Monika Krause, 1980s in Havana
"Dr. Krause has not been daunted by Cuban male's abhorrence of contraceptive responsibility. She enthusiastically promotes condoms as the best all-around contraceptive device. After discussing the merits of prophylactics on television and press, she has been dubbed Cuba's "queen of condoms" by a bemused public". Lois M. Smith, Progress, Science and Myth: The Health Education of Cuban Women. Cuban Studies Vol. 19 (1989). University of Pittsburgh Press.

Monika Krause

Born in Schwaan, Germany, on April 8, 1941, she arrived in Cuba in 1962 after marrying the “youngest marine captain in the world“, the Cuban-Spanish Jesús Jiménez.

In 1977 Monika was appointed to lead the National Working Group on Sex Education (GNTES) which eventually became the National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX), of which Monika was its first director, a position she held until her return to Germany in November 1990. Monika played a key role in the development and implementation of a modern, scientific, and impactful national program for sex education, counseling, therapy and family planning. 

Monika carried out an extensive teaching and advocacy activities using the media (press, radio and television), including her own programs, becoming a public celebrity. She promoted the translation, adaptation and publication of leading works on sexology for health professionals and the general public, in editions of hundreds of thousands of books that sold out immediately and had a profound social impact.

Monika was elected member in 1985 and 1990 of the National Committee of the Federation of Cuban Women. In 1989, she was elected member of the World Association for Sexual Health. Monika had been an official at the headquarters of the Cuban Women’s Federation since 1970.

Monika graduated from the University of Havana in 1970 with a master’s degree in Spanish language and literature. In 1983, she obtained a Doctorate in Philosophy, graduating summa cum laude, from the University of Rostock. In 1986, she passed the exams to become a professor at the Medical Sciences School in Havana.

In 1990, Monika Krause returned to Germany and began writing her memories of thirty years in Cuba. She married Harry Fuchs and settled with him in Glücksburg, a small town on the Baltic Sea.

On May 20, 2019, Monika passed away in Flensburg, Germany, surrounded by Harry her husband, and Dictys and Dani her sons. 

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In 2007, Swiss television produced the documentary film “Monika, La Reina del Condón,” which has been broadcast several times on Swiss, Austrian and German public television. The film is available on Amazon Prime and Apple Store.

Books

Monika Krause-Fuchs, Monika y la Revolución. Una mirada singular sobre la historia reciente de Cuba (2002). ISBN-13: ‎ 978-8479264024. Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria. Spain.

Monika Krause-Fuchs, Cuba: mi infierno y mi paraíso (2020). ISBN-13: 979-8663119627. Ilíada Ediciones, Berlin.

Monika Krause-Fuchs, ¿Machismo?, no gracias. Sexualidad en la revolución (2007). ISBN: 978-84-8382-112-1. Ediciones Idea. Colección Letras de Cuba. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.

Monika Krause-Fuchs, Cuba – Meine Hölle, mein Paradies. 30 Jahre Fidel Castro und ein Ende (2008). ISBN: 978-3-86634-623-9. Projekte-Verlag-Cornelius GmbH, Halle/Saale, Germany.

Monika Krause-Fuchs, Machismo ist noch lange nicht tot! Kuba: Sexualität im Umbruch (2008). ISBN: 978-3-86634-469-3. Projekte-Verlag-Cornelius GmbH, Halle/Saale, Germany.

Articles

El embarazo en la adolescente. Editorial Científico-Técnica, La Habana, 1983.

El problema del niño no deseado; Sexualidad e igualdad; Nosotros y el amor. Guiones para una serie de la televisión cubana (1985-1986).

Planificación familiar en Cuba. Aspectos políticos y legales. Cuba Internacional, La Habana, 1986; Informationen, Academia de Ciencias Sociales, Berlin, 1988.

Educación sexual. Selección de lecturas. Editorial Científico-Técnica, La Habana, 1988.

Educación sexual en Cuba. Cuba Internacional, La Habana, 1987; Informationen, Academia de Ciencias Sociales, Berlin, 1987; Boletín del CORA, México D.F., 1989.

Conocimientos y actitudes del médico de la familia sobre la sexualidad y la planificación familiar. Evaluación de una investigación. Informationen. Academia de Ciencias Sociales, Berlin, 1989.

Interview: En sexo todo es normal. Revista Alma Mater No 325, 6/7 1990. This is the interview referred to in Chapter “My Last Stand against Institutionalized Homophobia”; a facsimile copy is available upon request.

Para mí una muchacha vírgen es como un coche nuevo. Marianne Braig, Karin Gabbert, Wolfgang Gabbert (Hrsg.).
Geschlecht und Macht. Jahrbuch Lateinamerika Band 24. Münster, 2000.

Die kubanische Sexualpolitik zwischen Anspruch und Wirklichkeit. Ottmar Ette, Martin Franzbach (Hrsg.), Kuba Heute. Politik, Wirtschaft, Kultur. Frankfurt am Main, 2001.