Gitta Deutsch, 1924-1998 |
 Gitta Deutsch with SIUK Chairman Paul Reid, at the SIRC inauguration in 1997. |
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Obituary |
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| Gitta Deutsch, who was a guest of
honour at the Inauguration of the SIRC
in Leeds last May, died in March after a long battle against cancer.
Many of you will remember this quiet, elegant lady, who took such
interest in the proceedings - hardly surprising, as she was the
daughter of Otto Erich Deutsch and features in the correspondence
which forms the unique heart of the Leeds collection. Gitta readily
agreed to contribute a Preface to
Dear
Brown, my article about the letters from Otto Erich
Deutsch to Maurice JE Brown, and in our correspondence in this
connection showed herself to be almost as avid a letter writer as
her father. Her style, however, was very different, shot through
with darts of humour and full of human warmth. She quickly became a
family friend, staying with us in Leeds, and insisting upon cooking
me a meal while I was in Vienna last August, despite the fact that
she had just undergone further chemotherapy and was feeling, as she
put it, a little 'piano'. |
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| Although not a musician, Gitta helped
her father with the detailed index to the Schubert Documents and to
the Thematic Catalogue and was proud to be associated with the 'D'
numbers. She was also a fascinating person in her own right, writing
poetry in German, as well as prize-winning English translations of
German poetry. Gitta was an idealist, who saw hope in young people,
and was much involved with the peace movement and conservation
issues. |
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| Gitta was determined to carry on as
normal, despite her illness, and in recent months continued to
travel to Hamburg, Salzburg, Prague and elsewhere, to read poetry
and extracts from her autobiographical work Böcklinstrassenelegie,
published in English as The Red Thread. This book tells the
story of her schooling in Vienna, her rapid departure from Vienna in
1938 (she was half Jewish), her years in Cambridge (interrupted by a
brief internment on the Isle of Man), her return to Vienna in 1969,
and her work as translator. Anyone who met Gitta will laugh at her
being labelled an 'enemy alien' in 1940 ! She was one of the first
Europeans and a person of great humanity, and those who made her
acquaintance last year will treasure the memory. |
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| Paul Reid 1998 | ||||