The Rudolf Steiner Archive

115a

Marie von Sivers to Mieta Waller in Berlin
Monday, 2 February 1914, from Dornach

2/II Dear Mouse,

Your eurythmy picture is very beautiful, it captures the rhythm of the subject perfectly, and we could vividly imagine ourselves in your dance movements. I would be delighted if I could find time to be taught by you. Now I have to be an inspiratrice, as Dr. Steiner calls it, that is, a silent figure beside him when he is creating. I can't take my writing with me to all these remote places – I didn't have time to do any editing this time, so I have to be content with the role of the silent inspiratrice. It was nice to sit alone for a few hours, but mostly it is a buzzing in the workshop that makes your head buzz, and a steam heating glow that is quite unbearable. I spend the other hours of inspiration in the model itself; it's like being in a cellar. Dr. Hamerling is hard at work under one of the domes. Waves of life condensed into wax pass from one mold to the other; under the other dome I sit quite uncomfortably with Hamerling's hymns and inspire until I become stiff. Today I freed myself from some of that and wrote a few letters. Yesterday we sat under the domes until midnight. Otherwise we have terribly boring bureau meetings every evening; today was no exception.

Outside, there is wonderful sunshine and dazzling white snow all day long. I think the weather is lovely; Dr. insists that the climate here is very exhausting and makes working difficult. That may be. You just want to be lazy and process the air; the ascent is always difficult here, but very pretty in the snow. You just need the right footwear. Tell^{1 Olga v. Sivers, sister of Marie v. Sivers.} that she absolutely must bring us valenki the next time she comes from St. Petersburg; these are the best for wading in the snow, keeping your feet dry and preventing slipping. I will get two pairs, one high to wear directly on my stockings, and another to wear on my boots. We will be very happy with these when we go hiking. Dr. must also have some.

I will be very happy when you go to Hanover; I cannot do my work here and need a few days to myself. Dr. will arrive on Friday morning.

3/II

I have just asked him to look in the timetable. We travel together to Kassel, where we arrive at 9:37 a.m. (Friday). The doctor continues his journey at 9:46 and arrives in Hannover at 12:23. There are two morning trains leaving Berlin for you, one at 7:44 a.m. arriving in Hannover at 11:25 a.m.; the other at 7:53 a.m. arriving in Hannover at 12:17 p.m. So if you are late with one, you can still make the other. It is better for you to go to bed early and get up early than to spend a night alone in a hotel. You may have corresponded with Miss Müller ², as you intended, about the hotel, but now Dr. would have to be sent by telegram to get the name of the hotel, or you would have to be at the train station in Hannover to intercept him, otherwise he would probably go to his old hotel, which I only believe is called Reichspost, but I don't know for sure.

In the art room ³ On Sunday, I thought of the poems by Morgenstern that were recited in Leipzig ⁴ to speak. Here I don't have the possibility to speak anything aloud and therefore can't take anything new.

I am still waiting for a message about the hotel; perhaps Frl. Müller can order lunch in advance. After lunch, you must ensure that Dr. Steiner has absolute peace and quiet until his public lecture.

Much love and best regards to everyone, Marie.

• 2. Martha Müller, a member in Hannover since January 1906.
• 3. Marie Steiner later reported: “These art rooms, one of which was set up in Berlin-Charlottenburg and the other in East Berlin (there were two others in Munich), deserve to be remembered. For they are the direct result of the inspiring influence of Dr. Steiner's social work and respect for humanity, even if the immediate initiative for this particular act came from the warm hearts of two artists, Miss Stinde and Countess Kalckreuth, who were leading the anthroposophical work in Munich, and was then carried out by Miss v. Sivers and Miss M. Waller in Berlin. These art rooms were intended for the general public, as hospitable places that should offer not only warmth and comfort, but also beauty, aesthetics and intellectual stimulation. The walls were covered with colored burlap, everything was adapted to the chosen tone except for the seating; picture exhibitions changed every month: good reproductions of classical works of art and paintings by contemporary artists; there were evening events with musical and recitative performances, an introductory course in humanities, also in other fields of knowledge – small dramatic performances, such as Goethe's “Siblings” and the like. It was here in Berlin that the Christmas plays from ancient folklore were introduced, which could then be taken by fellow players to other places. It may be mentioned that after the exertions of the day, it was not always easy to cover the long distances to the east of Berlin by underground or tram at night and in the dark, and finally to trudge in the snow in remote, dark streets. But the daily example of Dr. Steiner's tireless work was inspiring. And one came to know from one's own experience the importance of contrast when one stepped out of the bleak, stone surroundings of dreary workers' quarters into the warm embrace of a room bathed in red light and the eye fell on works of art that captivated the gaze and refreshed the heart, so that they could follow the spoken and musical offerings with composure and free themselves to some extent from the burden of everyday life. In a modest and small setting, it was nourishment for the souls of spiritual seekers from the working population. Many a person had expressed this in letters to Rudolf Steiner when he was still working at the Workers' Education School in Berlin. They thanked him for having the faith that workers also need spiritual nourishment, not just physical food.
  The World War also brought changes to this company. The large art room on Motzstraße with its adjoining rooms was converted into a day nursery, where Miss Samweber, who had fled from Bolshevik Russia, developed a devoted activity, supported by the ladies of the Anthroposophical Society, who looked after the children and provided them with care and food, all based on donations. They had light, air and joy in the beautiful rooms of the front building; Dr. Steiner contented himself with the much more modest rooms in the back building. That is incidental, but symptomatic of him.” (Marie Steiner, “The Art Rooms” in “Collected Writings”, Volume II, p. 312)
• 4. During the cycle “Christus und die geistige Welt. On the Search for the Holy Grail” in December 1913, at which the terminally ill Christian Morgenstern was still able to participate, a matinee was held for him at which Rudolf Steiner spoke for the poet and Marie v. Sivers recited some of his poems.
  Christian Morgenstern (1871-1914), member of the Berlin branch since April 1909. Cf. the booklet “Christian Morgenstern's Lifelong Encounter with Rudolf Steiner”, “Contributions...”, No. 33.

