BUCHLER, Käthe

About German photographer Käthe BUCHLER (née von Rhamm, 1876-1930)

Käthe BUCHLER was a German amateur photographer whose images serve as significant sources for the history of German women in wartime during World War I and the use of color photography. She participated in photography courses offered by the Lette-Verein, founded in 1866, which was dedicated to 'promoting the gainful employment of the female sex' and, beginning in 1890, also offered training as a photographer. In the first instance, she photographed only the surroundings of her family with this rather expensive process, but also the children of the Braunschweig rescue home. During the First World War, she was a member of the Red Cross and the National Women's Association and documented the activities of her female entourage working in men's jobs. She even went beyond that, creating the productions 'with a patriotic eye' to 'capture the perseverance of the middle classes on the home front.' In her photographs, the women do not symbolize female emancipation, but rather the 'dutifully-serving [...] woman in the spirit of her time, who knows exactly where her place is in the war.' (Käthe BUCHLER). In the context of a TV documentary about the First World War, her pictures also became known to a wider public in 2004.

Photo books on the work of Käthe BUCHLER

• 'Die Welt in Farbe. Käthe Buchler - Autochrome 1913 bis 1930' (2006, out of print)