Literatureמירה לובה

Mira Lobe

Mira Lobe was an Austrian Jewish children's writer who wrote in German and published more than 100 books, including Children's Island.

1913 to 1995Children's IslandMore than 100 children's booksThe Grandma in the Apple Tree

Born: 17 September 1913, Görlitz
Died: 6 February 1995, Vienna
Occupation: writer, children's writer, young adult author, librettist

Mira Lobe was born in 1913 in Görlitz

Mira Lobe was born Hilde Mirjam Rosenthal in Görlitz, Silesia, in 1913. Her father was a partner in a distillery, a choir conductor and an organist. She wrote well at school.

After high school she moved to Berlin to study, but as a Jew she was barred from university. She studied at a fashion school instead, joined a Zionist youth movement and learned Hebrew.

In 1936 she immigrated to Mandate Palestine and settled in Tel Aviv. In 1940 she married the director Friedrich Lobe, and the couple had two children. Her books were written in German and translated into Hebrew, including Children's Island in 1947.

In 1950 the family moved to Vienna, where she worked with illustrator Susi Weigel. After a year in East Berlin, they returned to Vienna in 1958, and her husband died that year. Her books deal with peace, tolerance and social awareness.

She won the Austrian children's book prize 4 times and in 1980 received the Austrian prize for her body of work. She died in Vienna in 1995. Streets, schools and exhibitions have been named or held in her honor.