116

Fourth will, dated August 22, 1914.

The following three testamentary provisions were written at the new place of residence in Dornach, shortly before the first trip to Germany after the outbreak of the World War.

Testament:

By this, the undersigned, in the event of his death, appoints Miss Marie von Sivers, Berlin W Motzstraße 17, (currently residing in Dornach, Canton Solothurn, Switzerland) as his literary executor, which means that the ownership rights of all his printed, hectographed, otherwise duplicated, or in manuscript, shall pass to Fräulein von Sivers. The latter shall have the right to arrange for new editions, to publish what has not yet been published at her discretion, and to receive the resulting royalties.

The capital written on the joint account of Dr. Rudolf Steiner and Fräulein Marie von Sivers (Disconto Gesellschaft, Berlin Potsdamerstraße 99, Deutsche Bank, Berlin Martin-Luther-Straße, Deutsche Bank Munich) will become the property of Fräulein Marie von Sivers, Berlin W Motzstraße 17, after my death, Marie von Sivers, Berlin W Motzstraße 17, but in such a way that my mother, sister and brother, who live in Horn in Lower Austria, either receive 110 marks per month until my mother's death, or that a sum be transferred to them that secures this monthly rate for them as interest. After my mother's death, my sister is to receive 60 marks per month, or a lump sum that will guarantee her this monthly rate as interest. Since my brother is not of sound mind, he is to be placed in an appropriate institution after my mother's death, and the costs are to be paid from my estate as described above.

The capital sum, which is in my own name at the Deutsche Bank, Berlin Martin-Luther-Straße, goes to my mother, sister and brother in equal shares.

Written as a will

Dornach in the Canton of Solothurn (Switzerland), August 22, 1914

Dr. Rudolf Steiner

Permanent address: Berlin, Motzstraße 17

Currently residing at: Dornach (Canton Solothurn, Switzerland), Villa Hansi.

118

Last will and testament of Marie von Sivers (template)
Handwritten will of Rudolf Steiner

Last will and testament

I, the undersigned, hereby make provision for the event of my death, that my capital holdings in my name at Disconto-Gesellschaft, Berlin Potsdamerstraße 99, with all rights, shall pass into the ownership of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, Berlin W Motzstraße 17. He is to be regarded as my universal heir.

Only if Dr. Rudolf Steiner is prevented from taking possession due to his own death, I decree that my legal heirs pay out two-thirds of the capital assets described above, with a settlement of 11,000 marks, to Miss Johanna Mücke, Miss Berta Lehmann and Miss Helene Lehmann, all three residing at Berlin W Motzstraße 17; the same shall receive one-third each of the designated sum. The following are to receive from the settled 11,000 marks: Miss Elisabeth Keller, Berlin W Motzstraße 17, five thousand marks; Miss Antonie Knispel, Berlin, Postdamerstr. 61, five thousand marks; Miss Antonie Sladeczek, Berlin W Motzstraße 17, one thousand marks.

The Theosophical-Philosophical Publishing House registered in my name passes after my death with all rights to Dr. Rudolf Steiner, Berlin W Motzstraße 17; only if he should not be able to take it over due to his own death, it passes into the possession of Miss Johanna Mücke, Berlin W Motzstraße 17.

This written as a last will and testament,

Marie v. Sivers

Dornach, Canton Solothurn, August 22, 1914

145

Fifth will, dated March 18, 1915
and filed with the District Court of Berlin-Charlottenburg.

This last and therefore valid reciprocal will was drawn up
after the marriage at Christmas 1914.

Hearing in Charlottenburg on March 18, 1915

Before the undersigned notary, resident at Lutherstraße 13, Charlottenburg, in the district of the Royal Court of Appeal in Berlin, Justizrat Leopold Bischofswerder, and the two witnesses called for this act, namely:

a) the porter Emil Müller from Charlottenburg, Lutherstraße 13,

b) the porter's wife Anna Müller, née Tonsor, from the same address, who, like the notary, were present throughout the entire proceedings, appear today, known to the notary:

1. Dr. Rudolf Steiner, a writer, of Charlottenburg, Motzstraße 17,

2. his wife Marie Steiner, née v. Sivers, of the same address.

The appearing parties state that they wish to draw up a joint will. After discussing the details in more detail, both Mr. and Mrs. Steiner declare the following orally to the notary as their joint last will:

1.) We appoint each other as our heirs.

2.) I, Dr. Rudolf Steiner, request that my wife, should she outlive me, support my mother Franziska Steiner of Horn in Lower Austria, my sister Leopoldine Steiner and my brother Gustav Steiner there, in the same way that I have supported my aforementioned relatives to date. I am not imposing any obligation on her in this regard, but I expect this of my wife.

