The Rudolf Steiner Archive

230

Telegram from Dornachbrugg to Marie Steiner in Berlin
Postscript: recorded on 5/3 1925

Thanks for telegram. Pleased about success. Good thoughts for the future. Rudolf Steiner

231

To Marie Steiner in Berlin
Thursday, March 5, 1925

Goetheanum, March 5, 1925

M. l. M.

Oh, how glad I am that things went well again in Berlin. My thoughts are with you and your immense efforts. But your work is also a blessing.

My condition is improving only slowly. And I must soon be able to work, because what would happen if the construction had to be interrupted due to my illness after everything that has happened cannot be estimated.

That is how you handled the Danzig matter too. I hope that everything went well there and that you did not experience any major inconvenience. And hopefully things will go well again with the following performances.

In this week's “Goetheanum”, the third Steffen article is now appearing as a preliminary conclusion.

The little book Seelenkalender (Calendar of the Soul) will perhaps turn out quite nicely; I have made a corresponding title drawing. It was difficult because the matter is so small, but I think I succeeded in the end. I will be glad if the matter gives you some pleasure.

The car will be in Stuttgart on the 11th.

With all my heart, Rudolf

Dr. Rudolf Steiner
Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland, Cant. Solothurn.

232

To Rudolf Steiner in Dornach
Sunday, March 8, 1925

8. III. 1925, Berlin

Dear E., Now the second performance at the Lessing Theater is also behind us. It is fair to speak of a great success. Lots of applause and a full house. The first performance, which had to be moved from Sunday, March 8, 1925, to Monday, March 4, 1925, due to the national mourning for the German President Friedrich Ebert, who died on February 28, 1925, had to be moved to Monday at 4 o'clock in the afternoon – so an unfavorable day and hour – was sold out. On Monday there were no critics, today there were many. So tomorrow they will grumble or remain silent. During the “Trunknen Lied” (The Dry Song),⁹ which was met with thunderous applause, someone hissed loudly, but was hardly heard.

There was also a sold-out house in Danzig, with 1500 people in attendance. So Mrs. v. Brederlow ¹⁰ She did a good preparatory job, and also looked quite thin – or maybe we are really infamous. The audience was a bit bewildered at first, but went along with it. The “Steffen” also took hold; when an attempt at applause was made, it was hissed as if it were a prayer; but when Mozart's Allegro was played, and later, there was applause. We only have 35 members there. Our ladies and gentlemen were hosted by non-members, all people from good circles, and there was mutual delight. These people and their friends were also enthusiastic about the eurythmy. But the newspapers! They ranted and raved to their hearts' content, just as they did in Kristiania.¹¹ Everything and anything was bad and awful. I am only sorry for Frau v. Brederlow, who, on closer acquaintance, is very winning, for she is touchingly self-sacrificing. The few gaffes she makes are only due to overzeal, and it takes a great deal of zeal to fight against the world of resistance, alone, so far away. Because of the misconduct of a few evil members, great enmity has arisen against the movement. Groh ¹² She did not persevere either and is back in Kristiania. But Frau v. Brederlow is a cheerful woman and her husband is a nice man. She had put Clason and me up at the seaside at the Kurhaus hotel; almost all of us were in Sopot. The few hours of sea air did me a great deal of good.

We have been deprived of the Landestheater again; the Ministry of Culture did not allow it. So I won't need the car until later. If we play in Landhausstraße, not until the 16th. Otherwise I'll phone from Stuttgart if I need it earlier.

Many heartfelt thanks for your dear, dear letters and warmest thoughts. Marie

• 9. From “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” by Friedrich Nietzsche.
• 10. Margarete v. Brederlow (1889-1980), musician and music teacher in Danzig, member since 1920, founded the Danzig branch.
• 11. On the occasion of public eurythmy performances in Kristiania (Oslo) on November 27 and December 3, 1921.
• 12. Annemarie Groh (1891-1976), member since January 1913, eurythmist.

233

To Marie Steiner in Stuttgart
Friday, March 13, 1925

Goetheanum, March 13, 1925

M.l.M.

I send you my warmest birthday wishes. I will think a lot on this day of all the beauty that has been and is in our joint work and that now always comes so beautifully before the eye of my soul when I describe it.¹³ I can assure you that I describe this with love.

You telegraphed that you do not need the car until the 16th. It will be there then. But telephone if it is necessary before then.

