[1] With the commencement of World War I, her mother moved with her and her sister Lea to Germany; first to Frankfurt, then to Marburg, and in 1918 to Berlin where her parents married in 1922.

She attained fame and frequented places like the "Romanisches Café", where the literary world met, among them Erich Kästner and Kurt Tucholsky.

[1][3] In 1959, Kaléko moved to West Jerusalem, Israel, since her husband, who was conducting research on Hassidic singing, had better working conditions there.

[1][2] Kaléko died in January 1975 in Zürich, where she fell ill en route back to Jerusalem from a final visit in Berlin.

[4] Some of Kaléko's poems were published posthumously, including "Sozusagen grundlos vergnügt", in 1977 in the collection In meinen Träumen läutet es Sturm (In my dreams, a storm is brewing).

His translations follow the original German texts as closely as possible in order to maintain the Kalékoesque content, diction, rhythm, and rhyme.

Vom Vogel Pihi hab ich einst gelesen, Dem Wundertier im Lande der Chinesen.

Er hat nur einen Fittich: Stets in Paaren Sieht man am Horizont der Pihi Scharen.

Zu zweien nur kann sich das Tier erheben; Im Singular bleibt es am Boden kleben.

Dem Pihi gleich, gekettet an das Nest, Ist meine Seele, wenn du mich verläßt.