1914 I stayed with A. Tassa again in Finland, this time near Vyborg. We were supposed to travel together through Italy to Pariw, but Tassa came across something that prevented him from traveling with me. We agreed that I would travel in front and wait for him in Dresden. Thunder could be felt in the air already during the travel and especially when I crossed the border, but I still did not believe in the outbreak of war, because it seemed too frantic, and I hoped that the anti-war forces would exert their influence in the German parliament. But the thunder rumbled, the war broke out and immediately brought me severe consequences. As a Russian subject, I was arrested in Dresden and immediately placed in prison. With the stubborn alacrity of the Germans, I was accused of spying for Russia, and it was not long before the matter would have taken a fatal turn for me and I would have been shot. In every way, they tried to influence me so that I would confess to the fabricated crime about me. But I had nothing to confess, because I was just waiting to catch up with Tassa on the way to Paris. However, he could not cross the border any more. As fate would have it, my situation changed for the better when Dr. Krause from Leipzig, who was appointed investigator of the affairs of prisoners of war. He was different from the usual German official, with a broader outlook, a relatively benevolent man, a lawyer by education. At the very first meeting he looked at me and asked: Man, why are you here? I told him my story, that I was an art student and that I was arrested in Dresden on my way to Paris. He asked, where where did I study. I answered that at the Ažbe school in Munich and then at the "Acadèmie Russe" and "La Grande Chaumière" in Paris. He asked where I lived there. He explained: my wife is a sculptor - studied at the same art school a few years earlier and lived in the same hotel. With that, human contact had been found with him. He promised to see what he could do for me. A good acquaintance of his wife was a certain rich lady Knoop, who had lived in Finland and was a great admirer of the Finns. In the following days, food parcels with all kinds of goodies started arriving in the prison ward. Dr. Krause himself visited the ward. A guard came upon and fell to cursing him. "Quietly, quietly!" and Kause showed his official certificate. Immediately, the respect of the guards was even greater. Dr. Krause kept his word and secured my release from prison. I was interned in the POW (prisoners of the war) camp in the town of Wehlen, where life was a little more relaxed, but I still had to report to the police every day. Living in the camp was quite bad, little food, mood below zero.
As a stonecutter in Germany
Due to Dr. Krause's intermediate service, permission arrived to leave the camp and look for a job. Since my suit was already completely worn out and tattered in prison, Dr. Krause even let to make new clothes for me. A stone carving manufactory might have offered the closest job opportunity to a sculptor. L. Butze's manufactory was like that in Wehlen, where I became a stonemason's apprentice. Younger workers were mobilized for the army, so it was necessary to accept apprentices even from among the internees. At the first stone, I carelessly broke the edge, but fortunately, there was still enough stone to make a correction. At first, ordinary utility work had to be done - to cut tombstones and pillars. The co-workers taught work techniques and stood up for me in front of the owner. Over time I got used to it and could already cut on my own. My first major work was a column with the image of a bull's head and a dog. I was paid 30 marks a month, which was barely enough to keep me alive. The support I received from the Finnish consul gave Finnish prisoners of war a little help, and since I had a Finnish passport, I was also considered a Finnish citizen.
1916 I was transferred to Rothen for a short time, but from there I got to Dresden in the marble factory of P. Pietsch and K. Zähne, where the latter taught me the secrets of processing this material. There were already more interesting tasks to perform here. Since there were few men, I was in demand with my few skills. The salary also increased.
In the apartment, I was in a black family, where the man was at the front, while the woman was at home. He was a good person and took care of me as much as possible. I also got to know a rich family, where they invited me to visit them and - oh my god! – immediately wanted to see me as the groom. They made me to stay until late in the evening, and when I started going, they said: "What are people saying now, Trude is still so young!" - looked like I should buy an engagement ring immediately! Later, they even wanted to buy a stone carving manufactory. Things got so heated that I had to leave Dresden involuntarily. I had saved up for a couple of weeks and went to Berlin. At first, I didn't know the people or the circumstances here. I got the addresses of the "Bildhauers" from the address book and went to look for a job. However, these were all ordinary crucifixes, from whom there was nothing to learn. Someone finally said to look for "Steinbildhauers".
