Gertrud Spirk was an acquaintance of Franz Werfel from Prague with whom he developed and carried on a romantic relationship from the end of 1915 until mid 1918, while he was serving in the military during the First World War. It appears that Spirk never married. From around 1950 until near the end of her life, she was living in the U.S., often at the home of Rudolf F. Kallir (1895-1987), an émigré from Austria whose wife was Spirk's niece. (Rudolf Kallir was the brother of the art dealer Otto Kallir.) The Kallirs lived in New York City. Spirk died in Austria. Klarmann initiated a correspondence with Spirk in 1948; Marianne Rieser, Werfel's sister, was a mutual acquaintance.
From the description of Correspondence with Franz Werfel and Adolf Klarmann, 1916-1967. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155864517
