Galinka Ehrenfest
Galinka Ehrenfest | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 July 1910 Kannuka, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire |
| Died | 12 August 1979 (aged 69) Gronsveld, Limburg, Netherlands |
| Pen name | El Pintor |
| Occupation | Author |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Spouse | Jaap Kloot |
| Parents | Tatyana Afanasyeva-Ehrenfest (mother) and Paul Ehrenfest (father) |
| Relatives | Tatyana van Aardenne-Ehrenfest (sister) |
Galinka Ehrenfest (born 23 July 1910 – 12 August 1979)[1][2] was a Dutch writer and illustrator of children's books and designer of children's games. She became a naturalized Dutch citizen in 1922.
Galinka Ehrenfest was born in the former village of Kannuka (now part of Sillamäe), Estonia, as the second daughter of Austrian Jewish theoretical physicist Paul Ehrenfest and Russian mathematician Tatyana Afanasyeva-Ehrenfest.[2] Her sister, mathematician Tatyana van Aardenne-Ehrenfest (born 1905, Vienna), was five years older than her, and later had two younger brothers: Paul Jr. (Leiden, 1915–1939) and Wassik (Leiden, 1918–1933), who was born with down syndrome.[1] Wassik was killed in 1933 by his father in a murder-suicide, whilst Paul was killed in 1939 by an avalanche in the French Alps.
Because her father was appointed professor of mathematics and physics at Leiden University in 1912, succeeding Hendrik Lorentz, the family relocated to Leiden that year. They initially lived in Groenhovenstraat but, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, moved to a house in Witte Rozenstraat designed by her mother. The building, now known as the Ehrenfesthuis, is a designated national monument.[3]
Ehrenfest was married to artist Jaap Kloot, who was arrested alongside her by the Nazis in May 1943[1] and died at the Sobibór extermination camp.[4] Galinka, who was heavily pregnant, was interrogated for a week. She told a false story, after which she was released.[5] She continued making picture books as El Pintor until 1946, first with Godfried Bomans, then with Jef Last. In total, seventeen El Pintor books were published. On 23 May 1949, Ehrenfest remarried to Hendrik van Bommel.
They collectively authored books under the pseudonym El Pintor and donated profits to the Dutch Resistance.[2] Following the war, she became an interior designer specializing in children's rooms.[1]
Ehrenfest died in 1979 in Gronsveld, Netherlands, aged 69.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d Ferrer, Isabel (2023-05-16). "A Jewish couple dodged Nazi censorship to publish children's books in occupied Holland". EL PAÍS English. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ^ a b c d Connelly, Irene Katz (2023-04-26). "How these Dutch Jewish artists aided the resistance with children's books". The Forward. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ^ "Witte Rozenstraat 57, 2311 XT te Leiden | Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed". monumentenregister.cultureelerfgoed.nl. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
- ^ "DPG Media Privacy Gate". myprivacy.dpgmedia.nl. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
- ^ "El Pintor". Joods Virtueel Museum (in Dutch). Retrieved 2025-07-10.