Lee Leder Guttman
Comics
Dr. Antje Flemming and Chris Münster
A girl, seeing an animated mouse for the first time, discovered her life’s purpose, nearly shattered by the Nazis. Despite the devastation, she remains resilient, continually starting anew, achieving her goals and beyond, while never losing her sense of humor.
A life full of lines
Chemnitz to California. Our first meeting took place over a video call in February—Caroline joining us in LA at noon, while Chris and I sat in the winter evening hours in Chemnitz. Caroline, Lee’s daughter, was planning an exhibition in Chemnitz, her mother’s hometown. The exhibit would showcase the breadth of Lee’s work,
from sketches and paintings to her reflections on current events and social gatherings, spanning from the mid-1920s to the early 2000s—in essence, a visual journey through an entire life. My job: creating short comics and cartoons about Lee Guttman’s biography.
How to Fly
As a little girl, Lee and her father went to Metropol Theater, a gorgeous cinema in her hometown Chemnitz. Sitting in the impressive hall, Lee can’t believe her eyes: a painted mouse giggling, running and flying across the screen. She was thrilled!
That night, on their way back home, her father told Lee about the art of animation, about Mickey Mouse, and its inventor: Walt Disney. Lee had no doubt: „I want this to become my job! Please, can you help me, dad?“ – „Lee, I’m sure, you are going to make it. But you will have to try it by yourself.“
A family portrait
Lee with her beloved parents,
fooling around.
The Catastrophe
It was the 1930s in Nazi Germany, and conditions for Jews were getting worse and worse. Lee and her family faced daily harassment, but in 1934, Lee witnessed her father being beaten by SA men. He survived the attack, but the injuries inflicted by the Nazis would handicap him for the rest of his life.
The Leder family managed to help Lee escape from Germany, first to Romania and later to Switzerland. After a visit home, the Gestapo confiscated Lee’s documents. On her journey back to her school in Switzerland, Lee’s principal hid her under his coat to cross the border. Fortunately, they succeeded!
Start again
In 1939, Lee reunited with her parents in London, and the family continued to endure harsh economic conditions. A few years later, Lee attended St. Martin’s School of Art, but she interrupted her studies to serve in the Royal Air Force. Despite this, art remained her elixir, and she continued to draw. It was a time filled with ups and downs, marked by the loss of her beloved father, Carl.
In 1945, Lee married Henry Guttman, whom she had met at the Royal Air Force. Together with her mother, she followed him to the USA. Again it took some stages, but once in L.A., Lee began applying to animation studios.
Her first attempt lead her to the animation studios of Warner Brothers. Her application is a story of perseverance, too. For about one year, Lee knocked on the same door over and over again, until: she got the job!
And there she was, at the heart of the animation industry. In a later interview, Lee admitted that she had no idea what this work would look like. At Warner Brothers, it seemed to be quite basic at that time: two glasses of water, a bunch of brushes, and lots of eyes and outlines waiting to be inked.
The Disney Era
Warner Brothers had cut its animation department but encouraged employees to seek jobs at Disney. In the documentary „The Brothers Warner,“ Lee reflected on the situation with a colleague who remarked, „I would never go to Disney because that company is known for its antisemitism!“ Undeterred, Lee continued her search, refusing to let anything stand in the way of the plans she had made as a child. On her first day at Disney, she was overwhelmed by the beauty and perfection of the buildings.
However, within the following days, she encountered ignorant prejudices against her. Shocked, she returned home and doubted whether she would go back to work the next day. But, as you might expect, she summoned her courage, shook it off, and returned to her desk. Months and years of remarkable projects followed. Caroline mentioned that one of Lee’s favorite productions was „The Lady and the Tramp.“
The Artist
Times at Disney studios proceed, and Lee soon became well known for her speed and precise work. Lee Guttman and was featured in the book „Ink & Paint: The Women of Walt Disney’s Animation“ and honored with an exhibition at the Disney Studios.
Lee has never
lost sight of her hometown –
which had changed again.
Karl-Marx-Stadt
In 1983, for the first time since the family’s escape, Lee visited her hometown of Chemnitz, renamed Karl-Marx-Stadt during the GDR era. With her husband and daughter sitting beside her, Lee drove the rented Opel through the streets as skilled as she drew her lines on paper. „Here lived my best friend! And here we were!“
Teaching
You can say, that Lee’s career never stopped. In the mid-nineties, Lee taught young artists at Chuck Jones Film Productions, famous for Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes.
And beyond her artistic work, Lee believed it was crucial to share her family’s experiences under the Nazi regime in Germany. She revisited her old school, today the Dr.-Wilhelm-André-Gymnasium in Chemnitz, to recount her memories and engage with the students and teachers.
A Vision
In our conversations, Caroline told me she loved to remember her mother drawing at the kitchen table. There’s footage of Lee that a family friend took of her sketching and joking, with a full gallery on the wall behind her. Lee was always well known for her fine sense of humor and as an artist and a woman, she had something to say.
„The Tonight Show with Jay Leno“ invited her in 2004 and, in 2007, Lee was interviewed for the documentary „The Brothers Warner.“ Lee Guttman passed away at the age of 90 in Hollywood, California. Her art will continue to reach and delight a wide audience for many years to come.
