Lotte Henriette Eisner was born on March 6th, 1986 in Berlin, Germany to Hugo and Margarethe Fedora Eisner. Her father Hugo was a wealthy textile merchant, providing her with a supportive and and creative upbringing, and the funds to support her educational pursuits. She received a Ph. D. in art history from the University of Rostock in 1924. As a student Eisner fell in love with journalism and contributed articles to numerous publications.
By chance Eisner met Dr. Hans Feld at a party, a German journalist and critic, who wrote for Film-Kurier. Film-Kurier was the first daily printed film journal, and Eisner herself began writing for the journal in 1927, becoming the first German female film critic, and at her time with the publication she strived to raise awareness and praise to cinema as an artform. Through her work she became friends with the likes of Fritz Lang and Sergei Einstein.
Her work with Film-Kurier coincided with Hitler's rise to power, and journals like Film-Kurier became branded as un-German and much if not all of the Jewish staff on such publications were fired. Following her termination Eisner emigrated to Paris to settle with her sister, and here she found work as a film correspondent. After the start of World War II Eisner spent three months in the Gurs concentration camp. Under the Vichy regime Eisner hid under the noses of the Gestapo as Louise Escoffier. She hid important German and French films in fear that upon discovery they would be destroyed.
Following the end of the German occupation, Eisner traveled back to Paris and spent the rest of her career working at the Cinémathèque Française, a French cinema museum, and writing research projects like "The Haunted Screen" which discussed German Expressionism and its importance to film history.
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