Sarah Haffner

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Sarah Haffner, born Margaret C. Pretzel on 27 February 1940 in Cambridge, England, and who died on 11 March 2018 in Dresden, Germany, was a German‑British painter, author and feminist activist. She grew up in London with her father, the writer Sebastian Haffner, and her mother Erika Schmidt-Landry. She adopted the name Sarah as a teenager and built a life across Britain and Germany, balancing two cultures in her work and activism.

In West Berlin during the 1960s she joined protest movements and helped push for women’s rights. She made a television documentary about violence against women and wrote a book on the topic, which helped fund Berlin’s first women’s shelter. Her painting ranged from portraits and still lifes to landscapes and cityscapes, with a distinctive use of blues and greens to convey mood.

Haffner studied art in Berlin, married artist Andreas Brandt (1960–1962) and had a son, David Brandt. She worked as a teacher and then built a successful career as a freelance painter, selling several works each year. The reunification of Germany reshaped the art market, but a 1993 Berlin exhibition and favorable reviews led to a major rise in sales. She remained active in feminist circles, participated in significant student and anti‑war movements of the era, and continued to live in Berlin near the Wall before spending her final months near her son in Dresden.