3.) In the event that we should die at the same time, we determine the following:

A. We appoint our employee, Miss Marie Elisabeth Waller of Charlottenburg, Motzstraße 17, as our joint heir in the event of our simultaneous death. The following legacies are imposed on our named heir:

a. The Philosophical-Anthroposophical Publishing House, with all rights but also with the obligation to continue it in the spirit of the testators, goes to our employee Miss Johanna Mücke of Charlottenburg, Motzstraße 17. Miss Johanna Mücke becomes the owner of the publishing house and thereafter receives all income from it.

b. Mrs. Franziska Steiner zu Horn in Lower Austria, Miss Leopoldine Steiner of the same place and Mr. Gustav Steiner of the same place, who are named above under 2.), together receive a legacy in cash equal to one sixth of our joint assets. However, the publishing house is not included in the assets, so that only one sixth of the assets minus the publishing house is taken into account. If one of the three named legatees should cease to exist, they shall be substituted by their heirs.

c. The sister of the testator, Miss Olga von Sivers of St. Petersburg, shall also receive a monetary legacy equal to one sixth of the joint assets of the two testators. The calculation is made in the same way as in the case of b. If the legatee does not survive, her legal heirs will be substituted.

d. Miss Johanna Mücke of Charlottenburg, Motzstraße 17, will receive a cash legacy of five thousand marks in addition to the publishing house.

e. Our employees, Miss Berta Lehmann and Miss Helene Lehmann of Charlottenburg, Motzstraße 17, each receive a cash legacy of fifteen thousand marks.

f. Our employee Miss Elisabeth Keller of Charlottenburg, Motzstraße 17, shall receive eight thousand marks, our employee Miss Anna Knispel shall receive five thousand marks (Anna Knispel also lives at Charlottenburg, Motzstraße 17); our employee Ms. Klara Walther, also residing at Charlottenburg, Motzstraße 17, receives a legacy of fifteen thousand marks, and Ms. Antonie Sladeczek, also residing at Charlottenburg, Motzstraße 17, receives a legacy of two thousand marks.

g. Our heir Marie Elisabeth Waller shall also support the anthroposophical movement we have founded from our assets at her discretion. However, this shall not be a legal obligation.

h. We appoint the writer and factory owner Dr. Karl Unger of Stuttgart as the executor of our wills. He is to make decisions only regarding the publication of our handwritten, not yet printed estate and is otherwise to be an advisor to Miss Marie Elisabeth Waller in literary matters. He shall not make any provisions regarding new editions of works that have already been printed. He is not required to manage the estate.

4.) After the death of both testators, the sister of the testator, Miss Olga von Sivers, shall in any case receive the cash legacy in accordance with the provisions of 3.) c. In addition, Mrs. Franziska Steiner, Miss Leopoldine Steiner and Mr.

Gustav Steiner shall receive the legacy in accordance with the provisions of 3.) b in each case after the death of both testators. The remaining provisions of 3.) shall only apply in the event of the simultaneous death of both testators.

If one spouse survives the other, he or she is an unrestricted heir and can freely dispose of the entire estate; the only two bequests that are are made in favor of the mutual relatives, he cannot revoke them; or rather, as a subsequent correction is noted, he cannot revoke the bequests that are intended for the benefit of the relatives of the other party in this clause 4). He may revoke the bequest intended for the benefit of his own relatives in this clause 4).

5.) In the event that the surviving spouse dies without having made a disposition of property upon death, all provisions of 3.) shall apply. If he makes a disposition of property upon death, the provisions of 3.) shall apply to the extent that they are not excluded by his disposition of property upon death.

We have no further instructions to give. We have no children. The minutes were then read out, approved by both testators and signed by them in their own hand as follows.

Signed Dr. Rudolf Steiner, Marie Steiner née v. Sivers
Signed Emil Müller, Anna Müller née Tonsor
signed Leopold Bischofswerder, notary.

Addendum to the above will:

Proceeding at Charlottenburg on June 12, 1915

Before the undersigned notary, resident at Lutherstraße 13, Charlottenburg, in the district of the Royal Chamber Court of Berlin, Justizrat Leopold Bischofswerder, and the two witnesses called for this act, namely:

a) the porter Emil Müller from Charlottenburg, Lutherstraße 13,

b) the porter's wife Anna Müller, née Tonsor, of the same address, who, like the notary, were present throughout the entire proceedings, appear today, known to the notary: 1. the writer Dr. Rudolf Steiner of Charlottenburg, Motzstraße 17, 2. his wife Marie Steiner, née von Sivers, of the same address.

The parties state that they wish to draw up a joint codicil. After discussing the details in more detail, both Mr. and Mrs. Steiner declare the following orally as their joint last will to the notary:

We hereby make the following addition to our notarial will of March 18, 1915:

If for any reason our designated heir, Miss Marie Elisabeth Waller of Charlottenburg, Motzstraße 17, should not become our heir, we substitute in her place senior inspector Kurt Walther of Charlottenburg, Motzstraße 17, and his wife Clara Walther, née Selling, of the same address, in equal shares. The Walthers are substituted for each other as heirs.

Apart from these substitutions, nothing is changed in the earlier will. If the substitution does not occur, Miss Waller is our heir in accordance with the will of March 18, 1915, not the Walthers.

Thereupon the protocol was read out, approved by the testators and signed by them in their own hand as follows.

signed Dr. Rudolf Steiner signed Marie Steiner née v. Sivers
signed Emil Müller signed Anna Müller née Tonsor
signed Leopold Bischofswerder, notary.

145a

Handwritten notes by Rudolf Steiner for the discussion
at the notary's for the creation of the above will.

We, the undersigned, appoint the following as our heirs:

1. each other

2. All of our jointly owned correspondence, as well as all other written documents and letters written by us or written by others and addressed to us or handed over to us, become the property of the other spouse after the death of one of the spouses. Each of the two has sole and discretionary authority to decide what is to be done with the property in question.

In particular, after the death of her husband, Mrs. Marie Steiner is to be regarded as the sole owner and administrator of his literary estate; she is entitled to decide on new editions of his works, as well as on all manuscripts, transcriptions of speeches and lectures that originated with him. She may publish these at her own discretion and will be the owner of the corresponding royalties.

