Johanna Senfter

Johanna Senfter ( 27 November 1879 – 11 August 1961) was a German composer. Family background Johanna Senfter was born in 1879 as the youngest of the six children of Elise and Georg Senfter. Her maternal grandfather was the Oppenheim pharmacist and quinine manufacturer (1786-1865), who succeeded in extracting an antipyretic and anti-infective agent from cinchona bark to combat malaria, which was rampant in Oppenheim at the time. To produce this quinine, he set up his own pharmaceutical factory. The successful production of the drug enabled the Koch family’s social and financial upswing. The son of company founder, , eventually became mayor and, thanks to his achievements in this office, an honorary citizen of the town. Johanna’s father, Georg Senfter, owner of a brickworks, coal and timber business, was also considered wealthy. He married Elise, Carl Koch’s sister, and acquired the imposing , an old aristocratic residence, including the vineyard, which had previously belonged to the von Cronberg family. In 1864, he joined Carl Koch’s quinine company as managing director, co-entrepreneur and financier. Both families belonged to the upper social class, led a prosperous life and owned