born in weimar
apprenticeship as a wood sculptor
 
1925 dance school gret paluca, dresden
 
1928–1932
gymnastics teacher at the bauhaus
choreography/dance stage workshop
 
1933 pregnant grosch dies in a bathing accident near tel aviv

KARLA GROSCH

(1904–1933)

Fräulein Grosch was a valuable member of the stage department headed by Professor Oscar Schlemmer. She studied dances and movement studies and, thanks to her own artistic and dance skills, was able to carry out independent tasks in various individual and group performances.

From Mies van der Rohe's work reference, 1932

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Paul and Lily Klee, Gret Palucca, Herbert Trantow, Karla Grosch, 1927. Photo: Felix Klee. Zentrum Paul Klee​

Karla Grosch and Paul Klee, Stresemannallee, Dessau, April 1933, photographer: her husband Franz (Boby) Aichinger © Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern​

Karla Grosch, Sports School S. Deutsch, Berlin, 1928, photographer: unknown. Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, donation from the Klee family 

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Bauhaus magazine 2/3. 1928. Karla Grosch becomes part of the school.​

»fräulein karla grosch from the palucca school in dresden is the head of the gymnastics class for ladies.«​

»I met the proverbial collective neuroses of the Bauhaus, fears of a one-sided intellectual activity, by introducing physical education. A university without physical exercises seemed an aberration to me.«

Hannes Meyer to the lord mayor of Dessau Hesse, 1930

Karla Grosch (1904-1933): The author Seraina Graf not only gives insights into the life of the dancer, Bauhaus teacher and friend of the Klee family, but also into the tragic circumstances of her early death

Quotes and photos from »Karla Grosch: Eine Spurensuche / A Search for Traces. Zwitscher Maschine No.5 2016 - Journal on Paul Klee, Paul Klee Zentrum Bern

I have a childlike joy when I feel how I have my body in control, how I can make demands on it, how it gives in, how it functions, and I can lose myself completely in its performance possibilities.

Karla Grosch ​

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I have a childlike joy when I feel how I have my body in control, how I can make demands on it, how it gives in, how it functions, and I can lose myself completely in its performance possibilities.

Karla Grosch ​

»I met the proverbial collective neuroses of the Bauhaus, fears of a one-sided intellectual activity, by introducing physical education.

A university without physical exercises seemed an aberration to me.«

Hannes Meyer to

lord mayor Hesse (Dessau), 1930

The scientific investigation of Karla Grosch's life and work is highly relevant both in the context of the Bauhaus and Klee research and with regard to an early 20th century cultural historiography. However, the current state of research on Grosch's person is not satisfactory and has to be examined critically due to a lack of proximity to the sources. The results presented in this article are largely based on the evaluation of unpublished archive and estate materials, which were identified and transcribed in the course of in-depth research. The exchanges of letters between Karla Grosch and Max Werner Lenz as well as Lily and Felix Klee were particularly informative and allowed a focus to be placed on interpersonal relations. This is the first time that a comprehensive picture of the young dancer, gymnastics teacher and »adopted daughter« of Lily and Paul Klee is conveyed, which ultimately fits seamlessly into her highly regarded environment.