The Philosophical-Anthroposophical Publishing House registered in the name of Mrs. Marie Steiner shall pass to her husband as sole owner upon the death of Mrs. Marie Steiner.

All proceeds from the books and other printed works of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, as well as all other assets, pass to the other spouse upon the death of the first spouse; however, upon the death of Dr. Rudolf Steiner's wife shall support his relatives (his mother and two siblings) in Horn, Lower Austria, from the income accruing to her in such a way that the amount of support is in the same proportion to the subsequent income as the support Dr. Rudolf Steiner already provides for his relatives. In particular, appropriate provision is to be made for the sister and incapacitated brother of Dr. Rudolf Steiner after the death of Dr. Rudolf Steiner's mother and until their death. The determination of the amount of this allowance is at the discretion of Mrs. Marie Steiner alone. She alone also has to determine the manner in which the allowance is to be provided. She also has the right at any time to convert the ongoing allowance so that she pays a one-time or multiple lump sum, the interest yield of which is equivalent to the above ongoing allowance. Should both spouses die at the same time, the following is stipulated for this eventuality:

a.) The above-named philosophical-anthroposophical publishing house, with all rights but also the obligation to continue it in the spirit of the testators, shall pass to Miss Johanna Mücke. She shall also receive all income from the publishing house.

b.) A sum of money from our assets will be transferred to the above-named relatives of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, which will be equivalent to the interest earned by the above-mentioned assets. However, this sum should not be less than one-sixth of the assets. In the event of the death of one or all of Dr. Rudolf Steiner's relatives, this inheritance will pass to their heirs.

c.) One sixth of our estate shall pass into the ownership of Dr. Rudolf Steiner's sister, Mrs. Marie Steiner, Olga von Sivers, or, in the event of her death, to her heirs.

d.) In the event of our simultaneous death, the remainder of our estate shall pass into the possession of Miss Mieta Waller, who is obliged to make appropriate donations from it to the anthroposophical movement we have founded, to Miss Johanna Mücke, Miss Berta Lehmann, Miss Helene Lehmann, Miss Elisabeth Keller and Miss Antonie Sladeczek and to other personalities working for our services whom she deems to be in need. One twentieth of the assets is to be paid out to Mrs. Clara Walter.

e.) We appoint Dr. Carl Unger as the executor of the will, who also has power of disposal over the literary estate of Dr. Rudolf Steiner in the event of our simultaneous death. Miss Johanna [...] has requested that new editions of the books and printed works of Dr. Rudolf Steiner [...].

147

To Marie Steiner on a eurythmy tour
Monday, 7 March 1921

Stuttgart, 7 March 1921

My dear Mouse!

Before I leave Stuttgart,¹ I am sending this greeting quickly. Saturday morning we arrived; now Monday evening I want to leave. Wagner ² is coming with me. I will spend the night in Freiburg and will be in Dornach tomorrow. There was plenty to do in the short time available. And Ith ³ has already arrived here.

The most wretched smear campaign, originating in Göttingen and published in the Frankfurter Zeitung, ⁴ You have no doubt heard that the article, which of course will appear everywhere again, has brought. It is quite dreadful. I would be very grateful if I could at least arrive in Stuttgart again on the evening of the 15th ⁵ could; but it will just be the 8th until I am in Dornach, and then every day will be added up.

At noon today, a meeting was held here with Marx regarding the takeover of Waldorf-Astoria.⁶ I have negotiated with this Marx a Marxism that is not exactly unmarxist either. Incidentally, I can recommend Marx to you.

Otherwise, everything went well here, even if not exactly smoothly. Just the people in the building, Reebsteins and Olga ⁷ They are very nice and are visibly looking forward to seeing you.

Unfortunately I was in such a rush that I couldn't see del Monte. Hopefully everything will go well. Now the car is waiting and I am still waiting for Molt,⁸ who will bring me news of a fisherman who also has something to do with Waldorf-Astoria.

