Sudermann, Clara (1861-1924)

Sudermann, Clara

WRITER (GERMANY)

BORN 14 Feb 1861, Königsberg (now: Kaliningrad) - DIED 17 Oct 1924, Berlin
BIRTH NAME Schulz, Clara
CAUSE OF DEATH heart disease
GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Landeseigener Friedhof Grunewald, Bornstedter Straße 11-12 (Abt. V, Grab 58 (Ehrengrab))

Clara Schulz married the hydraulic engineering director Wihelm Lauckner in 1885. They had three children, Rolf, Ilse und Witte. In 1889 her husband died during an accident. After his death she started writing. "Lethe" was published in 1889 and her novella "Mein Stern" followed in 1891 and earned her a prize in a competition. She met the writer Hermann Sudermann though Alexander Wyneken and she married Sudermann in the autumn of 1891 in Helgoland. She brought her three children into the marriage and this immediately led to tensions with Sudermann. Only after their own daughter Hede was born in June 1892 things calmed down. Her son Witte died in 1893 after a fall from a balcony.

In 1895 they settled in Berlin while Rolf and Ilse attended a boarding school in Dresden. Hermann was often away on travels without her and she continued writing in his shadow. In 1896 her novel "Die Sigerin" was published. Hermann acquired the Blankenese estate in Brandenburg and they moved there in 1902. Further publications by Clara Sudermann were "An geöffneter Tür" (1913) and "Am Glück vorbei" (1920). She died in 1924 in Berlin.

Family
• Son: Lauckner, Rolf
• Husband: Sudermann, Hermann (1891-1924, Helgoland)

Images

The grave of Clara Sudermann and Hermann Sudermann at the Landeseigener Friedhof Grunewald, Berlin.
Picture by Androom (24 Aug 2017)