New Documents Found on Dora Richter – and Her Later Life Clarified

More than a year has passed since I was able to trace the baptismal record of trans* pioneer Dora Richter. As the first known trans woman to undergo gender-affirming surgeries, she made history.

I wrote about the discovery of her baptismal record here: https://lili-elbe.de/blog/2023/04/dora-richter-baptism/

Preliminary Remarks

• Dora’s name assigned at birth is deliberately not mentioned in the following text. It plays no role here.
• The text uses the German names of Czech locations, as the region was predominantly German-speaking at that time. The Czech place names are additionally provided at their first mention.

New Leads After the Discovery of the Baptismal Record

After discovering Dora Richter's baptismal record in early 2023, it made sense to direct my research towards the Czech Republic. Dora was a citizen of what was then Czechoslovakia, so official documents were most likely to be found there.

Equipped with the exact birth date (April 16, 1892) and birthplace (Seifen, today Ryžovna), I made my first request to the National Archives of the Czech Republic, which indeed found something exciting in their holdings. There, I received hints about other Czech archives that might hold documents related to Dora Richter. I contacted these archives, and they also found records pertaining to Dora Richter—dating as far back as 1939.

However, the hardest part was discovering whether Dora survived the Nazi era. I followed tiny clues online, tried contacting people from Dora’s home region, and visited a small museum run by expelled Germans, all without success. I even went to Seifen and the surrounding area in search of clues, which was fascinating but also yielded no new insights. It wasn’t until a request to the German Red Cross’s tracing service that light was shed on the matter.

Below, I will present the findings chronologically.

1925: Application for a »Double« Passport

In April 1925, Dora applied for a passport under the female name »Dora Richter« at the Czechoslovak consulate in Berlin. Since the case was so unusual, and the consulate did not know how to handle it, the application was forwarded to the Czechoslovak Ministry of the Interior in Prague.

Several aspects of this case are particularly remarkable.

Dora did not apply for just one passport, but in fact two: one under the name Dora Richter for her stay in Germany (Dora lived in Berlin in 1925), and another under the male name for visits to Czechoslovakia, since Dora’s parents still viewed her as male, and she wished to avoid any discomfort.

The correspondence included a transcript of an expert opinion from Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Science (expert opinion issued in April 1924, transcript made in March 1925). This opinion used the then-common tactic of describing Dora as intersex, with the claim that refusal of treatment would lead to a risk of suicide.

Also mentioned was permission from the German police for her to wear women’s clothing, meaning Dora likely had a so-called »transvestite certificate.«

Ultimately, in October 1925, the Ministry of the Interior in Prague rejected the passport application, as no official name change had been made for Dora yet.

Sources: Archive of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Correspondence and Expert Opinion) and National Archives Prague (*Praha) (Copy of the Correspondence)*

1930 Census: Dora’s Family in Seifen

The newly founded Czechoslovakia conducted censuses in 1921 and 1930. Dora did not appear in the 1930 census for Seifen (as she was living in Berlin at the time), but members of her family did:

At Seifen No. 12 (Dora’s birthplace), her parents Josef and Antonia Richter still lived, along with her younger siblings Hermann (b. 1899) and Ida (b. 1901), both unmarried. Ida also had an illegitimate son, Rudolf, who lived in the house. The owner of the house was Dora’s father, Josef Richter.

Also living at house No. 12, in a second apartment, was Dora’s older brother Josef Florian (b. 1890) with his wife Julia and their four children: Anton, Rudolf, Oswald, and Otto.

More of Dora's family lived at Seifen No. 36: Her younger sister Rosa (b. 1894), married to Albert Kraus, along with their two children, Hugo and Erna. They also lived with Albert Kraus’s widowed mother, Emma. The owner of the house was Albert Kraus.

In a second apartment at Seifen No. 36 lived a family named Günl, born in Zwittermühl (today Háje), who were likely not related to Dora’s family.

Source: National Archives Prague

1934: Name Change

In February 1934, Dora Richter requested a name change. The president of the Bohemian region (part of Czechoslovakia) in Prague approved the name change in April 1934, and Dora was officially given the name »Dora Rudolfa Richterova« instead of her previous name.

The president also ordered that the name change be recorded in the relevant church or civil registers and on the Heimatschein (more on that later). This same document can also be found in the appendix of the Seifen baptismal record I located in 2023.

Sources: State Regional Archive Pilsen (Plzeň), District Archive Karlovy Vary

1934: Heimatschein

A »Heimatschein" was a document in Austria-Hungary that regulated the right to residence, including voting rights and social benefits in case of poverty or need. Czechoslovakia adopted much of the previous Austrian legal framework in 1918, including this »right of residence.«

After Dora's name change in April 1934, her Heimatschein was also amended, and it has survived. In May 1934, a new Heimatschein was issued, revealing that Dora was employed as a »housemaid« and was single. This Heimatschein likely allowed Dora to live in Seifen once more.

Sources: State Regional Archive Pilsen, District Archive Karlovy Vary

1939 Census: Dora Returns to Seifen!

In May 1939, Germany (including annexed Austria and the »Sudetenland« in occupied Czechoslovakia) conducted a census. Dora appears in Seifen in this census!

The family in Dora’s childhood home at Seifen No. 12 had changed since 1930. Her parents had both passed away: her father Josef in 1931, and her mother Antonia in 1938.

Ida’s family had grown, though. In 1934, she married Moritz Beer and took his surname. In addition to her (illegitimate) son Rudolf, two (legitimate) daughters, Waltraud and Irene, had been born. Ida Beer was now the owner of the house.

At house No. 36, Dora’s younger sister Rosa was still living with her husband Albert Kraus, who remained the head of the household. Their children now included a son named Werner.