With my warmest regards,

Rudolf

• 1. After events in Holland (February 19 to March 3), Rudolf Steiner traveled to Stuttgart, Marie Steiner to Cologne for a eurythmy performance.
• 2. Otto Wagner, Stuttgart, secretary to Emil Molt.
• 3. Dr. Arnold I (1890-1979), 1920-1922 Director of Futurum AG. Later Director of Transport for the City of Zurich.
• 4. Göttingen was one of the main focuses of the opponents' activity. The aim of the attacks was not only the person of Rudolf Steiner and the anthroposophy he represented, but they were also directed against the efforts towards threefolding. Prof. Hugo Fuchs, director of the anatomical institute, emerged as the main opponent. On the one hand, personal motives were decisive – his wife Franziska had been a member since 1912 – but on the other hand, he belonged to the circle of the ethnically oriented Pan-Germanists, who accused Rudolf Steiner of treason. In January 1921, the Upper Silesian local groups of the Federation for Threefolding had published an appeal for the rescue of Upper Silesia (so far in GA 24, new in GA 255) in view of the referendum of March 20, 1921 on the question of which state it should belong to. The appeal, which was mainly written by Rudolf Steiner, called on the people of Upper Silesia to reject for the time being the annexation to a neighboring state until the clarification of the European situation and to realize the social threefolding in their territory. On February 25, 1921, the Göttingen local group of the “United Associations of Homeland-loving Upper Silesians” convened a protest meeting that passed a resolution protesting against the content of the appeal because it advocated the separation of Upper Silesia from the German Reich. The driving force behind this meeting and resolution was Prof. Fuchs and his followers. They were able to achieve that a counter-meeting planned by the Dreigliederungsbund for the next day was banned by the relevant authorities in the “interest of public peace, security and order”. The Dreigliederungsbund, under the leadership of Ernst Uehli, had no choice but to publish an “answer to the protest meeting” in the Dreigliederungszeitung of March 8 (2nd year, no. 36). In the Frankfurter Zeitung of March 4, 1921 (65th year, no. 167), the representatives of the threefolding idea were nevertheless branded as “traitors to Germanness”. The accusation was so serious that the Frankfurter Zeitung had to give the Federation for Threefolding the opportunity for a counterstatement on March 12, 1921 (65th year, no. 188). On the basis of this statement, which appeared under the title “Threefold Social Order and Upper Silesia”, the charge of treason could not be sustained, and the Frankfurter Zeitung had to withdraw it on March 15. (65th year, no. 196). However, nothing has changed in the hostility towards anthroposophical efforts.
• 5. for his course “Mathematics, Scientific Experiment, Observation and Knowledge Results from the Point of View of Anthroposophy” (GA 324), which takes place from 16 to 23 March.
• 6. The Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart, managed by Emil Molt, was a joint-stock company. However, Molt was only a minority shareholder and depended on the approval of his other business partners for his decisions, the most important of whom was the Hamburg merchant Max Marx. As a co-founder of the business association “Der Kommende Tag AG”, Emil Molt considered it desirable to bring his company into this economic context as well. This meant that “Der Kommende Tag” had to take over the majority of the shares. Negotiations with the Hamburg shareholders began in October 1920 and led to a preliminary agreement in March 1921. The necessary clarifications, however, dragged on until the end of May. The acquisition of the shares was made retroactively to January 1, 1921. However, the hoped-for profit from the integration of Waldorf-Astoria failed to materialize, leaving the Coming Day with no choice but to resell the Waldorf-Astoria shares. In March 1922, a corresponding sales contract was concluded with a German banking consortium and the shares were sold again with effect from April 1, 1922. For Molt, this development was tragic, as it ultimately led to the downfall of his company in 1929.
• 7. (1894-1961). Came to Berlin from Posen around 1912. From 1913 until her marriage in 1927, she worked as a domestic helper in the Steiner household, first in Berlin and then in Dornach.
• 8. Kommerzienrat Dr. h.c. Emil Molt (1876-1936), industrialist, head of the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart, member since October 1907. Actively involved in the development of the social threefolding movement and in this context founder of the Freie Waldorfschule Stuttgart (1919). Co-founder of Kommende Tag AG, Stuttgart, and Futurum AG, Dornach.

148

To Marie Steiner in Berlin
Saturday, 24 September 1921

Dornach, 24 Sept. 1921 My dear Mouse!

I would like to share with you the facts that took place after my arrival in Stuttgart so that you do not hear any inaccuracies about them before coming to Stuttgart.⁹

Emil Leinhas has been appointed general director of the Kommenden Tages. ¹⁰ The matter was, of course, not easy until it was so far that I Thursday the 22nd before. 11 o'clock Leinhas personally in Champignystr. 17 ¹¹ could inaugurate his office.

Benkendörffer,¹² The matter has become very difficult for him and he has returned to del Monte, which now belongs to Kom, Tag as a subsidiary. There he will officiate as a member of the supervisory board (and delegate of the board of directors) of Kom. Tages.¹³

The external modalities are such that del Monte has declared: he absolutely needs Benkendörffer in his company for the prosperous further development of the business. And so it was possible on Wednesday evening to organize this very profound question.

Then further, which also affects the continuation of eurythmy in Stuttgart. Alfred Maier was asked by the management of the Guldesmühle ¹⁴ resign. I was able to withdraw after hearing Count Keyserlingk,¹⁵ who had come to Stuttgart during my presence to present his expert opinion, could not have come to this decision otherwise. But with that, the entire Maier family leaves the Guldesmühle – a process that is already underway. Provisional management until a definitive order is established is provided by Haußer ¹⁶ in Guldesmühle. It was impossible to take the eurythmy to be established in Guldesmühle into account when sorting out this matter. The matter must not be allowed to founder economically there. That would have happened if the Maier family had been left there.

So the Maiers, and with them Lory Smits-Maier, were also ¹⁷ in the future, probably live in Stuttgart Werfmershalde. And I ask you to take this into account when making your eurythmy arrangements. I think Maier's side reckoned that a radical break with Guldesmühle would be avoided because of the eurythmy equipment there. Given the circumstances, that was out of the question.

Since Alfred Maier has adopted a strangely conciliatory position when he saw the seriousness of the situation, it is to be expected that you will not meet anger in Lory Smits – one cannot say anything definite, of course – but rather a willingness to cooperate if you, at your own discretion and discretion, want to use her for this or that in eurythmy. Alfred Maier wrote that only now does he realize how impossible he was as the director of the Guldesmühle. So he has actually admitted that we were right. Only time will tell what this means. I did not read Alfred Maier's letter in Stuttgart myself, but only learned about it from Molt on the way here on Thursday. So it will also be possible to use Lory in Stuttgart for eurythmy if you want.

I have discussed with Molt and Mrs. Reebstein that you arrive in Stuttgart at half past seven on Saturday morning, and then continue by car to the Feldberg at your discretion. Molt will take care of everything at the station and will then accompany you to Dornach himself. So I can assume that everything will go well. Here I have the future tense worries on my mind. I can only hope that Leinhas' leadership in Stuttgart will do everything well. It is not easy.

Molt came with me here; but he returned to Stuttgart yesterday, Friday, after all sorts of future tense negotiations.

