13. January 2025
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Dreams of the Fourth Generation
by Barbara Staudinger
The architect Aleida Merkel, born in 1997 and raised in Mexico, the United States, and Vienna, is the great-granddaughter of the painter couple Georg Merkel (1881–1976) and Louise Merkel-Romée (1888–1977). Both originating from Galicia, they met in Krakow, where the painter, trained at the local academy, was introduced to his future wife by his fellow student Leon Rosemblum, who also taught her painting.
In 1907, Merkel initially moved to Vienna, from where the couple relocated to Paris in 1908 after their marriage, staying there until the outbreak of World War I, before returning during the war. Both the First and later the Second World War had significant impacts on his artistic work. During the interwar period, Merkel became one of the most important Austrian artists of that era: he was not only a member of the Hagenbund but also participated in several exhibitions of the Secession.
In 1938, the couple fled to Paris via Czechoslovakia after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany. With the outbreak of war in 1939, Georg Merkel was briefly interned in southern France, but the couple survived in Montauban. From 1948 to 1951, they lived in Cagnes-sur-Mer and then in Paris, where Georg Merkel continued his career as a painter. It was not until 1972 that they returned to Vienna to live with their son Karl, where they were buried after their deaths.
Aleida Merkel currently lives in Vienna and is conducting research, among other things, in the archive of the Jewish Museum Vienna about her family history.
In 1907, Merkel initially moved to Vienna, from where the couple relocated to Paris in 1908 after their marriage, staying there until the outbreak of World War I, before returning during the war. Both the First and later the Second World War had significant impacts on his artistic work. During the interwar period, Merkel became one of the most important Austrian artists of that era: he was not only a member of the Hagenbund but also participated in several exhibitions of the Secession.
In 1938, the couple fled to Paris via Czechoslovakia after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany. With the outbreak of war in 1939, Georg Merkel was briefly interned in southern France, but the couple survived in Montauban. From 1948 to 1951, they lived in Cagnes-sur-Mer and then in Paris, where Georg Merkel continued his career as a painter. It was not until 1972 that they returned to Vienna to live with their son Karl, where they were buried after their deaths.
Aleida Merkel currently lives in Vienna and is conducting research, among other things, in the archive of the Jewish Museum Vienna about her family history.
