Sophie von Hatzfeldt

Sophie Gräfin von Hatzfeldt, born Gräfin von Hatzfeldt-Schönstein zu Trachenberg, was born on 10 August 1805 in Trachenberg (Lower Silesia) and died on 25 January 1881 in Wiesbaden. She was active in the German working-class movement and partner and confidante of Ferdinand Lassalle.[1]

Sophie Gräfin von Hatzfeldt

Early life

She was the daughter of Prussian general Franz Ludwig von Hatzfeldt zu Trachenberg (1756−1827)[2] and Countess Friederike Karoline von der Schulenburg (1779–1832), a daughter of the Prussian minister to the General Directorate Friedrich Wilhelm von Schulenburg-Kehnert. His older sister, Countess Luise von Hatzfeldt was the wife of Prussian General Ludwig Freiherr Roth von Schreckenstein, the Minister of War.[3] Among her other siblings was brother Prince Hermann Anton von Hatzfeldt and sister Maximilian von Hatzfeldt. From Prince Hermann's second marriage to Countess Marie von Nimptsch, she was aunt to Prince Hermann von Hatzfeldt, who represented the Deutsche Reichspartei in the Reichstag. She grew up in the Hatzfeld Palace and in Berlin.[1]

The Hatzfeld Palace c. 1860, edition by Alexander Duncker

Life

In 1822, Sophie was forced to marry her cousin, Edmund Fürst von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg with whom she had three children (including Paul von Hatzfeldt, who was Ambassador to London and Constantinople, Foreign Secretary, and Head of the Foreign Office).[4] the marriage was unhappy as her husband was controlling her money and her movements.[1] They separated in 1833.[1]

In a long and relentless lawsuit to reach a divorce of the unhappy marriage and fight for her rights as an independent woman,[1] she was represented by Ferdinand Lassalle (1825-1864) who saw the process as a fight against injustice in general. Her house in Düsseldorf became an important meeting point of activists during the March revolution in 1848, Karl Marx among them,[5] and Sophie herself became an independent and politically active woman.[1]

After Lassalle's death in 1864, seeing herself as the one responsible to continue his work,[5] she published his unpublished writings and was active in the Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein (ADAV) that had been founded by Lasalle - even though she was not allowed to become a member under Prussian law. In 1867, she founded an ADAV splinter group, the Lassallescher Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein (LADAV).[1] After a lack of political success, she retired from politics and died in 1881.[1]

Even though she did not succeed in implementing Lassalle's views as the ones that would further guide the working-class movement, she was highly appreciated by many workers and left her trace in the movement.[5]

See also

References
  1. Küntzel, Astrid. "Sophie von Hatzfeldt". Internetportal Rheinische Geschichte. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  2. Roberts, Andrew (2014). Napoleon: A Life. Penguin. p. 361. ISBN 978-0-698-17628-7. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  3. Marx, Karl (2019). The Political Writings. Verso Books. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-78873-688-6. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  4. "Count Paul von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg". www.npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  5. Koch, Gabriele. "Sophie Gräfin von Hatzfeldt". www.fembio.org. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
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