The money was already running low when I finally got a job in K. Hubrich's workshop, which was one of the branches of the large L. Manzel workshop. I was now a trained worker and received a corresponding salary. The job here was to make a giant marble relief for one of the cathedrals, the relief consisted of three blocks and was commissioned by the community of Posen, the administration of the cathedral and Kaiser Wilhelm, all with a one-third contribution, totaling over three million marks. The relief was already dotted when Hubrich gave the order - move the block to the other end of the workshop to the better light. I was amazed how such a large block could be moved at all. One of the students of the workshop - there were quite a few workers there - said: "Wait!", took the rollers and other aids, set them where needed, pressed a button on the wall and the block moved to the required place by itself. The workshop was spacious, well furnished and mechanized. The Germans already know how to do this and how useful it is. With the large volume of work there, it was really essential.
I was told to take one figure and finish it. But again an accident happened - I broke the big toe of the figure. Being in trouble, I punctured the entire leg deeper. It was only noticed later, but then the figure was already cleanly cut out, and the mistake was no longer so noticeable.
Manzel was considered an outstanding pedagogue, but there was nothing to learn from him in the field of carving, rather one could learn something useful from some of the workers. Once Manzel tried to make some corrections on my figure and drew some lines on the marble. However, they would have only spoiled the form of the indicated place. I left the place as it was, but erased the lines. After a few days, Manzel happened to come to the workshop again, looked at my work and praised "Gut, gut!" from behind.
In Berlin, I practiced my hand in Philipp Holzmann's large stone carving manufactory, as well as with Kösner and Gottschalk, but they no longer offered anything useful.
1916 in November, I managed to get into the manufactory of the famous sculptor Franz Metzner, where I worked as an assistant for over a year and a half. Here it was necessary to help to model his works, but mainly to carve them in stone or marble. Here my salary already rose to 380 marks, which was higher than the salary of some officers. They were happy with me and I could have continued my career brilliantly in Berlin.
Metzner's works in granite were already known to me from my earlier studies, I liked them for their grandiose, generalized approach to form. That's why it was interesting to work with him, even though he occasionally let me do the dirty work of a simple student. In most of the cases, however, preparatory carving work had to be done, for example with the portraits of Hindenburg and Lessing. Then there was a chance to meet Hindenburg himself in the workshop. I was in the process of carving a portrait. Hindenburg looked on and asked if his head would also be smashed with a stone drill and a hammer. "Then how else? Of course like this." I answered. "Poor head" laughed Hindenburg.
After working in Metzner's studio, I was able to be in contact with Berlin's art life and artists through him. It was the time of the rise of German expressionism, and there were great upheavals in artistic life. At the exhibitions, I saw the works of several representatives of new currents. I myself went to practice drawing and modeling at the Lewin-Funcke art school.
However, the constant malnutrition and strenuous work undermined my health. I had become terribly thin, and my strength failed me. On the recommendation of the doctors, I gave up my job as a stone cutter and started working as a translator in the service of the tuberculosis sanatorium in Sprottau. Here the work was easier and the food was also a little better.
In November 1918 revolution broke out in Germany. This opened the possibility of re-entering the homeland. Life in Germany had become unbearably nasty, so I immediately took the opportunity to go home. At the end of the year, I arrived home, where I recovered for several months. A new era began in my life.
Due to Dr. Krause's intermediate service, permission arrived to leave the camp and look for a job. Since my suit was already completely worn out and tattered in prison, Dr. Krause even let to make new clothes for me. A stone carving manufactory might have offered the closest job opportunity to a sculptor. L. Butze's manufactory was like that in Wehlen, where I became a stonemason's apprentice. Younger workers were mobilized for the army, so it was necessary to accept apprentices even from among the internees. At the first stone, I carelessly broke the edge, but fortunately, there was still enough stone to make a correction. At first, ordinary utility work had to be done - to cut tombstones and pillars. The co-workers taught work techniques and stood up for me in front of the owner. Over time I got used to it and could already cut on my own. My first major work was a column with the image of a bull's head and a dog. I was paid 30 marks a month, which was barely enough to keep me alive. The support I received from the Finnish consul gave Finnish prisoners of war a little help, and since I had a Finnish passport, I was also considered a Finnish citizen.
