Title: I am my own woman
First published: 1995
Description: Hailed by Der Spiegel as speaking to "the fate of a whole generation of German homosexuals," I Am My Own Woman is the exquisitely written autobiography of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, whose lifelong pursuits of sexual liberty and antique furniture offer a unique perspective on European history. During World War II, von Mahlsdorf murdered his father, dubbed himself Charlotte (after his cross-dressing lesbian aunt's lover) and has lived openly as a transvestite since.

Dressed in high-heeled sandals and a good suit, Charlotte has collected furnishings from the Grunderzeit for half a century: in the Third Reich, she "rescued" pieces from Jewish deportees; in the German Democratic Republic, she protected "bourgeois cultural assets" from the Stasi. Now well past sixty, a quietly passionate, steadfast and serene figure, Charlotte shuns makeup, wearing the simplest frocks.

The Grunderzeit Museum - which Charlotte and her friends have defended against assault from skinheads - has become a symbol for the German lesbian and gay community.
Subjects: Transvestites, Conservation and restoration, Gay men, Gründerzeit Museum (Mahlsdorf, Berlin, Germany), Collectors and collecting, Art objects, Architecture, National socialism, Biography, Furniture, Cross-dressers, Furniture, collectors and collecting, Art objects, collectors and collecting, Architecture, conservation and restoration, German Art objects
Places: Germany, Mahlsdorf (Berlin)
People: Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (1928-)
LC classification: HQ77.8.M34 A313 1995