Lina Pfaff

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Lina Pfaff (born August 30, 1854 in Kaiserslautern as Carolina Pfaff; † June 17, 1929 there ) was a German entrepreneur and benefactor.

Life

Lina Pfaff was the daughter of Johanna Pfaff, née Crusius (1824–1878), and Georg Michael Pfaff (1823–1893), the founder of the Pfaff sewing machine factory in Kaiserslautern .

After the death of her brother Georg on April 21, 1917, Lina Pfaff took over the management of the company, which in 1910 had already exported a million sewing machines to 64 countries on the five continents.

In the years after the First World War , Lina Pfaff had to manage the critical phase of switching from war production to peace work. In 1926, taking economic developments into account, it converted the company into a stock corporation . However, as the chairwoman of the supervisory board, she remained connected to the company.

Before taking over the management of the factory, she was already known in her hometown as a generous donor. First she had the deaconess association and the women's association of the Red Cross a . a. supported by the financing of the day nursery on Mannheimer Straße. Later she created some social institutions in Kaiserslautern, for example the Pfaff-Bad and a crèche, which were inaugurated on May 24, 1924. In 1923 she had a housing estate built for the employees near the Pfaffwerk.

Both activities, running the factory and its charity, were carried out during extremely difficult times. During the First World War , the company Pfaff u. a. the front line workers and their families. After the war, Lina Pfaff had to continue business under the conditions of the French occupation in the Palatinate .

The head of the global company was also mobile. She visited u. a. Milan , Genoa , Venice , Florence and Rome . Her biographer Marliese Fuhrmann emphasized: “Later she traveled in an elegant Mercedes or Maybach limousine; It was almost a sensation when she drove from Kaiserslautern to Karlsbad in Bohemia on one day in 1924. "

On her 70th birthday, Lina Pfaff was made an honorary citizen by the city of Kaiserslautern. A few months later, on December 23, 1924, she was the first and only woman in Germany to be awarded the title of “ Kommerzienrat ” of the Kingdom of Bavaria for her work as head of the sewing machine factory and her social commitment . The Palatinate had belonged to this kingdom since 1816, so it was the Bavarian Trade Minister Wilhelm von Meinel who sent the nomination of the Lord Mayor of Kaiserslautern to Ministerialrat Ferdinand Oskar Keller. The reasons for the decision to award Lina Pfaff's title can be seen in his letter:

“... Lord Mayor Baumann von Kaiserslautern has spoken to me and made the following wishes: (... He particularly advocated the award of the commercial council title to the following personalities: a) Miss Lina Pfaff, the sole owner of the world-famous Pfaff sewing machine factory in Kaiserslautern. There are undoubtedly justifying [sic!] Reasons to give a woman the title of Kommerzienrat as an exception, because Miss Pfaff is not only actually active and decisive in the management of the factory, but she has also done extraordinary things in the area of ​​social welfare. In particular, she managed the housing shortage in Kaiserslautern in a generous way by building her own factory buildings for the workers, building a public bath for the city and doing very well in all other areas of charity (establishing a kindergarten, etc.). Wilhelm von Meinel , September 19 1924

Between 1880 and 1928, the title of Kommerzienrat was awarded to 1,849 German male entrepreneurs; As a woman, Lina Pfaff was the only exception until its abolition.

Before her death, she appointed her nephew Karl Pfaff , the son of her brother Jakob, whom she had adopted on May 1, 1926, as the company's managing director and board member .

She died unmarried on June 17, 1929 and was buried in the Kaiserslautern forest cemetery.

Afterlife

When the two secondary schools, Barbarossaschule and Geschwister-Scholl-Schule in Kaiserslautern, were merged to form a Realschule plus in August 2010 , the educational institution was named Lina-Pfaff-Realschule plus. The exhibition "Lina Pfaff: 'Fräulein Kommerzienrat ', her sewing machines and her social commitment" took place in the Stadtmuseum Kaiserslautern from February 15 to August 2, 2020 . It presents an overview of the production, design and marketing of the PFAFF global company since the end of the 19th century. The exhibition clearly offers a deeper insight into the charity work of Lina Pfaff u. a. in the area of ​​urban development through photo documentation and a 3D model of the Pfaffbad, which also housed a municipal day-care center. The project to establish the Pfaff Colony, a factory housing estate on Herzog-von-Weimar-Strasse in Kaiserslautern, was also honored.

