
How I Came to Berlin
An Artist's Journey from Belfast and the London Blitz to a Cold-War City
Elizabeth Shaw(Author)
The Lilliput Press Ltd
Published on 18. September 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-84351-952-2 (ISBN)
Description
Elizabeth Shaw, who has until now remained all but unknown in her native Ireland, was one of the most celebrated children's authors in East Germany, producing a series of masterful children's books that have stayed in print since her death in 1992. She was also a deeply complex, passionate woman, a brilliant author, and a gifted artist beyond the confines of Children's literature.
Born in Belfast in 1920 to Irish parents, Shaw was a life-long outsider, sheltered from the poverty and violence of the city at the liberal, left-wing Royal Academy. At the age of 12, her family moved to Bedford in England, and she would eventally go on to attend the Chelsea School of Art, impressing her teachers and absorbing the social and political struggles of her time. In 1939, she was called up to the war effort and worked in the London telephone exchange.
Having published sketches in 1940 and contributed to the London left-wing magazines Our Time and Lilliput, she exhibited works in 1943 at the Artists' International Association in London. In 1944l, she met the Swiss-born emigre artist and communist Rene Graetz. They married in 1946 and, like other German exiles opposed to National Socialism, decided to help build a better, socialist Germany. Deeply inflected by the politics of East Germany, she worked as a caricaturist with Neues Deutschland, the newspaper of East Germany's ruling Socialist Unity Party, before going on to write 23 enromously successful books for children, making her a household name across Germany.
By times elusive, moving and deeply revealing, this is a finely tuned memoir by one of Ireland's great forgotten artists - now illustrated with many never-before-published illustrations, and with an insightful and enligtening afterword by Fergal Lenehan and Sabine Egger which delves into the under-explored aspects of Shaw's relationship to Stalinism, the GDR, and those around her.
Born in Belfast in 1920 to Irish parents, Shaw was a life-long outsider, sheltered from the poverty and violence of the city at the liberal, left-wing Royal Academy. At the age of 12, her family moved to Bedford in England, and she would eventally go on to attend the Chelsea School of Art, impressing her teachers and absorbing the social and political struggles of her time. In 1939, she was called up to the war effort and worked in the London telephone exchange.
Having published sketches in 1940 and contributed to the London left-wing magazines Our Time and Lilliput, she exhibited works in 1943 at the Artists' International Association in London. In 1944l, she met the Swiss-born emigre artist and communist Rene Graetz. They married in 1946 and, like other German exiles opposed to National Socialism, decided to help build a better, socialist Germany. Deeply inflected by the politics of East Germany, she worked as a caricaturist with Neues Deutschland, the newspaper of East Germany's ruling Socialist Unity Party, before going on to write 23 enromously successful books for children, making her a household name across Germany.
By times elusive, moving and deeply revealing, this is a finely tuned memoir by one of Ireland's great forgotten artists - now illustrated with many never-before-published illustrations, and with an insightful and enligtening afterword by Fergal Lenehan and Sabine Egger which delves into the under-explored aspects of Shaw's relationship to Stalinism, the GDR, and those around her.
Reviews / Votes
'A singular account of a fascinating life ... A welcome introduction to a pioneering figure who deserves to be better known.' -- Irish IndependentMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Dublin
Ireland
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 233 mm
Width: 158 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
428 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84351-952-2 (9781843519522)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Elizabeth Shaw | Fergal Lenehan | Sabine Egger
How I Came to Berlin
An Artist's Journey from Belfast and the London Blitz to a Cold-War City
E-Book
09/2025
The Lilliput Press Ltd
€10.00
Available for download
Persons
Elizabeth Shaw was born in Belfast and lived most of her life in Berlin, where she moved after the Second World War. Lauded as one of Germany's most popular children's authros, she wrote and illustrated 23 books for children, many of which have been translated into several languages.