fascist, East Germany completely threw out the Nazi legislation surrounding same-sex activities, whereas West Germany maintained and reinstated it. 

Due to the 20th century attitude to same-sex activity as a whole, East Germany was not a paradise, and gay bars were still shut down by the authorities. An example of one of these was the Mulackritze bar, shut down in 1963.

The Mulackritze bar was subsequently recreated by Mahlsdorf in the basement of her museum. Whilst it was not an example of Grunderzeit history, Mahlsdorf as a queer person evidently felt that its significance was not something that could be forgotten. Additionally, the Mulackritze’s reemergence in the 1970s coincided with the growth of West German gay liberation movements. 

The divide between German spheres in terms of approaches to sexuality meant that Mahlsdorf’s basement gay bar became an accessible space for the queer undercurrent of all of Berlin. West Berliners would visit the museum, head to the basement, and be able to freely mingle with East Berliners. The creation of this space could mean that we view Mahlsdorf as a form of accidental activist; however, her controversies dissuade the historian from drawing this conclusion.

For example, there is significant evidence that Mahlsdorf was an informer for the Stasi, the East German secret police. Whilst her police file remains undiscovered, one must ask exactly who she was informing on - was she an LGBTQ role model just making a living, or did her political views juxtapose her significance as a queer German icon? 

Despite her involvement with the Stasi, Mahlsdorf’s impact on the Berlin queer community cannot be ignored. Her basement bar became a significant meeting place and an opportunity for somewhere safe, particularly for West Berliners who snuck across the border in a desperate attempt to find others who were like them. 

Mahlsdorf’s legacy can still be seen both in Europe and in the media. Her autobiography, ‘I am my own Wife’ (Ich bin meine eigene Frau) was turned into both a play and a film, and the thousands of queer people she offered a safe space to were able to thrive under her roof. Additionally, both the Berlin museum and the Swedish museum she set up after leaving Germany still stand.

Charlotte von Mahlsdorf was an example of an East German transfem historian. Whilst not an activist, she was someone who shaped the lives of many queer people, and her own status as an LGBTQ+ individual ensured that her life was lived outside of the ‘norm’. As a historic figure and a twentieth-century curator, the modern historian or anyone interested in museology would do well to remember her name.

1. James Conway, ‘Strange Flowers Guide to Berlin’, 2011. Available at <https://strangeflowers.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/strange-flowers-guide-to-berlin-part-1/> [Accessed 30/3/22]