And thank you for your telegrams and letters. I am glad that everything has gone so well. The ranting in the newspapers is certainly unbearable. But the main thing is that our organizers do not let themselves be intimidated by this ranting, as has unfortunately happened in Christiania. Your work is so beneficial now. Hopefully it won't affect you too much.

In Stuttgart, something seems to be happening again against Unger. They will approach you. But you will find the right position. It is self-evident that during my illness, circles such as the Waldorf School must try independent work. It is already happening in the organization of the conference. But now a lecture should be given by Unger during the conference. The administrative board of the Waldorf School is making that impossible. Unger is not to give a lecture during the conference of the Waldorf School - for the Anthroposophical Society, not for the conference. At this stage, the Stuttgart board writes to the Dornach board about what should be done. However, it is quite impossible for us here in Dornach to intervene at such a late stage in a matter that is so disastrous for Stuttgart. I can therefore only write to the Stuttgart board to say that we cannot intervene. Of course, this does not prevent you from doing what you think is right in Stuttgart if you are approached about the matter.

My dear, I do not want to bother you with trivialities, and I have avoided doing so until now. But just to let you know, in case the matter comes up from the other side, I am writing this. Just to avoid any misunderstanding. It was only too understandable that my appetite was not in order due to the often elevated temperatures, etc., and that I could hardly eat for a while. Now Dr. Wegman, in her kindness, in which she wants to do everything possible for me, was thinking of a solution. And unfortunately she came up with the idea of having ¹⁴ When Dr. Wegman suggested this to me, I said that it was 'madness' and that she must not do it. Mrs. Walther cooks for me, as you know, and there is no reason to change that. Well, after a while I was told that Mrs. Breitenstein was coming after all. I forbade her from cooking. I don't want anything cooked by her, and everything stays the same. It's also insane to think that it would do me any good to be “cooked for in Viennese style”. I don't want to write the whole story here, but I just wanted to touch on it so that you are not confronted with something incomprehensible when someone in Stuttgart tells you that Mrs. Breitenstein came to cook for me. It's just nonsense, and they will get a few recipes from Mrs. Breitenstein as a token. But she won't cook. Once again, my warmest thoughts

from your loving Rudolf

Abs: Dr. Rudolf Steiner
Goetheanum, Dornach near Basel,
Canton Solothurn, Switzerland.

Dr. I. Wegman sends warmest birthday greetings. She is deeply pleased about your great successes and would like to express this in particular.

• 13. In the Goetheanum essays on “My Life”.
• 14. Amalie Breitenstein (1860-1942), wife of Julius Breitenstein, member in Vienna since May 1910.

234

To Rudolf Steiner in Dornach
Wednesday, March 18, 1925

Heidenheim, March 18, 1925

Dear E., it has been so incredibly long since I wrote to you. Stuttgart proved to be what it always is: you fly from one to the other, or from one to the other, and so it happened that I always wrote to you in thoughts but could not fill out a sheet. From Fürth, I asked that a telegram be sent to you. Fürth was a great surprise for us. After the Landestheater in Stuttgart, it is perhaps the most beautiful theater we have ever been to, with excellent acoustics and the best order and cleanliness in the areas behind the scenes. Magnificent lighting options, it holds almost 1,200 people, and it was full again. The members told us the next day that they had only heard enthusiastic comments.

In Stuttgart, we have been removed from the Landestheater again. We held the two Faust performances at the Waldorf School; some thought that you could see better there because the stage was higher; maybe more strangers come there than in the Landhausstraße. Of course, everything went well and smoothly there; we also had another performance for members in the Landhausstraße.

I have now allowed myself to be persuaded, at the suggestion of some teachers, to agree to a Faust performance for the school children. It was tempting to think that 800 children could gain an impression for their lives that would prevent them from immediately developing a taste for trashy representations. We know how strong such children's impressions are. Of course, we would have to return from Mannheim to Stuttgart for this reason. But I felt compelled to do so for another reason as well: the eurythmy school performance. It takes place on the evening before the conference, offers many very enjoyable things, so it would be a shame to let it fall through. But recitation is impossible. So the only way out seemed to me to recite Froböse ^{Edwin Froböse (1900-1997), actor, member since 1921. 1924-1949 co-worker and secretary of the Section for Speaking and Musical Arts, since 1945 member of the Rudolf Steiner estate administration.} But I would have to supervise the matter, since they are poems that he does not know at all, and I would have to delete a great deal from the overabundance of the program and put together the best, for which there has not yet been time. — All in all, however, the school made a very positive impression. — So it will probably be my duty to make this presentation as good as possible. - Then Wagner would like to bring a gentleman with him whom I could talk to about my brother's entry permit. — For the pedagogical conference week, they have requested two eurythmy performances and an evening of recitation by me. So everything is very cramped and it is possible that I could only go to Dornach for two days to at least see you briefly.