1916 I was transferred to Rothen for a short time, but from there I got to Dresden in the marble factory of P. Pietsch and K. Zähne, where the latter taught me the secrets of processing this material. There were already more interesting tasks to perform here. Since there were few men, I was in demand with my few skills. The salary also increased.
In the apartment, I was in a black family, where the man was at the front, while the woman was at home. He was a good person and took care of me as much as possible. I also got to know a rich family, where they invited me to visit them and - oh my god! – immediately wanted to see me as the groom. They made me to stay until late in the evening, and when I started going, they said: "What are people saying now, Trude is still so young!" - looked like I should buy an engagement ring immediately! Later, they even wanted to buy a stone carving manufactory. Things got so heated that I had to leave Dresden involuntarily. I had saved up for a couple of weeks and went to Berlin. At first, I didn't know the people or the circumstances here. I got the addresses of the "Bildhauers" from the address book and went to look for a job. However, these were all ordinary crucifixes, from whom there was nothing to learn. Someone finally said to look for "Steinbildhauers".
The money was already running low when I finally got a job in K. Hubrich's workshop, which was one of the branches of the large L. Manzel workshop. I was now a trained worker and received a corresponding salary. The job here was to make a giant marble relief for one of the cathedrals, the relief consisted of three blocks and was commissioned by the community of Posen, the administration of the cathedral and Kaiser Wilhelm, all with a one-third contribution, totaling over three million marks. The relief was already dotted when Hubrich gave the order - move the block to the other end of the workshop to the better light. I was amazed how such a large block could be moved at all. One of the students of the workshop - there were quite a few workers there - said: "Wait!", took the rollers and other aids, set them where needed, pressed a button on the wall and the block moved to the required place by itself. The workshop was spacious, well furnished and mechanized. The Germans already know how to do this and how useful it is. With the large volume of work there, it was really essential.
I was told to take one figure and finish it. But again an accident happened - I broke the big toe of the figure. Being in trouble, I punctured the entire leg deeper. It was only noticed later, but then the figure was already cleanly cut out, and the mistake was no longer so noticeable.
Manzel was considered an outstanding pedagogue, but there was nothing to learn from him in the field of carving, rather one could learn something useful from some of the workers. Once Manzel tried to make some corrections on my figure and drew some lines on the marble. However, they would have only spoiled the form of the indicated place. I left the place as it was, but erased the lines. After a few days, Manzel happened to come to the workshop again, looked at my work and praised "Gut, gut!" from behind.
In Berlin, I practiced my hand in Philipp Holzmann's large stone carving manufactory, as well as with Kösner and Gottschalk, but they no longer offered anything useful.
1916 in November, I managed to get into the manufactory of the famous sculptor Franz Metzner, where I worked as an assistant for over a year and a half. Here it was necessary to help to model his works, but mainly to carve them in stone or marble. Here my salary already rose to 380 marks, which was higher than the salary of some officers. They were happy with me and I could have continued my career brilliantly in Berlin.
Metzner's works in granite were already known to me from my earlier studies, I liked them for their grandiose, generalized approach to form. That's why it was interesting to work with him, even though he occasionally let me do the dirty work of a simple student. In most of the cases, however, preparatory carving work had to be done, for example with the portraits of Hindenburg and Lessing. Then there was a chance to meet Hindenburg himself in the workshop. I was in the process of carving a portrait. Hindenburg looked on and asked if his head would also be smashed with a stone drill and a hammer. "Then how else? Of course like this." I answered. "Poor head" laughed Hindenburg.
After working in Metzner's studio, I was able to be in contact with Berlin's art life and artists through him. It was the time of the rise of German expressionism, and there were great upheavals in artistic life. At the exhibitions, I saw the works of several representatives of new currents. I myself went to practice drawing and modeling at the Lewin-Funcke art school.
However, the constant malnutrition and strenuous work undermined my health. I had become terribly thin, and my strength failed me. On the recommendation of the doctors, I gave up my job as a stone cutter and started working as a translator in the service of the tuberculosis sanatorium in Sprottau. Here the work was easier and the food was also a little better.
In November 1918 revolution broke out in Germany. This opened the possibility of re-entering the homeland. Life in Germany had become unbearably nasty, so I immediately took the opportunity to go home. At the end of the year, I arrived home, where I recovered for several months. A new era began in my life.