Ernes Merck

Ernes Merck (ca.1924)

Ernes Merck (around 1923)

Ernestina Merck called Ernes Merck geb. Ernestina Rogalla von Bieberstein (born July 2, 1898 in Stolp , Pomerania , † November 25, 1927 in Darmstadt ) was a German racing driver .

Life and Achievements

A Mercedes-Benz Type S from 1928

Ernes Rogalla von Bieberstein was the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel a. D. Hans Rogalla von Bieberstein. On October 7, 1918, she married the Darmstadt industrialist Wilhelm Merck (1893–1952), a member of the family who owned the E. Merck company . Wilhelm Merck was also a member of the supervisory board of Daimler-Benz AG. Ernes Merck came to motorsport through her husband Wilhelm. In 1922 she drove her first race and finished in an "honorable position". At the Baden-Baden automobile tournament in the same year she finished second on Steiger . Then she became a Mercedes works driver.

Klausen race

In 1927 Merck competed in the International Klausen Race in Switzerland, which at the time was the most popular, longest and most difficult hill climb in the world. On August 13, she took third place with her Mercedes-Benz Type S in the 5 to 8 liter displacement class. Only Rudolf Caracciola and the Swiss Hürlimann were faster in this class on Klausen that day. The next day she started in the touring car category. Behind Caracciola and in front of Hürlimann, as well as her husband Wilhelm - who drove in the identical vehicle and finished fourth - she crossed the finish line with the second fastest time. From then on, Ernes Merck was a celebrity in motor racing. For the audience, the emancipated driver with " bobbed head and the skirt hem of the Charleston dress just above the knee" was the topic of conversation. She also organized world women's congresses and was a photographer in Africa. On September 6, 1927, it started in Hetzbach in the Odenwald at the Krähberg race.

woman in red

woman in red
Edward Cucuel , 1928
Link to the picture (please note copyrights )

Ernes Merck was the only woman to drive professional races in the 1920s. For the motive of the woman in red , it served Edward Cucuel 1928 as a template. Cucuel signed the advertisement poster with Cucuel Offelsmeyer . It was one of the most eye-catching advertising posters at that time. The graphic shows her in a red racing suit in front of a Mercedes-Benz type S.

Peter Merck , a former board member of Merck KGaA, was the son of Ernes and Wilhelm Merck. He himself took part in numerous motorsport events in the 1950s, including the 1956 Monte Carlo Rally .

On November 25, 1927, the year of her greatest success and the birth of her son, Ernes Merck committed suicide in Darmstadt.

When the name of Edith-Kiss-Strasse in Berlin-Friedrichshain , where the Mercedes-Benz sales center is located, the naming of the street after Ernes Merck was discussed in 2012, but ultimately rejected.

literature

• Bernhard Brägger : The Myth of Klausen. Race to the clouds. Baeschlin, Glarus 2002, chapter Ernes Merck: Bubikopf und Charlestonkleid - fearless and fast, ISBN 978-3-85546-129-5 .
• Hartmut Lehbrink (Ed.): The Mercedes-Benz racing driver lexicon: The 240 fastest employees of Mercedes-Benz (preface by Hans Herrmann ) Heel, Königswinter 2009, ISBN 978-3-86852-103-0 .

Web links

• Martin Boldt: Women in Motorsport Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger from March 31, 2014
• Woman and car - women self-confidently conquer the automobile website of Daimler AG with two pictures by Ernes Merck
• Women and Motorsport In: auto top news from December 7, 2008
• Women confidently conquer automobiles . Article on daimler.com; accessed on June 27, 2014

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Merck, Wilhelm. Hessian biography. (As of August 14, 2012). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
2. ↑ Velhagen & Klasingsmonthshefte , Volume 31, Issue 2, 1917, p. 148.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Gasoline in the Blood ( Memento from November 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) 55th International German Schnauferlrallye, program booklet, June 2010, pp. 56–547.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Adventurous and passionate From : mercedes-benz.com. Retrieved on May 25, 2014
5. ↑ Short biographies from : feldbergrennen.de accessed on May 25, 2014
6. ↑ Legendary women of the Klausen race at: wallstreet-online.de from August 29, 2012
7. ↑ 1927 Category Sports Cars International Race at: klausenrennen.com accessed on May 23, 2014
8. ↑ In the role of favorites. Retrieved from : mercedes-benz.com on May 25, 2014
9. ^ Klausenrennen: Legendary women.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) In: Fridolin of September 6, 2012, p. 25.
10. ↑ "I was really scared about the route" - The myth of the fast women at the Klausen race In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of March 26, 2002
11. ↑ Remembrance tour in an old racing car. ( Memento from May 30, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) In: Darmstädter Echo , from July 12, 2012
12. ↑ Karin Schmidl: History on the doorstep. In: Berliner Zeitung number 37, from February 13, 2014, p. 18.
13. ↑ Encounters - the women of the star. Daimler AG press release from November 2011, p. 42.
14. ↑ Sporting elegance: The "Lady in Red" by Offelsmeyer Cucuel for Mercedes-Benz. Retrieved on June 26, 2014 at: mediacenter.studioline.net
15. ↑ ^{a b} Ernes Merck from: Mercedes-Benz Museum GmbH, accessed on May 23, 2014
16. ↑ The original Woman in Red. At: prewarcar.com. Retrieved on May 25, 2014
17. ↑ Thomas Lackmann: Renaming of the street in Berlin - Daimler address honoring Nazi victims In: Der Tagesspiegel of February 13, 2014
18. ↑ Thomas Frey: Street next to Mercedes is now named after Edith Kiss ( Memento from May 30, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) In: Berliner Woche from February 14, 2014
19. ↑ Naming of the Planstr. D - Anschutz Areal - according to Ernes Merck's printed matter DS / 0523-01 / IV of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg District Council of Berlin, dated December 18, 2012