Kindest regards to Mrs. Röchling, Waller, Mücke, etc. and, above all, heartfelt greetings to you from

Rudolf Steiner

• 9. Marie Steiner was still in Berlin and Dresden for eurythmy performances and did not return to Dornach via Stuttgart until October 1.
• 10. The previous general director of “The Day Ahead”, Eugen Benkendoerfer, was not happy in his position and was glad that he was released from his duties with immediate effect at the supervisory board meeting on September 21, 1921, at 11 pm. He was appointed delegate of the board of directors and resumed his former managerial role in the cardboard factories Jose del Montes - a department of the Coming Day. He was replaced by Emil Leinhas, previously a director at Waldorf-Astoria A.G. The next day, Rudolf Steiner, in his capacity as president of the supervisory board, introduced the new general director of the Coming Day to his office. In his address to the assembled staff at the headquarters of the Kommende Tag on September 22, 1921, Rudolf Steiner (henceforth in CW 256b) emphasized: “We just need the right feeling for working together, then it will work. Mr. Leinhas's personality guarantees this to me personally.”
  (1878-1967), merchant, member in Hamburg since December 1909. March 1920 co-founder, then general director and finally liquidator of Kommende Tag A.G. From 1921 to 1923 on the central council of the Anthroposophical Society, from February 1923 on the council of the German branch of the Society, Stuttgart. From 1949, a member of the Rudolf Steiner estate administration.
• 11. In the building at 17 Champignystraße (today Heinrich-Baumann-Straße) – in the immediate vicinity of the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory – not only was the office of the Bund für Dreigliederung des sozialen Organismus (Federation for the Threefolding of the Social Organism) located, but also the board of directors (general management and management) of the Kommenden Tages.
• 12. Eugen Benkendoerfer (1878-1939), member since March 1906, before the war director of Waldorf-Astoria, later partner in the del Monte company, son-in-law of Adolf Arenson. Together with Arenson and Carl Unger, he was 'one of the most loyal pioneers of our movement' (Marie Steiner).
• 13. The executive core of the supervisory board.
• 14. The Kommende Tag AG had taken a financial interest in the Guldesmühle in Dischingen (Württemberg), which also included a sawmill and a large agricultural estate. Alfred Maier was entrusted with the administration of the estate. Despite his great creative talent, he proved to be completely unsuitable for this task; the financial chaos he created and the management style, which was contrary to the aims of the Kommende Tag, led the supervisory board, chaired by Rudolf Steiner, to demand Maier's immediate resignation on September 21, 1921. Maier saw no other way out than to bow to the pressure and leave the Guldesmühle with his family. Konradin Haußer, one of the directors of Kommendes Tag, took over the provisional management of the Guldesmühle. After Maier's departure, conditions in Dischingen improved.
  Alfred Maier (1889-1958), merchant, member in Stuttgart I since February 1909, married to the eurythmist Lory Smits.
• 15. Carl Wilhelm v. Keyserlingk (1869-1928), farmer, member since 1918. He was particularly committed to the realization of the Agricultural Course and to the biodynamic approach to farming at his Koberwitz castle estate near Breslau. It was also on his initiative that the “Versuchsring anthroposophischer Landwirte” (Association of Anthroposophical Farmers) was set up.
• 16. Konradin Haußer (1883-1973), merchant, member since January 1920. One of the three directors of the AG Der Kommende Tag from 1920 until its liquidation in 1925. In 1960/61, he used his wealth to establish the Konradin Haußer Foundation, which supports the worldwide dissemination of Rudolf Steiner's work.
• 17. Lory Maier, née Smits (1893-1971), member from March 1912, daughter of Clara Smits Mess'oud Bey. She received her first instructions in eurythmy as a primal eurythmist in 1912. From 1913 she gave courses at her house in Haus Meer near Düsseldorf, with her mother teaching the lessons in anthroposophy. In 1915 she came to the second eurythmy course in Dornach and also took part in the Faust scenes. In 1917 she married Alfred Maier. Here I have the Futurum worries on my mind: with the illness-related absence of Roman Boos in May/June 1921 and the resignation of Johann Hirter announced in August 1921, Rudolf Steiner, as President of the Board of Directors, increasingly felt left alone in his responsibility for Futurum AG. Boos had not only been vice president, but as a delegate of the board of directors had the ultimate business responsibility for the company. Hirter had joined the board of directors at the express request of Rudolf Steiner; he enjoyed great public esteem as a well-known liberal politician and as president of the board of directors of the Swiss National Bank. But it was not only the increasing burden of business responsibility for the company as a whole that weighed on Rudolf Steiner, but also the increasingly difficult economic situation in individual departments, such as the “Filiale Bönigen Schirmgriff- und Stockfabrik” (umbrella handles and cane factory) or the “Bureau A.G.” in Basel. The whole situation prompted Rudolf Steiner to undertake an analysis of the situation in November 1921 in the form of a strictly confidential memorandum (in future in GA 256), in which he called for Futurum to reconsider its tasks. At the same time, he instructed Emil Molt to take vigorous action to safeguard the fate of Futurum. In the following months, Emil Molt, as the “commissioned” delegate of the board of directors, tried to initiate and implement the necessary restructuring measures – a task that he would thoroughly fail at. 17

156

To Marie Steiner on a eurythmy trip
Saturday, 25 November 1922

Stuttgart, 25 Nov. 1922

My dear Mouse!

I hope the journey continues to go well and that you arrive safely in Berlin. I had a fright as soon as I arrived here: I had your suitcase key. Now I have given it to Clara ¹⁸ But you will have had the suitcase opened long ago, of course.

