These days, the film "The Danish Girl" is on the big screen all over the world and has been nominated for four Oscars. But the true story of the Danish painter's marvellous transformation from Einar Wegener to Lili Elbe is far more enigmatic and mysterious than depicted in the film. Even Lili's own memoirs published after her death are also partially a twist of the truth.
According to the film, Einar was the first one in world history to undergo a gender corrective surgery back in However, realities were different. Join us on a journey through Europe in the footsteps of the woman born out of Einar's body. Einar and Gerda Wegener moved to Paris in The market for Gerda's art was much larger than in Denmark where art circles often turned up their noses at her portraits.
In the French capital, there was good money for Gerda to earn. In particular her drawings and illustrations for magazines were in high demand. At the same time, Einar felt more free to be Lili, and the number of paintings that Gerda made of Lily increased while they were in Paris.
Einar was now determined to undergo a physical transformation to become Lili Elbe. Warnekros was willing to be responsible for Einar's physical transformation from male into female. But at first, he sent Einar to Berlin to go through the initial examinations and undergo castration. Lily could not travel to the women's clinic in Dresden for the final surgery until she no longer had male sex organs. Lili had a number of operations in Dresden. She got a new passport in the name of Lili Ilse Elvenes.
Between the operations, she was in Denmark for a brief period where she met her siblings for the first time as Lili. She was no longer married to Gerda, who had met and become engaged to an Italian. Lili also had a boyfriend by the name of Claude.
