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The first entry in the series “Memories from the Life of Walter Frankenstein”

Walter Frankenstein with Anna Rosemann and Theresia Ziehe in Stockholm, 2017, Photo: Theresia Ziehe

I first had the pleasure of meeting Walter and Leonie Frankenstein in Stockholm in 2008. Back then, our meeting and the couple’s heartfelt partnership left a lasting impression on me. After 66 years of marriage, the Frankensteins still radiated love and a deeply held respect for each other. The author Klaus Hillenbrand, who tells the Frankenstein’s life story in Nicht mit uns (Not with Us), sums up this impression at the end of his book with a question he asks the couple: “Does ideal love exist?” Leonie looks at Walter. And Walter looks at Leonie. And then they give the shortest possible answer, as if speaking from one mouth: “Yes!”

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