Martha von Papen
Martha Oktavia Marie von Papen (born December 28, 1880 in Mettlach, née Boch-Galhau , † February 18, 1961 in Obersasbach ) was the wife of Chancellor Franz von Papen .
Life
Martha von Boch-Galhau was the youngest daughter of the Saarland industrialist René von Boch-Galhau , owner of the ceramic factories Villeroy & Boch . Her older brothers were the industrialists Robert von Boch-Galhau and Luitwin von Boch-Galhau . Because of her family ties to France, she preferred to speak French privately throughout her life.
On May 3, 1905, Boch-Galhau, who was considered one of the richest heiresses in the German Empire at the time, married the imperial officer Franz von Papen . The marriage, which lasted more than fifty years, had four daughters and one son. The rich dowry that Martha brought into her marriage made her husband a wealthy man. Franz von Papen, who tried to get his father-in-law recognized, who among the officers only valued the general staff members, decided to attend the Prussian War Academy and pursue a career in general staff. The connection between Martha and Franz von Papen played a decisive role in laying the foundation for Papen's successful military and thus the prerequisites for his later career as a politician and diplomat.
After the First World War Martha von Papen initially lived on a leased estate in Merfeld in Westphalia before the family moved to the Wallerfangen estate in Saarland in 1929 , which Martha von Papen had inherited from an uncle at that time.
During her husband's tenure as German head of government from June to December 1932, Martha von Papen performed numerous representative functions as the “first woman in the state”. From 1932 to 1934 she lived with him in the heart of Berlin's government district on Wilhelmstrasse and later on Lennéstrasse. From 1934 to 1944 she accompanied him to his post as German envoy or ambassador in Vienna and Ankara .
In contrast to her husband, Martha von Papen refused to allow the NSDAP to participate in government at the turn of the year 1932/1933 and considered her husband's efforts in this regard to be a mistake. She was known among foreign diplomats for despising and loathing Hitler and for categorically refusing to give the Hitler salute - even in the presence of the dictator.
Martha von Papen was lady of the Knightly Order of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem . It was on 20th August 1933 in Jerusalem by Filippo Cardinal Camassei in the Equestrian Order of the Holy grave in Jerusalem invested .
progeny
From Boch-Galhaus's marriage to Franz von Papen, the son Friedrich Franz von Papen (1911–1983) and the daughters Marie Antoinette Martha Michaela (1906–1993), Margaretha (1908–1995), Isabella (1914–2008) and Stefanie ( * June 14, 1919 in Haus Merfeldt, Dülmen; † March 3, 2016 in Mas de Laval, Collias).
literature
- Rainer Ort: "The official seat of the opposition"? Politics and state restructuring plans in the office of the Deputy Chancellor from 1933–1934, Böhlau, Cologne 2016.
- Martha Schad : Women against Hitler: Fates under National Socialism . Heyne Verlag , Munich 2001, ISBN 3-453-19420-9 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Marcel Haldenwang: The Cabinets Von Papen and Von Schleicher . P. 4
- ↑ DER SPIEGEL 20/1955: Franz von Papen
- ↑ Christian Hungerhoff: Franz von Papen and the Roehm purge . P. 4
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Papen, Martha von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Papen, Martha Oktavia Marie von (full name); Boch-Galhau, Martha von (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German wife of Franz von Papen |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 28, 1880 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mettlach |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 18, 1961 |
| Place of death | Obersasbach |