Obituary of Evelyn Krummel

Evelyn S. Krummel, age 89, died of a stroke on April 18, 2018 in Edina, Minnesota. Her sudden passing has left a void in our lives, but her indomitable spirit lives on in our hearts. Evelyn is survived by her three daughters, Susan, Karen (Leon), and Barbara (Russ), and five grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Richard F. Krummel on December 30, 2017. Evelyn was born in Berlin, Germany. Her favorite job was in postwar Berlin where she worked for the Gerd Rosen avant-garde art gallery and book antiquarian. She was introduced to many innovative painters and writers whose work had been banned during the war. While working there, she met her husband, Richard, who was a private in the U.S. Army. Evelyn was born to a German father and a Jewish mother. Because of this status, she was forced to leave school in the eighth grade and went into an office apprenticeship for the firm Wolff&Waberzeck. In 1947, she was officially recognized by the German government as a victim of fascist persecution, and in 1956 became a proud U.S. citizen. In 1967, Evelyn and Richard moved to Bemidji, Minnesota where Richard was a German professor until his retirement in 1990. During this time, Evelyn worked with Richard as co-editor of a four-volume bibliography on Nietzsche, and as co-editor of Germanic Notes. From 1967 to 1973, she was the assistant book manager for Bemidji State University's bookstore, and from 1974 to 1983 she worked as a bookkeeper for various firms in Bemidji. In the mid to late 1980's, Evelyn and Richard took Bemidji State University German students on study abroad trips to introduce them to life and study in what was then East Germany. During one of these trips In 1989, they were there to witness the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. Never too old to learn something new, Evelyn studied Russian at BSU, managed new home building projects, and enjoyed "kaffeeklatsch" with her friends. Finally, in 2010, Evelyn and Richard saw the culmination of a dream with the construction of their Nietzsche library in Naumburg, Germany. Today the library is a worldwide destination for students and researchers due to the city of Naumburg's acquisition of Evelyn and Richard's extensive antiquarian book collection.