Being different: Angela Ashwin (born Kelber) on the life of Magda Kelber

‘She wanted to break the cultural barrier.’

by Angela Ashwin 5th June 2026

Magda Kelber was born on 7 June 1908 in Aufsess, a little town in north-west Bavaria. She was the fifth of the six children of Julius and Pauline. Julius was a Lutheran vicar, like many other men in the family. Lutheran Protestantism was (and still is) for many of the Kelber family the unquestioned truth, the only correct way of life. Children were brought up with strictness; kindness and love were considered weakness, and one should be proud to be a Kelber.