Karl Graf von Bothmer (diplomat)

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Karl Graf von Bothmer (born July 2, 1891 in Kaschau ; † November 28, 1971 in Meersburg ) was the Hungarian consul general in Vienna and envoy in Switzerland.

Childhood in Hungary

Dunaalmás Castle on the Danube, Hungary

Karl Joseph Albert Graf and Baron von Bothmer zu Schwegerhoff came from a sideline of the Lower Saxon noble family Bothmer (noble family) , which had come into possession and prestige in Hungary in the 19th century and owned a castle in Dunaalmás on the Danube. His father was Major General Arpád von Bothmer (1858–1938). Since his parents' home was too far from Budapest , he was given care in the home of a schoolmate whose father was also a general. He had an older sister Lilly, who stayed in his parents' castle in Hungary, a younger sister Eugenie, who died in 1903, and a younger brother Otto, whom he visited in Düsseldorf after the Second World War.

Diplomatic career and professional activity in Bern

After studying law and obtaining a doctorate in Vienna , Count Bothmer joined the diplomatic service of Austria-Hungary . He was sworn in to Emperor Karl I (Austria-Hungary) and made a. a. the acquaintance of the Empress Zita von Bourbon-Parma and her son Otto von Habsburg , whom he saw again after the Second World War. First he was deployed in Transylvania , where he co-founded a newspaper, Bulgaria awarded him a medal. In 1941 he was the Hungarian consul general in Vienna. At his request , transferred to Bern during the war , where he was the Hungarian envoy in Switzerland , he helped persecuted Jews at risk of death - he was sentenced to death by the Nazi regime for this , which could not harm him in Bern. Its activity ended after the Second World War with the communist rule in Hungary beginning in 1949. Since the family property near Budapest had also been expropriated and he had not yet moved into a pension, Count Bothmer, who had manual skills, worked in Bern for an antique dealer, where he repaired historical grandfather clocks and table clocks, then in a large carpet store where he was v . a. sold exquisite Persian carpets and - in his own words - made more sales than his boss. He later moved into a pension.

Princely house in Meersburg

Helene von Bothmer and Karl Graf von Bothmer (wedding)

Count Bothmer was married to a Hungarian woman who died in the early 1950s. He lived in an apartment in Bern at Beundenfeldstrasse 49 and was still in diplomatic circles in the Swiss capital. As early as 1941, Count Bothmer met his cousin Heinrich von Bothmer-Schwegerhoff's wife, the former US model Helene von Bothmer, in Berlin . She was also widowed when he first visited her in Meersburg . They married on November 13, 1953 in Bern and Helen lived there with him - when they were not traveling (e.g. to the USA and Israel) - during the winter months. Later they lived entirely in Helene's legacy, the Fürstenhäusle in Meersburg, which they expanded and which he worked on in the museum. In 1956, during the Hungarian uprising , Karl appealed on Swiss radio for the support of his compatriots, but it was not until 1957 that they both received a visa to visit Karl's sister Lilly, who lived impoverished in the expropriated castle, and to help other needy people. Helene and Karl were in contact with many personalities from contemporary history, through the Droste Prize awards also with many authors such as Nelly Sachs , Christine Busta , Rose Ausländer , Hilde Domin , Dino Larese and Helene's friend and later biographer Monika Taubitz , who also made Karl set a monument. Karl died on November 28, 1971 and was buried in the Laßberg - Droste zu Hülshoff family grave in Meersburg, where Heinrich and Helen von Bothmer also found their final resting place. With Karl, the Hungarian line of Count Bothmer seems to have died out.

Heritage in USA

Karl had in exile a. a. the national costume of the Hungarian aristocrats (in which he was photographed with Helene), ancestral pictures and antiques. Through his widow Helene, his adopted son in the USA, who calls himself Count and Baron von Bothmer and who, in a paternity case before the Washington County Circuit Court, succeeded in saying that he was a biological son of Karl and Helene, which according to the biographical data does not apply can.

literature

  • Monika Taubitz: ash and ruby. Helene von Bothmer. A biography. Dresden 2016
  • Wilda Gretzinger (ed.) And Kathleen Wiley Pietsch (author): A Kindred Spirit - the autobiography of Helene Baronin von Bothmer. Portland (Oregon), USA, 1996, publisher Donald P. Muno

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.thepeerage.com/p30524.htm
  2. ↑ Monika Taubitz: Ash and Rubin. Helene von Bothmer. A biography , Dresden 2016
  3. ↑ Monika Taubitz: Ash and Rubin. Helene von Bothmer. A biography. Dresden 2016
  4. ↑ Kim Christensen: The Baron of Beaverton. In: The Oregonian. Portland (USA) April 16, 2000.
  5. ↑ Kim Lunman: Royal rumble rocks Victoria Society's leading ladies square off in court against a big-talking baron from California (case study) In: Business La
personal data
SURNAME Bothmer, Karl Graf von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hungarian Consul General
DATE OF BIRTH July 2, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Košice
DATE OF DEATH November 28, 1971
Place of death Meersburg