Thank you very much for your kind letter and the comforting words you write me. Hopefully I will now find you well on the road to recovery.

There is still so much I would like to write to you, not just external facts, but the car is once again at the door and the rehearsal must begin. So I hope to continue this letter soon and send you all the love that fills my heart. Marie.

235

To Marie Steiner in Stuttgart
Friday, 20 March 1925

Goetheanum, 20 March 1925

M.l.M.

Thank you very much for your kind letter. It gave me great satisfaction. You must do everything without taking anything into consideration except your strength and your health. I watch with admiration all that you accomplish with such devotion. My thoughts are with you.

What you are doing for the children with this performance is deeply satisfying and joyful. I am so grateful to you.

My recovery is going slowly. Hopefully I will only start working on the construction model at the right time so that there is no interruption.

- In Stuttgart, however, the very beautiful things that are developing are repeatedly mixed with difficult things. Piper ¹⁶ is gradually

writing only abuse, which is a cause for concern. His article about the professor in Frankfurt is just one article of abuse. And it is not clear from any of the lines why he is abusing. There is no indication of what the professor said. I consider this Piper business to be very unfortunate. For Piper is an artistic and poetic nature; and we truly do not have many like him. I do not want to take away all his desire to work with us. But the way he is behaving now, the matter can hardly continue.

Likewise, the affair with Unger is very unfortunate for me. One must consider such things in context.

When I dissolved the Kommen Tag, I made provision for del Monte, who, had I not intervened, would simply have been thrown out onto the street.

I could not do anything for Unger. And so, since his factory was sold, he received a sum of money that will only last him a short time. He would have to be supported within the Anthroposophical Society in the future. But what should be done if this tendency to make him impossible in the Society keeps recurring?

I hope your events continue to go well; I send you my warmest regards

Rudolf Steiner

Dr. Rudolf Steiner
Dornach near Basel, Switzerland.

• 16. Dr. med. Kurt Piper (1875-1952), physician and poet. Met Rudolf Steiner at the medical week in October 1922 in Stuttgart and from then on became a permanent member of the staff in Stuttgart. He was an editor for various anthroposophical journals.

236

To Rudolf Steiner in Dornach
Monday, March 23, 1925 23.

March 1925, Stuttgart

Dear E., a thousand thanks for your kind letter. We are all very much looking forward to tonight. Hopefully the noise of the children will not drown out the sound of the sunrise. Afterwards, the teachers have invited the eurythmists to a tea party. We have had a series of very successful evenings behind us. Heidenheim (full house), which earned us three hymns as reviews, - Karlsruhe, where the atmosphere was very warm and enthusiastic (- reviews have not yet been sent to us -), except for very few empty chairs in the last row of expensive seats, it was packed (1200 people) - Mannheim also went very well; even though it was confirmation morning in town, there were only a few empty rows at the very back of the long hall. Bernhard Klein ¹⁷ was confirmed, visited me (with roses) and asked to give you his best regards; the Leinhas, where Flossy lived, also had a confirmation celebration. Everything we have heard about the comments of the audience sounds very enthusiastic; there are even claims that people cried at the Faust scene in Mannheim. It is almost a shame that no further performances could take place between the pedagogical conference and today: Schuurmans, in particular, had to go to Dornach because of their house. With them, I then dismissed Savitch and de Jaager, since they could be dispensed with for the local school performance. It is striking how well things went in the end, and how much everyone has learned through the repetitions. The 'Urträume' (dreams of the origin of the soul),¹⁸ We were supposed to present them at the pedagogical conference, but they have of course been somewhat forgotten. These include the work of Frau Lewerenz,¹⁹ We have to do it on Saturday evening or Sunday in Dornach, and then we will go straight back to Stuttgart. Tomorrow I have to hold a lot of rehearsals; first with the Stuttgart group, who have to fill the second part of our program with the big group pieces. Then the students' performance, for which there is so much material that I certainly can't get through it all. For a poetry evening, I have also been talked into it by Schwebsch ²⁰ still let myself be talked into it after I had initially declined: I want to venture into Pandora's ²¹ But . to my horror, I see that time is running out for everything again. I am almost wondering whether I will not have to stay here. I would have liked to travel on Wednesday and leave Dornach again on Sunday morning. If it were a three-hour drive, I would not have hesitated for a moment; but if it means spending eight hours in a closed car over snow-covered mountain roads, I am a little worried about my strength. I will probably make the decision tomorrow, after I have seen whether I can finish the preparations here. The Piper evening, which was supposed to take place on Saturday evening, as we decided at the board meeting here, has been postponed because the Waldorf School is having a concert that evening; now I have to see how I manage that, because Piper was already looking forward to it, and it is perhaps the best way to soften him after all. Schwebsch, who persuaded me to use Pandora and from whom I requested introductory music, has also not yet had the time or the head to suggest something. It will probably have to be Bruckner rather than Bach. The event is to take place in the school, so we won't have the organ harmonium. For the Piper evening, on the other hand, I have to arrange something with Arenson, on the harmonium, which also needs to be rehearsed. So I see with horror – as always in Stuttgart, hundreds of things that still need to be done.

