Margarete Reichel

Margarete Schneider-Reichel (March 22, 1891, Passau – May 4, 1944, Passau) was a German painter renowned for her landscape and portrait work. Born to Franz Reichel, a commercial councilor and banker, and his wife Maria (née Simson), she attended the Gisela School in Niedernburg before studying in Munich. In 1918, the city of Passau commissioned her, alongside painter Franz Weismann, to design emergency war currency.

In 1919, she married Ottmar Schneider, who later took over her family’s business. The couple had two sons, both of whom tragically died in World War II. Under the tutelage of Alfred Kubin and Franz von Stuck, Schneider-Reichel made a name as a landscape and portrait artist, also producing religious and visionary works. She worked in oil, ink, pastel, charcoal, and red chalk, and illustrated children’s books, some for her sons. Today, her artworks are preserved in the Oberhausmuseum, the Passau City Archive, and the Diocesan Art Collection.

Schneider-Reichel joined the NSDAP on November 1, 1930, later founding the Passau NSDAP women’s group in 1931 and serving as its cultural coordinator. From 1935 to 1938, she was the local women’s association leader and subsequently led the district women’s association until her death. She passed away from diabetes on May 4, 1944, with 4,000 people attending her memorial service in the Nibelungenhalle.

In 2014, a retrospective titled Margarete Schneider-Reichel – An Artist of Her Time was held at Schloss Neuburg am Inn’s county gallery to commemorate the 70th anniversary of her death.