Pauline of Württemberg (1854–1914)

Pauline von Württemberg with child

Pauline Mathilde Ida von Württemberg (married Pauline Willim ) (born April 11, 1854 in Lippstadt ; † April 24, 1914 in Breslau ) came from the House of Württemberg , married civilly and was also known as the "Red Princess" because of her social democratic commitment.

Life

She was the daughter of the later Prussian general of the cavalry Eugen Erdmann von Württemberg (1820–1875) from a branch line of the Württemberg royal family and Princess Mathilde zu Schaumburg-Lippe (1818–1891).

She met the doctor Dr. Melchior know Willim when he was treating her mother and fell in love with her. King Karl von Württemberg agreed to the marriage under certain conditions. So she had to do without name, stand and title. A short time before the wedding in 1880, she was named von Kirbach. She had several children with her husband.

She got involved early on for working-class families in need, supported social democracy and was active for the party and the women's movement. This earned her the name "Red Princess". In 1909 she officially joined the SPD after the change in the law on associations had allowed women to join political parties. She actively participated in the life of the party in Wroclaw and also supported it materially. The contemporary party press described their appearance as "a little eccentric."

After her death, she was honored with a long funeral procession of social democratic women and workers in Wroclaw. Because the police had threatened to confiscate red ribbon bows and, at the request of the relatives, to refrain from this political demonstration, the coffin was decorated with a black and red ribbon, the colors of the House of Württemberg. Luise Zietz , among others, spoke at a funeral after the funeral .

literature

• Harald Schukraft: A Brief History of the House of Württemberg. Tübingen 2006, p. 243f.

Web links

• Entry on Sozialdemokratie1914.de
• Short entry on leo-bw.de
• Archives in the Baden-Württemberg State Archives