Mrs. Kolisko ²² has become so close to me. I didn't even know that she had had this longing for a long time. Now she wants me to be her mother, and I have to give such a prominent daughter the time she wants.

And all the speakers and actors! But if you have experienced this terrible, ever-deepening decline again, as we did on the trip, you don't feel at all justified in depriving those people of the opportunity to be saved. The priests, on the other hand, are all making remarkable progress in speaking; this must come from the content of their ritual.

I find it so regrettable with Unger; there is so much mass suggestion involved. What has been said by certain prominent people who have been so deceived by themselves is now circulating among young people like a dictum. Rath, for example, seems to explain to newcomers that Unger is a pest to society. Stein ²³ always refers to you when he wants to condemn Unger to passivity. Maybe I should talk to

the people. Or not? What do you think?

I have to close. Warmest Marie

Should a Piper evening here be announced as originating from the Section for the Arts of Eurythmy or from the board? What do you think?

Postscript on page 1:

The children at school were delighted, but thought the performance was too short.

• 17. Bernhard Klein (1910-1988), youngest son of Pastor Paul Klein, Mannheim.
• 18. 'Chor der Urträume', a poem by Fercher von Steinwand.
• 19. Rie Lewerenz (1899-1982), a eurythmist in Dornach.
• 20. Dr. Erich Schwebsch (1889-1953), art teacher and music writer. Appointed by Rudolf Steiner in 1921 at the Free Waldorf School in Stuttgart. In 1945, he was actively involved in the reopening of the Stuttgart school, and then founded and chaired the “Association of Independent Waldorf Schools”.
• 21. fragment by Goethe.
• 22. Lilly Kolisko (1889-1976). From 1921 at the Biological Research Institute in Stuttgart; conducted a series of experiments based on suggestions by Rudolf Steiner: “Spleen Function and Platelet Question”, Stuttgart 1922 and “Physical Proof of the Effectiveness of the Smallest Entities”, Stuttgart 1923.
• 23. Dr. Walter Johannes Stein (1891-1957), a member of the Anthroposophical Society since the summer of 1913, was appointed by Rudolf Steiner to the Free Waldorf School in Stuttgart in 1919. 1923-1928/29 on the board of the German national society. 1932 moved to England.

237

To Marie Steiner in Stuttgart
Monday, March 23, 1925

Goetheanum, March 23, 1925

M.l.M. I really cannot express to you how much I admire your dedicated work and how grateful I am to you for everything you do so beneficially. The fact that you are also taking on the school is particularly significant. Because the children need impulses now that they do not see me. And above all, you bring art into the school, an element that it needs so much.

Regarding your question about the Piper evening, it would be good if it started with the section of the speaking arts. If it seems right to you, just organize it that way, sign the program with the addition “Section of the Speaking Arts” and add only my name.

However, if you also find the time to talk to the opponents of Unger, that could be good. I have already written to you about the state of affairs.

Everything is going terribly slowly for me; I am actually quite desperate about this slowness.

I don't want you to decide to come here on the snow trails. But to discuss this, the letter will probably arrive in Stuttgart too late. I just hope I hear soon that you won't make this superhuman effort.

