Busoni, Hannah, 1905-1995

Hannah Apfel was born on May 17, 1905 in Berlin, the daughter of the prominent Jewish lawyer Dr. Alfred Apfel and his wife Dora (née Schoenewald) Apfel. Dr. Alfred Apfel defended Carl von Ossietzky in a trial related to the famous Weltbuehnenprozess . As a girl, Hannah took piano lessons with a Japanese woman named Hide, who herself had learned to play the piano under the guidance of the composer Ferruccio Busoni and would later marry his son, Rafaello Busoni.

In 1927, Hannah Apfel earned her law degree in Heidelberg. Just three weeks after passing the "Referendarexamen," she was expelled from the University because of her Jewish faith.

Kiki Busoni, Rafaello and Hide Busoni’s daughter, was born in 1927. One year later, Hide was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was sent to Switzerland to be cured. While Hide was away and slowly dying, Rafaello and Hannah’s friendship developed into romance. In 1930, Hide's health had supposedly improved dramatically, and so she returned home to Berlin. Unfortunately the diagnosis was spurious, and Hide died fourteen days later at home.

Soon after, Hannah Apfel and Rafaello Busoni married. In January of 1935, the newlywed couple, accompanied by Kiki Busoni, took the steam ship Arlanza to Madeira and lived there until the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936; they then went back to Berlin. In November of 1938, Mario, Hannah and Rafaello's son, was born. Knowing they could not stay in Germany, Rafaello decided to move the family to Sweden, his mother's home country, thinking they would at least be safe there. However, after only six months, the Busonis were forced to leave again, given the choice to return to Germany or go to Italy. Choosing neither, the Busonis boarded a ship in October of 1939 in Norway that brought them to New York. On October 15, 1939 the Busonis arrived in Ellis Island.

The three Busonis proceeded to live with Eva Feilchenfeld, a close friend of Hannah's, in Mount Vernon, New York, for a few months before moving to New York City. There they settled into an apartment in Midtown. Hannah started a framing business, while Rafaello continued painting and earning a living as an illustrator. In 1962, Rafaello passed away.

After the death of her husband, Hannah spent a lot of time traveling. In 1969, she explored the Balkan Peninsula, going to countries like Yugoslavia and Greece. In 1973, she went to Africa. Towards the end of her life, Hannah became involved in the Austrian Stammtisch centered around the writer Oskar Maria Graf and attended many of the meetings.

Hannah Busoni died on November 9th, 1995 in New York City.

From the guide to the Hannah Busoni Collection, 1914-1985, bulk 1930-1958, (Leo Baeck Institute)