Elsa Thiemann (née Franke, 7 February 1910 – 15 November 1981) was a German photographer and former Bauhaus student.

[6] Her work was composed of collaged dark photograms produced using plants, thread, and blobs of paint.

[3] Franke met the painter Hans Thiemann [de] (1910–1977) at the Bauhaus and they lived together in Berlin after he completed his studies in 1933.

She had anti-Nazi views and Hans Thiemann's surrealist art work was considered degenerate,[7] so to keep a low profile she avoided taking photos that might seem to make political statements, instead photographing ordinary street scenes, particularly around Hertzbergstrasse in the Neukölln area where she lived, often taking photos directly from her apartment windows.

[1][2] During World War II, the couple stayed in Berlin and Elsa worked as editorial assistant for the publishers Hoffmann and Campe.