Unfortunately, I have received some very bad news from Horn. Polzer,²⁴ who worked on this matter with incomparable dedication. My sister is almost completely blind. Now the necessary arrangements have to be made. But everything is going well. I hope that our medical friend Dr. Glas,²⁵ who is making an eye examination in Horn, will send a detailed medical report in a few days. As I said, Polzer has taken the matter very energetically in hand.

Here – I don't know whether I should write about the matter, but it is better if you are not completely unaware of it until you get here. P. is in a wild state. He and she will now live separately for a few days on the advice of Dr. W.[egman]. There seems to have been a real storm. He seems to have lashed out, injuring himself so badly that he had to be bandaged in the clinic. It seems certain that there will also be offspring.

I love you so much and send you my very best thoughts and warmest feelings.

Your Rudolf Steiner

Dr. Rudolf Steiner
Goetheanum, Dornach near Basel, Switzerland.

• 24. Count Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz (1869-1945), member since April 1911. In 1917, he lobbied the Austrian government on behalf of Rudolf Steiner's efforts to achieve a threefold social order. Active for the threefolding movement in Austria from 1919 to 1921. With the founding of the Austrian national society (October 1923) on its board, 24
• 25. Dr. med. Norbert Glas (1897-1986), connected with anthroposophy since 1920. Active in the anthroposophical youth movement. Emigrated to England in 1939.

238

To Rudolf Steiner in Dornach
Wednesday, March 25, 1925, from Stuttgart

March 25, 1925

Dear E., Now I have decided to stay here after all, however difficult it has become for me. I can't manage with my strength, and the matters concerning my school ²⁶ are then only half done again. I could have stayed for three days, but I would have been torn away from the beauty of being with you. So I would rather keep my strength here for the conference. Meyer is now driving back with Clason and Clara [Zibell], who is to recover in Dornach. He won't need to pick me up again. I will make the one journey back on the train. I am now counting the days that separate me from my return, but the conference still has to be survived.

The children at the school are said to have been enchanted by the performance. All kinds of nice things are being said.

Warmest and loving regards from Marie.

On Sunday, March 29, Rudolf Steiner's health unexpectedly deteriorated. Marie Steiner in Stuttgart was notified in the evening, after 10 p.m., with the assurance that it was not necessary to come immediately and that she would be notified again the next morning. This happens shortly before 6 o'clock in the morning. She leaves immediately, but does not meet Rudolf Steiner alive. At noon on Monday, March 30, 1925, the news goes out to the world via the Swiss Telegraphic Agency: “The leader of the anthroposophical movement, Dr. Rudolf Steiner, died today at 10 o'clock in the morning at the age of 64.” And although, as she writes in the following letter to Rudolf Steiner's sister, the world has been dead for Marie Steiner ever since he left it, she continues to work tirelessly for his work until her own death.

• 26. Refers to the Eurythmy School in Stuttgart.

239

Marie Steiner to Leopoldine Steiner in Horn, Austria
Sunday, May 3, 1925

May 3, 1925, Dornach

Dear sister-in-law,

Please forgive me for not writing sooner. I was so torn apart and crushed by all that has happened that I could not find the strength to do so.

Now we are all saying that we were too hopeful, but with the tremendous energy that Rudolf always had, even during his illness, he still gave us hope. It seemed impossible that he could leave us, and none of us wanted to believe it.

Since he was no longer able to travel, I had to work more in the outside world in his spirit; however painful that was, it was also what calmed him: that the work was not interrupted. My sick feet also made it impossible for me to provide the care that Dr. Wegman and Dr. Noll provided in such a devoted manner. But it was deeply, deeply painful for me to have to be away so much now.

I think he wanted to make too great a leap to get well. He wrote to me that he now had to get well in order to work on the model of the new building again. The organism was already too exhausted to endure this shock. Overwork – due to the never-ending superhuman labor – and malnutrition, because he could no longer tolerate anything, that is what probably made recovery impossible.

But the world has been dead since he left.

How he still worried about your eyes, dear sister-in-law; he wrote to me about it in one of his last letters, and was pleased that the necessary precautions had been taken to help you. — He wished that you would continue to be taken care of in the way he had done until then. And so Count Polzer has agreed to always look after the rights and to receive the money from me here, which he will then allocate to you. He will have told you everything that has happened here and what formalities still have to be completed in terms of the Swiss authorities in order to bring the will, which is in Berlin, into force. There is an endless amount to be done, which has accumulated during his illness.

I send you my best regards and wishes for your recovery.

With my warmest regards, Marie Steiner