Josefine Wrbna-Kaunitz

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Josefine Reichsgräfin von Wrbna-Kaunitz (née Kellnberger; born on March 19, 1896 in Munich ; died on December 13, 1973 there ) was a German asset manager . Against the background of her illegal financial transactions and corresponding criminal proceedings against her, she became known in the media as the Sperrmark Countess , among other things .

Life

Josefine Kellnberger was the daughter of a master stove fitter. In her first marriage she was with the X-ray specialist Dr. Josef Kassenetter married.

Since the 1920s, Josefine Kassenetter was the asset manager of the Albertine line of the Wittelsbach family , specifically for its head, Prince Adalbert of Bavaria . During the time of National Socialism she was arrested as a representative of the Wittelsbachers who were not loyal to the regime, but was released after a hunger strike. As asset manager, she became the general agent for numerous representatives of the dynasty.

After the death of her husband in 1943, she married Alfons Rudolf Ludwig Graf von Wrbna - Kaunitz- Rietberg-Questenberg and Freudenthal, a large Bohemian landowner, of the same age in September 1944 .

After the Second World War, Josefine von Wrbna-Kaunitz continued to run for the Wittelsbach family in order to rebuild their property. In doing so, she relied on the development of Wittelsbacher Land, which she in turn financed with Swiss blocked-mark loans. The latter constituted a violation of the applicable foreign exchange restrictions in Germany. On the occasion of the sale of the Palais Leuchtenberg , which also wanted to buy the neighboring Bavarian Tax Office as the main building, officials began investigations against Wrbna-Kaunitz in December 1952, which the purchase price for the palace had paid in cash.

Wrbna-Kaunitz was initially on trial for foreign exchange offenses and tax evasion. Her previous clients distanced themselves from her and relieved her of all offices and powers; the allegation of forgery of documents was added. On this basis, Wrbna-Kaunitz was sentenced to a fine and two years in prison in 1956 for forging documents and shifting foreign currency. It was judicially determined that she had transferred 17.9 million blocked marks via the Kreissparkasse Munich ; this is said to have brought her a profit of DM 5.2 million.

Wrbna-Kaunitz fled to St. Gallen in Switzerland in 1958, even before she went to prison , from where she litigated for her rehabilitation, including against the princes of the Wittelsbach family, who in turn saw themselves ruined by the machinations of Wrbna-Kaunitz. Years of legal disputes followed, including about Wrbna-Kaunitz 'announced memoirs. In 1960 she achieved that the Munich Finance Court overturned tax assessments worth millions against her and demanded an additional payment of only 60.60 DM. When she returned to Munich in 1963, her sentence was waived because of her old age.

She died, seriously ill for years, in an apartment fire caused by a defective lamp. A day later, her husband died of smoke inhalation .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Josefine Countess Wrbna-Kaunitz in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)
  2. ↑ Erich Helmensdorfer. In: Die Zeit , October 22, 1965. Online edition
  3. ↑ Ursula Köhler-Lutterbeck; Monika Siedentopf: Lexicon of 1000 women , Bonn 2000, p. 399. ISBN 3-8012-0276-3
  4. ^ Josephine von Wrbna-Kaunitz . In: Der Spiegel . No. 18 , 1958, p. 64 ( Online - Apr. 30, 1958 ).
  5. ^ Died: Josephine Countess of Wrbna-Kaunitz-Rietberg-Questenberg and Freudenthal . In: Der Spiegel . No. 52 , 1973, p. 100 ( online - 24 December 1973 ).
personal data
SURNAME Wrbna-Kaunitz, Josefine
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kellnberger, Josefine (maiden name); Kassenetter, Josefine (1st married name); Wrbna-Kaunitz-Rietberg-Questenberg and Freudenthal, Josefine Reichsgräfin von (complete 2nd married name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German asset manager
DATE OF BIRTH March 19, 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH December 13, 1973
Place of death Munich