I am busy here from morning till night. And now, as I write this, Husemann ¹⁹ who was the actual initiator of the boycott of Kolisko's brochure ²⁰. I had to tell him over the telephone, since he wanted to speak to me personally that same day: the Medical Council has been more outspoken in its opposition than anyone in the Society: they have given the order to prevent the lecture during the Medical Week ²¹ There is also a brochure that I think should be hidden so that no one can see it: I will refrain from asking you for any information about it.

At the teachers' conference yesterday, it was not possible to resolve the timetable issue because the preliminary meetings held without me were ineffectual. In addition, the Moltke book ²² these days with Mrs. v. Moltke ²³ on the first morning and afternoon of my stay here. Now, as I write this, Rittelmeyer is waiting downstairs; and I had to spend all mornings in school. ²⁴

Well, it is really quite difficult here. But forgive me for writing all this. But it is so clear to me at this moment that it just flowed from my pen.

I now intend to come to Berlin for the last of your performances and to give a branch lecture the following day.²⁵ I hope that this will be possible, although I will find much misery in Dornach. So hopefully everything will be fine there; I will telegraph in good time whether I will definitely come.

Warmest regards, Rudolf.

Greetings to Waller.

• 18. (died 1987), sister of Olga Zibell, member since May 1921, employed in the Reebstein household in Stuttgart.
• 19. Dr. med. Friedrich Husemann (1887-1959), a specialist in psychiatry, transferred from the French to the German Section in January 1912. 1921-1924 Physician at the Clinical-Therapeutic Institute in Stuttgart. In 1925 he founded a sanatorium, first in Freiburg-Günterstal, and from 1930 in Wiesneck near Freiburg im Breisgau.
• 20. Lilly Kolisko, “The Spleen Function and the Platelet Question”, Stuttgart 1922.
• 21. “Medical Week” Stuttgart, organized by the Clinical-Therapeutic Institute of “(Kommende Tag AG”. Rudolf Steiner gave 4 lectures (October 26-28, 1922). These are contained in the volume Physiological-Therapeutic Foundations on the Basis of Spiritual Science, GA 314.
• 22. The discussions with Mrs. v. Moltke related to the publication “H. v. Moltke, Erinnerungen, Briefe, Dokumente 1877-1916“, Stuttgart 1922. Three years earlier (1919), under the title ‘Die ’Schuld' am Kriege” (The 'Guilt' of the War), reflections and memories of the Chief of Staff H. v. Moltke on the events from July 1914 to November 1914, “introduced in agreement with Mrs. Eliza v. Moltke by Dr. Rudolf Steiner”. However, this edition was not delivered. Rudolf Steiner's introduction at that time is printed in Essays on the Threefold Social Organism and on the Present Times 1915-1921, GA 24.
• 23. liza v. Moltke, née Countess Moltke-Huitfeldt (1859-1932), from Sweden, wife of Helmuth v. Moltke, member of the Berlin branch since November 1905.
• 24. Rudolf Steiner held a total of 70 conferences with the teaching staff of the Free Waldorf School in Stuttgart, which he directed, from 1919-1924, GA 300.
• 25. On December 6, 1922, the last of several eurythmy performances took place in Berlin. Rudolf Steiner spoke the introductory words and gave a lecture the next day in the Berlin branch called 'The Experiences of the Human Being in the Ethereal Cosmos', GA 218.

165

To Rudolf Steiner in Dornach
Friday, November 23, 1923, from Berlin

Friday

Dear E,

Unfortunately, my letter was delayed for a day because Muck declared that no letter could be sent on Penance Day. ¹⁹ Yesterday I was in the underworld from 3 o'clock in the morning until 4 o'clock in the afternoon and only then was I able to get myself together enough to ensure that the letter was sent. In the evening I had office hours. Miss Vreede is leaving in two hours and I want to give her this letter. She is clearing out and bringing some things to Dornach, and is depositing a suitcase in Stuttgart. I received Waller's telegram today, unfortunately without any news from you; so I just have to hope that you are doing well. I find the price for the move exorbitant, especially since the move of the books is not included. I would still like to try an eight-meter-long wagon – and send the other wagon with furniture for Stuttgart. But I don't want to make up my mind today. Dr. Unger is giving a lecture here on November 30th and they are having a meeting on December 1st. Perhaps it would be best for me to travel to Stuttgart with Dr. Unger then, because I still have to see my house. ²⁰ I am not quite sure whether I should write Wachsmuth ²¹ abtelegraphieren soll. I tell myself that if he comes, it could at most serve if he were to direct the move instead of us later. Otherwise he can hardly help me with anything. The main thing was to have been here after all, and to let the things that are happening draw near to me. - If I were to delay for another week, Dziu.²² perhaps her men to appear again for eurythmy clothing ^{23 23It was the first attempt to present eurythmy through gentlemen. It's a shame to miss so many lectures.}

Warmest regards from Marie.

• 19. Wednesday, November 21, 1923.
• 20. Refers to the ongoing expansion of the living quarters for Rudolf and Marie Steiner at Landhausstrasse 70.
• 21. Dr. Guenther Wachsmuth (1893-1963), member since January 1920, resident in Dornach since 1921. 1922-1923 on the inner working committee at the Goetheanum, since Christmas 1923 on the Executive Council of the General Anthroposophical Society as secretary and treasurer, leader of the natural science section.
• 22. Ela Dziubaniuk (d. 1944), painter trained in Lviv, member since September 1911. Came to Dornach in 1914/15 and worked on painting the Little Dome of the first Goetheanum. She was also one of the eurythmists working under Marie Steiner. She later moved to Paris.
• 23. At that time, there were first attempts to present eurythmy through men. The income should be used to purchase eurythmy clothing.

