Gertrud Kraus

Gertrud Kraus (Hebrew: גרטרוד קראוס; 5 May 1901 – 13 November 1977) was an Israeli pioneer of modern dance in Israel.

In 1933, her company performed her work Die Stadt wartet ("The City Waits"), presenting the modern metropolis as a fascinating but dangerous place.

On the night that Adolf Hitler was elected chancellor of Germany, Kraus's company performed this piece on the open-air stage in the Burg-garden next to the Hofburg.

In 1933, while she was in Prague performing for the Zionist Congress, leaders of a Czech communist cell contacted her and tried to recruit her for their purposes.

She formed a modern dance company affiliated with the Tel Aviv Folk Opera, which was probably the only one of its kind in the world.

A memorial plaque on the house of Gertrude Kraus Street 24, Tel Aviv