Israel: Recha Charlotte “Lotte” Cohn

Born in 1893 in Berlin, Germany, Reche Charlotte “Lotte” Cohn is considered the first woman to practice architecture in Israel (formerly part of the British Mandate for Palestine 1920–1948). She was also one of the first women to hold a diploma in architecture from the Technische Hochschule (Technical University of Berlin) in Berlin, Germany (1916). After graduation, Cohn relocated to East Prussia to participate in the post-WWI reconstruction efforts in the towns of Pillkallen, Tilsit, and Gumbinnen (c. 1917–1919). She returned to Berlin before immigrating to Jerusalem, British Mandate for Palestine (1921), where she worked as an assistant to architect and urban planner Richard Kauffmann, chief urban and settlement planner of the Palestine Land Development Company (PLDC, 1921–1927). During this time, she co-founded the Association of Engineers and Architects (1922). She then briefly moved to Berlin to work for architect Arthur Korn (1929–1930). When she returned to the British Mandate of Palestine, she became the first woman to established her own architectural firm in Tel Aviv (c. 1931–1968); during this time frame, the British Mandate for Palestine transitioned to the State of Israel (1948). Cohn died in 1983 in Tel Aviv, Israel.