168

To Marie Steiner in Berlin
Friday, 23 November 1923

Dornach, 23 November 1923

My dear Mouse!

With warm greetings, I would now like to write about what could be explored initially. I will only be able to say something final about the furniture after I have spoken to the higher customs authority in Bern, which will probably happen tomorrow. I still have to wait for a telephone message about this.

First and foremost, therefore, we need the removal certificate to be issued by the Berlin police authorities. This must include a declaration that all the goods being removed are your property and that they are being transferred for your continued personal use due to the relocation of the publishing house to Dornach. It must then list in detail what is being transferred.

The removal firm, which is willing to carry out the move with two eight-meter-long trucks for 2,750 francs, says that the books should be packed in crates that can then be transported in railway wagons. These book crates are not included in the above price. That will be added.

With regard to customs, the books are subject to customs duty under all circumstances. However, the duty is not high: 6 francs per 100 kilograms. That would be fine. But only for the books. However, Swiss law does not recognize the concept of a legal person for these items either, only a physical person. I have now been told by the Basel customs authorities that the bookshelves etc., everything that belongs to the publishing house in the narrower sense, is not initially duty-free because we have been living in Switzerland since 1913. Such things are only duty-free for one year after the physical person has moved. The same then applies to the rest of the furniture.

The question now is what they say in Bern about this matter. I have only gained full clarity here because of the answer to my question as to whether, for example, a joint-stock company, i.e. a legal, non-physical person, has duty-free access to factory equipment (which is the same as our shelves). It does not. It has to pay in any case. So it turns out that claiming the move of the publishing house as such is of no use to us. Because it is a legal entity, not a physical person. So you can only get the shelves etc. and the furniture duty-free if you tie them to our physical person and then claim that we ourselves want to get this furniture only now, when the publishing house is moving, as our belated moving goods. I will only find out from the higher authority in Bern whether we will be granted this.

If customs had to be paid, it would amount to CHF 60 per 100 kilograms for the furniture.

We will have to consider whether it would not be better not to bring the things here, or at least only some of them. Because, as I said, the duty for the books is low. It is only the furniture that makes it expensive. If the books arrive on their own, I am told, the matter will be quite easy, perhaps even without a special import permit.

All the other documents are formalities. I will take care of them and then they will only have to be presented here when the items arrive.

I will write again as soon as I have been to Bern.

It now seems desirable to me that I receive the request for the employees soon; perhaps something can still be done then.

Waller has now occasionally expressed the intention of bringing the information to Berlin in person.

Now, dear Maus, I would just like to say that the trip here went without a hitch. Everything went according to plan. I only wish that your trip to Berlin had also been good. There is a lot of work and worry here.

The entry permits for Zaiser ²⁸ and Büchenbacher ²⁹ are not without difficulty. The same are to provide certificates for the visas in Stuttgart that they can support themselves in Switzerland. Of course they cannot produce them because no one in Stuttgart will issue them. The question now is whether we at the Goetheanum should do so. I can do it, but I would first like to hear from you whether this is what you would like. Of course, something like this cannot be a general rule, and we must avoid people who receive such a certificate from here seeing it as an instruction to demand something here, or even to tell others who then want the same. If you write me just a word that the Goetheanum should give the two the certificate, it will be done immediately. For the Kuxe ³⁰ That is not necessary; they get the certificate from their father. But you can see from this that one enters into an obligation with the certificate. And it must be issued to those entering the country. They must not then see what they have been granted as a right. It is all very laborious now.

I am told that the “skipped performance” on Saturday received ³¹ stormy applause. I am almost afraid now that the matter has lost some of the seriousness of the eurythmy events. But I know nothing about it. I only heard from Vietinghoff ³² and: Käthe ³³the matter belongs.

Now just to say that I sincerely hope that you, my dear mouse, will not be too badly off in Berlin. I would love to be there. But what was discussed in The Hague should stand if the case arises.

With my warmest wishes, Rudolf Steiner

Waller also told me to send her regards and to say that she will come immediately if you need her. The Basel removalist will contact the Berlin one and make all the arrangements with him. The Berlin one will not be paid. You will be informed about the tips. The Berlin removalist will present himself when you write that the move is going ahead.

• 28. Gerlinde Zaiser (1899-1971), member since 1919, one of the first speech formation students of Marie Steiner, writer (dramatic poetry).
• 29. Dr. Hans Büchenbacher (1887-1977), lectured on the threefold social order, 1923 on the committee of the Free Anthroposophical Society, 1931-35 chairman of the Anthroposophical Society in Germany. Later, head of the working group for philosophy and psychology at the Goetheanum.
• 30. Ralph Kux (1903-1965), musician and eurythmist.
  Willi Kux (1902-1976), studied eurythmy with his brother, first in Stuttgart and then in Dornach. After several years, he took over his father's business in Dortmund and worked there for the branch work and the founding of a Waldorf school. 30
• 31. Eurythmy performance in Dornach on November 17, 1923 (in the absence of Rudolf and Marie Steiner), in which French poems were presented.
• 32. Marie (Mischka) v. Vietinghoff-Scheel (ca. 1885-1949), from Russia, member since January 1912, came to Dornach in 1914, where she worked as a gardener and as a guard at the Goetheanum, including as a personal guard for Rudolf and Marie Steiner. Some time after Rudolf Steiner's death, she moved to Ascona.
• 33. Käthe Mitscher (1892-1940), daughter of Gertrud Noss, member since July 1906, worked on the mystery plays in 1910/13, from around 1914 a contributor to the Dornach building, later mainly active in organizing eurythmy.