literature

  • Erich Lüth: GM Pfaff A.-G., Kaiserslautern. (Model companies of the German economy, 32: The sewing machine manufacture). Übersee-Post publishing house, Leipzig 1936.
  • Willi Döderlein: Important personalities in our city. In: Kaiserslautern Stadt und Land , 1961, No. 6, pp. 23–24.
  • 125 years of Pfaff (1862–1987) , (Pfaffianer issue 1/2, April 1987. 35th year, anniversary issue), Kaiserslautern 1987.
  • Jürgen Urban: Commerce Councilor Lina Pfaff - boss in difficult times. In: Equal Opportunities Office Kaiserslautern (ed.): Women's history - women's stories from Kaiserslautern. Documentation of citizens of Kaiserslautern , Franz Arbogast, Otterbach / Pfalz 1994, ISBN 3-87022-197-6 , p. 84f.
  • Marliese Fuhrmann : Topic on Saturday: Lina Pfaff died 75 years ago. - Lina Pfaff. A woman ran a global company. In: Print edition of the daily newspaper Die Rheinpfalz from June 12, 2004 (No. 134), regional edition Kaiserslautern (Blickpunkt).
  • Marliese Fuhrmann : Lina Pfaff. A woman ran a global company. In: Kreisverwaltung Kaiserslautern (ed.): Heimatjahrbuch 2005 des Landeskreis Kaiserslautern , Verlag Franz Arbogast, Otterbach / Pfalz 2005, ISBN 3-87022-314-6 , pp. 108–119.
  • Marliese Fuhrmann : Lina Pfaff (1854–1929). A woman ran a global company. In: Dies .: Anna and Others. Frauenwege in der Pfalz , Görres-Verlag, Koblenz 2007, ISBN 978-3-935690-63-8 , pp. 43-57.
  • Cornelie Leopold (Ed.): The Pfaffbad. A reconstruction (documentation of a seminar at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, subject architecture, subject descriptive geometry and perspective in the winter semester 2007/2008), TU Kaiserslautern 2009, ISBN 978-3-939432-99-9 .
  • Justina Bayer: Lina Pfaff. The first and only female commercial councilor in Bavaria and Germany. In: Marita Krauss (Ed.): Die Bavarian Kommerzienräte: a German business elite from 1880 to 1928. Volk Verlag, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-86222-216-2 , pp. 148–158.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Justina Bayer: Lina Pfaff. The first and only female commercial councilor in Bavaria and Germany. In: Marita Krauss (Hrsg.): Die bayerischen Kommerzienräte: a German business elite from 1880 to 1928. Volk Verlag, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-86222-216-2 , p. 148–158, here p. 148.
  2. ↑ Lina Pfaff: Woman of the Month (July 2014). In: Metropol News. Metropol Agentur - Ludwigshafen, accessed on July 22, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Lina Pfaff's biography. In: Institute for Palatinate History and Folklore. Retrieved July 22, 2020 .
  4. ^ Marliese Fuhrmann: Lina Pfaff. A woman ran a global company. In: Kreisverwaltung Kaiserslautern (ed.): Heimatjahrbuch 2005 des Landeskreis Kaiserslautern , Verlag Franz Arbogast, Otterbach bei Kaiserslautern 2005, ISBN 3-87022-314-6 , pp. 108–119, here p. 116.
  5. Jump up ↑ Jürgen Urban: Lina Pfaff, head of commerce in difficult times. In: Equal Opportunities Office Kaiserslautern (ed.): Women's history - women's stories from Kaiserslautern. Documentation of the citizens of Kaiserslautern, Franz Arbogast, Otterbach / Pfalz 1994, ISBN 3-87022-197-6 , p. 84f, here p. 84.
  6. ^ Marliese Fuhrmann: Lina Pfaff. A woman ran a global company. In: Kreisverwaltung Kaiserslautern (Ed.): Heimatjahrbuch 2005 des Landeskreis Kaiserslautern, Verlag Franz Arbogast, Otterbach bei Kaiserslautern 2005, ISBN 3-87022-314-6 , pp. 108–119, here p. 119.
  7. ^ Marliese Fuhrmann: Lina Pfaff. A woman ran a global company. In: Kreisverwaltung Kaiserslautern (Ed.): Heimatjahrbuch 2005 des Landeskreis Kaiserslautern , Verlag Franz Arbogast, Otterbach / Pfalz 2005, ISBN 3-87022-314-6 , pp. 108–119, here pp. 117f.
