"Be nice to each other" - multimedia reading with author Charlotte von Feyerabend
As part of the literary series "The Reading Ramp", Charlotte von Feyerabend reads from her novel biography about the entrepreneur Beate Uhse
For many, the name Beate Uhse is associated with a chain of retail stores whose product range consisted of "hygiene articles". This was the bashful way of putting it when Uhse began her career as an entrepreneur in 1951 with very modest means. Sex education was a foreign concept at the time, eroticism a taboo. There were unwanted pregnancies at a time that was characterized by hardship and uncertainty.
Beate Uhse, a war widow and mother herself, published a brochure with instructions on contraception. It was distributed by mail order. From 1951, she expanded the product range, the origin of a company that was successful beyond Germany for a long time.
Beate Uhse's life is full of contrasts and dazzling moments. She was brought up in a reformed school, was sporty and obtained her pilot's license at the age of 18. This later allowed her to flee from embattled Berlin with her son and nanny in a small plane under Russian fire. The small family found a new home in Schleswig-Holstein.
Her range of goods, which was considered risqué at the time, brought her repeated visits from the police and the public prosecutor's office. Many years later, her achievements were recognized with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Her funeral brought together ministers and members of the Bundestag. Even the church, long an energetic opponent of the 'sinful' businesswoman Uhse, turned its attention back to her: a plaque on the building of the St. Marien parish commemorates the fact that Uhse and her four children spent the years between 1948 and 1961 there. It was from here that the first parcels of her newly founded mail-order company were sent on their way.
Charlotte von Feyerabend has researched Beate Uhse's life and work in detail. Her entertaining and revealing biography "Seid nett aufeinander" (Be nice to each other) begins with the adventurous escape from Berlin and then leads back to the happy days on the East Prussian Wagenau estate, where she spent her youth as the daughter of modern-minded parents - her mother Margarete Köstlin-Räntsch was one of the first women in this profession in Germany.
On Friday, September 20, 2024, Charlotte von Feyerabend will present her book as part of the literary series "Die Lese-Rampe". She will present her readings with images and sound, show original photos, documents and videos, play music and answer questions from the audience. Admission to this reading is free.
"Die Lese-Rampe" is sponsored by the Friedel und Gisela-Bohnenkamp-Stiftung in cooperation with the Literaturbüro Westniedersachsen.
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