Lisel Haas

Haas's archive is held at the Library of Birmingham, and a significant collection of her theatre photography, donated by Haas before her death, is held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

• Name — Lisel Haas • Birth Name — Elise Haas • Born — 12 October 1898 • Birthplace — Mönchengladbach, German Empire • Died — 20 May 1989 • Place of death — Birmingham, England • Occupation — Photographer

Lisel Haas was born on 12 October 1898 to Jewish parents in Mönchengladbach, Germany, a city situated near Düsseldorf and the Netherlands border. Her mother, Bertha Haas (née Jonas), died on 26 April 1918. Her brother, Hans Erich Haas, worked as a psychoanalyst, and emigrated to Birmingham, England in 1936 alongside his wife. In her youth, Haas trained in painting, which later developed into a career in photography. She began working as a photographer in 1923, establishing her own photography business. In 1928, she opened her own photography studio at Albertusstraße 37, Mönchengladbach. Haas primarily worked as a photojournalist, and in 1929 began working for Weltwarte, a Catholic magazine, while having photographs published in many other magazines and newspapers. She also worked in theatre photography, working at Gladbach Town Theatre. Though Haas didn’t establish herself as a commercial photographer until after the war, the portraiture she did conduct in Germany primarily focused on urban childhood. Many of her photographs focused on children posing with various toys, engaging in play, or concentrated on the everyday activities of childhood such as eating breakfast or reading. In Mönchengladbach, Haas also met her life partner, with her life partner, Anna Alwine Margarethe Bermbach, known as Grete Bermbach. Bermbach had studied at Krefeld School of Arts and Crafts and joined Haas’ photography business in the mid-1920s, initially training as an assistant. In 1927, Bermbach became a one-third owner of the business, yet the business name was kept as ‘Lisel Haas’ because of its already established brand recognition. Both Haas and Bermbach lived in the Haas family home at Kaiserstraße 49, Mönchengladbach, where her father, Adolf Haas, also ran his clothes shop. While in Germany, she photographed several important artists and creatives, including Christian Rohlfs, Tatjanna Barbakoff and Lale Anderson.

Lisel Haas's Jewish identity cemented her vulnerability during the Nazi rise to power. On 18 October 1938, Haas was issued a decree by the Gladbach local police authority forcing her to label her photography studio as a Jewish business. Later, on 9-10 November during Kristallnacht, display cases outside her studio were destroyed during the mass violence. During the Nazi era, her photographs had continued to appear in Weltwarte, though in later years they were credited as "Abbey image" rather than under her own name. Only days after Kristallnacht, Haas and her father Adolf fled Germany on 15 November. They arrived in Birmingham in December 1938, joining her brother Erich, who had moved there with his wife Lisbet in 1936. He had settled in Edgbaston, a suburb of Birmingham, where he had established his psychoanalytic practice after Nazi Berufsverbot policies revoked Jewish professionals' rights to practice. Grete did not join Lisel immediately, instead leaving Germany in March 1939. It is believed that Grete entered the UK on a domestic service visa, as a 1939 Birmingham register lists her as a live-in domestic servant at an address in Shirley. Both Lisel and Grete were exempt from internment. Documents from October 1939 held by the National Archive list this exemption, recording Lisel's normal occupation as ‘Photographer’, and her present occupation as 'None (Visitor). While Grete’s normal occupation was similarly listed as ‘Photographer’, ' her present occupation was listed as 'Housemaid'. Lisel was initially unable to work due to her refugee status, It wasn’t until 1940, when Alexandra Theatre Producer George Owen created a post for her that she was able to receive an official work permit. After the war, Haas applied for compensation from the local German authorities for assets lost due to Nazi persecution; the documentation relating to this application is held at the Mönchengladbach City Archive.

In 1940, Haas received a permit to work professionally in Britain, facilitated by Alexandra Theatre producer George Owen, who sponsored her application. As Haas later recalled in her lecture notes, Owen ‘happened to see some of my pictures, and invented a job for me, which was above suspicion’. She was appointed as official photographer at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, where she worked from 1940 to 1961, photographing almost every production. During this period she photographed many promising young actors, including Albert Finney, Ian Richardson, Brian Blessed, June Brown and Derek Jacobi. Haas became close friends with Owen and with the then-director of Birmingham Rep, Barry Jackson. She also photographed productions at the Birmingham Crescent Theatre, the Alexandra Theatre Birmingham, Belgrade Theatre Coventry and the Kidderminster Playhouse. Reflecting on her theatre work, Haas noted that ‘the greatest difficulty in stage photography lies in the effect of the acting on the artist’, that following a particularly powerful or moving performance, actors were often exhausted. She observed, however, that ‘we often get the best pictures from the least important plays’. Her theatre photography archive is now held primarily at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, with further copies in the Birmingham City Archives. Following Barry Jackson's death in April 1961, Haas fell out with the new management at the Rep, who hired new, young male photographers without informing her. She resigned from her position in 1961. In October 1965, Lisel resigned from her position as official photographer at the Crescent Theatre. After this, she moved away entirely from theatre photography, moving to commissioned, studio portraiture.

Haas and Bermbach built a close-knit community in Birmingham. Haas's father Adolf, who had fled Germany alongside her in 1938, died on 5 February 1943, before the end of the Second World War. Her brother Erich, remained a significant presence in her life. Erich was one of the founding organisers of the Birmingham Jewish Refugee Club, which began operations in May 1939, and was an active figure in Birmingham's Jewish community. Haas was close to his daughter, her niece Dorothy, who later served as a source for biographical accounts of her aunt's life. Haas and Bermbach moved into 4 Grove Avenue, Mosely in 1949. The house itself had been bequeathed to them by George Owen, the Alexandra Theatre producer who had originally sponsored Haas's work permit, having lived with them for a period after his home was destroyed during the Birmingham Blitz. Grete's niece Brigitte moved to England in 1947 after marrying English soldier Alec Pearson, whom she had met at the Mönchengladbach army base in 1946. For Grete, known affectionately within the Pearson family as "Dete", having her niece settle in England was particularly meaningful. Together Brigitte and Alec had two children, Nicholas and Francesca. Grete became godmother to Nicholas, while Haas was made godmother to Francesca. The family later moved to Cambridge in the early 1960s when Alec took up a position at Homerton College. Haas took immense pride in her work and was a vigorous advocate for her professional rights, regularly pursuing organisations who reproduced her work without paying copyright fees or providing appropriate credit. She was a member of numerous professional bodies, including the British Institute of Photography, of which she became a life member in 1986, and was part of Soroptimist International.

In her final years, Grete's health declined significantly, and she spent time in a nursing home in Birmingham as her dementia worsened. Haas acted as her devoted carer throughout this period. Grete died on 4 June 1979 aged 79 and was cremated at Yardley Crematorium, Birmingham. Haas continued her portraiture work after Grete's death, outsourcing the developing work that Grete had previously handled, though the loneliness and difficulty of those final years was noted by those close to her. Lisel Haas died on 20 May 1989 in Birmingham, aged 90.

Lisel Haas is recorded with the occupation photojournalist. Recorded as photographer and photojournalist.