Dora, however, appears at a different address: house No. 61! This house had previously belonged to master baker Emil Harzer (an uncle of Dora’s), likely the same one where Dora apprenticed as a baker. No owner of the house is listed, but Dora is noted as head of the household. She was single, working at home as a lace-maker. Her employer was Berta Kolitsch from Hengstererben (today Hřebečná), who traded in lace.

Also living in the house was Dora’s younger brother Hermann (b. 1899), who remained unmarried.

Source: National Archives Prague

1946: Expulsion from Czechoslovakia

There is already an indication in the Seifen baptismal record that Dora survived the war: It wasn’t until 1946 that the 1934 name change was actually added to her baptismal entry. The reason for this was likely as follows: Like many others, Dora probably sensed that she would soon have to leave her home. Preparing for this included obtaining documents that could be important for re-registration in Germany or asserting claims. So Dora likely went to the local priest to get a copy of her baptismal certificate.

On May 1, 1946, it finally happened: Dora had to leave Seifen (probably along with most of the village’s other residents). This date is mentioned in a document issued to Dora, along with her new address: Allersberg 377 in the district of Hilpoltstein (Middle Franconia in Bavaria). There is also a refugee card issued in Hilpoltstein, which lists Dora’s marital status as »single« and her profession as »lace-maker.«

Sources: Seifen Baptismal Record, Documents of the German Red Cross Tracing Service

1946 to 1966: Life in Allersberg

After arriving in Allersberg, Franconia, Dora apparently remained there. The original address »377« was likely the location of temporary refugee barracks (this still needs further research), which Dora soon left. The following addresses are recorded for her in the Allersberg residents’ registry: Neumarkter Straße 18, Freystädter Straße 47, and Marktplatz 10. At the first two addresses, modern buildings stand today, while Marktplatz 10 housed the old Allersberg hospital, which was later relocated to the outskirts of the community.

The hospital was apparently Dora’s last residence, where she spent her final years in care.

Dora Richter died on April 26, 1966, in Allersberg, and she was buried in the local cemetery. In 1998, 32 years later, the grave was returned to the town of Allersberg.

Sources: Documents of the German Red Cross Tracing Service, Allersberg Resident Registration Office

And Today? Faded Traces

Looking at all the new traces, the conclusion is fantastic: Dora Richter managed to survive all the turmoil and catastrophes of her time! She succeeded in fleeing Germany after the Nazis came to power and returned to her remote hometown in Bohemia. She survived the entire war there and later endured the expulsion, finding a new home as a refugee near Nuremberg. Dora was able to live another 20 years, reaching the age of 74!

Yet all her traces have faded: Her hometown of Seifen no longer exists. Of the roughly 600 people who lived there at the time of Dora’s birth, only a few remained after the expulsion of the Germans. By 2021, only one resident remained, and about three houses stood.

The Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin, where Dora found refuge, was destroyed in 1933, and the building was lost in the Battle of Berlin in 1945. Today, only a commemorative plaque remains. Dora’s known address in 1934 on Berlin’s Motzstrasse still exists, but the original building was likely bombed, and a new building stands there now.

The newly discovered traces of Dora in Allersberg also exist only in records: The houses are gone, the former hospital is now a parish and Kolping house with a restaurant. Dora’s grave was dissolved over 25 years ago.

I have been to Berlin. I have been to Seifen. And I have been to Allersberg. Nothing remains to remember Dora Richter.

Sources

• “Application for Heimatschein, District Office Joachimsthal Carton No. 93, Inv. No. 271,” 1934. State Regional Archive in Pilsen, District Archive Karlovy Vary.
• “Application for Passport, Ministry of the Interior – Old Registry 1919-1940,” 1925. Czech National Archives Prague.
• “Application for Passport, section 1918-39, carton ƒ. 99, file ƒ.j. 57475.V-4.25 dated April 7, 1925.pdf,” 1925. Archive of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• “Medical Opinion of the Institute for Sexual Science for Dora Richter, Transcript, section 1918-39, carton ƒ. 99, file ƒ.j. 57475.V-4.25 dated April 7, 1925.pdf,” 1925. Archive of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• “Heimatschein Dora Richter, District Office Joachimsthal Carton No. 93, Inv. No. 271,” 1934. State Regional Archive in Pilsen, District Archive Karlovy Vary.
• Kreißl, Anton, und Anton Lenhart. Seifen. Eine einst lebendige Gemeinde auf dem rauhen Kamm des Erzgebirges. 2. erweiterte Auflage. Schönheide: o.V., 2007.
• “Letter from the DRK Tracing Service,” May 13, 2024.
• “Documents of the Czechoslovak Republic Census 1930,” 1930. Czech National Archives Prague.
• “Population, Occupational, and Business Census of Gau Sudetenland,” May 17, 1939. Czech National Archives Prague.

Acknowledgements

The new findings are based on discoveries from numerous archives and many helpful tips I received.

For assistance with the Czech archives, I would like to thank Camille, who helped me overcome the language barrier. For continuous exchange on trans history, I am grateful to Kai Brust and Jako Wende, as well as to Raimund Wolfert, Rainer Herrn, and Ralf Dose from the Magnus Hirschfeld Society.

A big thank you to the many kind and very helpful staff at the National Archives in Prague, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Regional Archive in Pilsen. Thanks to the portafontium.eu project for publishing historical genealogical sources from Bohemia.

A special thank you to Christa and Horst Engel from the Karlsbad Museum in Wiesbaden and to the user »Ingenieur« on the forum ahnenforschung.net for valuable hints.

Finally, my heartfelt thanks to the staff of the GRC Tracing Service for their crucial discoveries and to the Allersberg registry office for further information.