by Simon May
26. A letter of 17 September 1943 from Count Franziskus von Plettenberg’s military commander permitting him to marry Ursel and enclosing his medical certificates and proof of Aryan origin.
27. The bombed idyll of Blumeshof 12 (r. foreground) in 1945.
28. The ruins of Ilse’s studio at Budapesterstrasse 43, Berlin, in 1945. Behind it the destroyed Hotel Eden, famous for its 5 p.m. jazz teas, which had been frequented by Marlene Dietrich, Otto Dix, Bertolt Brecht, and the young Billy Wilder.
29. Ilse’s temporary studio in 1945, with her portraits of US soldiers. On the reverse of the photo she writes: ‘On the walls a gallery of handsome men.’
30. The temporary graves of Geri and Eva, Ilse’s neighbours, shot in their home by Soviet forces and buried by her, Berlin, 1945.
31. My father, Walter May, in London in 1958.
32. My mother, Marianne, my brother, Marius (r.), and me (l.) in 1959/1960.
First published 2021 by Picador
This electronic edition published 2021 by Picador
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
The Smithson, 6 Briset Street, London EC1M 5NR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-5290-4282-5
Copyright © Simon May 2021
Front cover photograph and author photograph by courtesy of Simon May.
The right of Simon May to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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