Maria Einsmann

[1] In desperation, Einsmann put on one of her husband's suits that she had taken from their joint household, had her hair cut and went to the Arbeitsamt [de], the German public employment service.

The suit pockets contained a social security card for Josef Einsmann, and she obtained employment in his name, first working at a French army vehicle depot.

[2][3] Einsmann, who was called "Seppel" by colleagues and reportedly used snuff, was active in a trade union and sang in a Catholic church choir.

[3] The discovery of a woman who had lived undetected as a man for twelve years caused a press sensation from August 1931 and the story was widely covered in both German and foreign newspapers, for example in France, the Netherlands, Estonia and the US.

[2][5] Many of the reports expressed respect and understanding for Einsmann, who was considered to have worked hard to feed her family and to have only resorted to deception in an emergency situation.

[2] In the time leading up to their trial, Einsmann sold photographs showing the family including the two women as a couple and also spoke at events in the local area.

One was Felix Abraham [de] from the Berlin Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (headed by Magnus Hirschfeld), the other the county medical officer Dr Wagner.

[3] The court explained the leniency by its respect for the two women's bravery in dealing with their life and similar sentiments were expressed in the press coverage.

[6] The death announcement in the name of Helene Müller, her daughters and their families referred to her as "our dear aunt Mrs Maria Einsmann".

[8] According to her granddaughter Petra Erkens, Müller rarely spoke about Einsmann's time as a man and never revealed the identity of her children's father.

[2][12] After researching the connections with Einsmann and parallels to the life of Seghers, Trottnow made a film based on parts of the script, Katharina oder: Die Kunst, Arbeit zu finden ('Katharina or: the art of finding work').

[2][14] Another contemporary literary adaptation is Bertolt Brecht's story Der Arbeitsplatz oder Im Schweiße Deines Angesichts sollst Du kein Brot essen ('The Workplace or By the Sweat of Your Brow You Shall Eat No Bread').

[19] The scholar of gender studies Katie Sutton reads Paul Weber's 1932 article in the lesbian magazine Die Freundin as the description of a "successful transgender man who has done his duty by his beloved wife and their children".