Eleanor Marie (‘Nini’) Herman (née Ettlinger) was Herman’s second wife and was a well-known author and psychotherapist. Nini Herman was born Eleonore Marie Ettlinger in Berlin in 1925. She was the daughter of Ellen Ettlinger (née Rathenau) and Lionel Ettlinger, a businessman, and spent her early childhood on Fasanenstrasse in West Berlin. She was a doctor for 20 years and a psychotherapist for a further 20 and wrote and translated over 12 books.
Nini was educated in Hampshire and she, her brother and mother later settled in Oxford. She studied medicine in Edinburgh where she met her first husband, but the marriage did not last. In the Mid-1950’s she met Josef and they were together for over 45 years, living first in West London before moving to Suffolk. On Herman’s death in 2000, Nini bequeathed various gifts of original artwork and prints to the Herman Foundation, which substantially comprises our collection today.
David Herman writes of his mother:
“Nini Herman played a crucial role in the founding of the Josef Herman Foundation. During his lifetime, she thought it was intrusive to visit Ystradgynlais, where he had lived for so many years with his first wife, Catriona. But after he died in 2000, she wanted to preserve his memory, editing his journals, writing about him and helping to set up a Foundation in his memory in his beloved Ystrad.
Nini was a doctor for twenty years, a psychotherapist for a further twenty and wrote and translated a dozen books. It was a life full of achievement but also haunted by personal loss and tragedy.
She was born Eleonore Ettlinger in Berlin in 1925, growing up in an affluent, assimilated German-Jewish home. Her mother was well-read and highly cultured. Her uncle was a leading art publisher. In 1938 Nini, her mother and brother fled to Britain. Nini later became a doctor in London, where in the mid-1950s she met the Jewish refugee artist, Josef Herman, who had just left south Wales. They lived together for the next forty-five years, in London then moved to Suffolk with their two children, David (1957-) and Sara (1961-66). In 1967 they adopted Rebekah, a source of great joy.
When they returned to London, Nini trained as a psychotherapist. She found her new career enormously fulfilling. In their west London home, she and Josef regularly welcomed old friends including leading writers, psychotherapists, artists and art collectors. These years were the happiest of her life. After Josef’s death in 2000 she did her best to preserve his memory.”