  8. ↑ Dennis Anklam: History of origin. In: Cornelie Leopold (Ed.): The Pfaffbad. A reconstruction , TU Kaiserslautern 2009, ISBN 978-3-939432-99-9 , pp. 11–15, here p. 15.
  9. ^ Marliese Fuhrmann: Lina Pfaff. A woman ran a global company. In: Kreisverwaltung Kaiserslautern (ed.): Heimatjahrbuch 2005 des Landeskreis Kaiserslautern , Verlag Franz Arbogast, Otterbach / Pfalz 2005, ISBN 3-87022-314-6 , pp. 108–119, here p. 119.
  10. ^ Marliese Fuhrmann: Lina Pfaff. A woman ran a global company. In: Kreisverwaltung Kaiserslautern (Ed.): Heimatjahrbuch 2005 des Landeskreis Kaiserslautern , Verlag Franz Arbogast, Otterbach / Pfalz 2005, ISBN 3-87022-314-6 , pp. 108–119, here pp. 115f.
  11. ^ Marliese Fuhrmann: Lina Pfaff. A woman ran a global company. In: Kreisverwaltung Kaiserslautern (ed.): Heimatjahrbuch 2005 des Landeskreis Kaiserslautern , Verlag Franz Arbogast, Otterbach / Pfalz 2005, ISBN 3-87022-314-6 , pp. 108–119, here p. 119.
  12. ^ Justina Bayer: Lina Pfaff. The first and only female commercial councilor in Bavaria and Germany. In: Marita Krauss (Hrsg.): Die bayerischen Kommerzienräte: a German business elite from 1880 to 1928. Volk Verlag, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-86222-216-2 , pp. 148–158, here p. 157.
  13. ↑ Das Große Pfalzbuch, Pfälzische Verlagsanstalt, Neustadt / Weinstrasse, autumn 1959, p. 484.
  14. ↑ Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv (order signatures: BayHStA MHIG 2213, 2217, applications for recognition to the Kommerzienrat), quoted in: Justina Bayer: Lina Pfaff. The first and only female commercial councilor in Bavaria and Germany. In: Marita Krauss (Hrsg.): Die bayerischen Kommerzienräte: a German business elite from 1880 to 1928. Volk Verlag, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-86222-216-2 , p. 148–158, here p. 157, fn 63.
  15. ^ Justina Bayer: Lina Pfaff. The first and only female commercial councilor in Bavaria and Germany. In: Marita Krauss (Hrsg.): Die bayerischen Kommerzienräte: a German business elite from 1880 to 1928. Volk Verlag, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-86222-216-2 , p. 148–158, here p. 148.
  16. ^ Justina Bayer: Lina Pfaff. The first and only female commercial councilor in Bavaria and Germany. In: Marita Krauss (Hrsg.): Die bayerischen Kommerzienräte: a German business elite from 1880 to 1928. Volk Verlag, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-86222-216-2 , pp. 148–158, here p. 153.
  17. Jump up ↑ Jürgen Urban: Lina Pfaff, head of commerce in difficult times. In: Equal Opportunities Office Kaiserslautern (ed.): Women's history - women's stories from Kaiserslautern. Documentation KaiserslautererBürgerinnen and Bürger , Franz Arbogast, Otterbach / Pfalz 1994, ISBN 3-87022-197-6 , p. 84f, here 85.
  18. ^ Marliese Fuhrmann: Lina Pfaff (1854–1929). A woman ran a global company. In: Dies .: Anna and Others. Frauenwege in der Pfalz , Görres-Verlag, Koblenz 2007, ISBN 978-3-935690-63-8 , pp. 43–57, here p. 57.
  19. ↑ Lina Pfaff. Lina-Pfaff-Realschule plus Kaiserslautern, accessed on July 22, 2020 .
  20. ^ Stadtmuseum Kaiserslautern: Exhibition "Lina Pfaff: 'Fräulein Kommerzienrat', her sewing machines and her social commitment". In: City Museum Kaiserslautern. Retrieved July 18, 2020 .
  21. ^ Exhibition "Lina Pfaff: 'Fräulein Kommerzienrat', her sewing machines and her social commitment". Pfalz-Express, accessed on July 25, 2020 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Pfaff, Lina
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sewing machine manufacturer
DATE OF BIRTH August 30, 1854
PLACE OF BIRTH Kaiserslautern
DATE OF DEATH June 17, 1929
Place of death Kaiserslautern