April 11, 2021 marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Auguste Victoria, the last German empress. She was 62 and lived in exile in the Netherlands with her husband Wilhelm II.
Who was Auguste Victoria?
I have to admit that I never paid much attention to Kaiser Wilhelm’s wife who grew up far away from the court in Berlin and was not readily accepted. She was born on October 22nd, 1858 in Dolzig in the Lausitz (Lusatia) as Princess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. Her education consisted of languages, piano, court etiquette, and religion.
When her family was invited to the court in Potsdam near Berlin, it seems that Prince Wilhelm fell in love with the quiet and pious Auguste and eventually they were allowed to marry in 1881. They lived a relatively quiet life, though Wilhelm ‘escaped’ from married life every once in a while and even had an affair. 1888 is called the “Drei Kaiser Jahr“ (Three Emperors Year) because Kaiser Wilhelm I died, shortly thereafter his heir, the new Kaiser Friedrich III, also died, making Wilhelm Emperor Wilhelm II, and Auguste Victoria Empress.
Becoming an Empress
She adjusted to the role as Empress and mother of the people relatively quickly. In her new role she saw it as her religious obligation to help the poor and especially the women. She founded the Evangelische Frauenhilfe where women were educated about infant and childcare. Being a devoted and hands-on mother of seven children it was important to her that children were properly taken care of and that the high infant mortality was lowered.
Auguste also helped built new churches in Berlin so there would be more pastors to take care of the many people who flocked to the city to find work in the factories. She would often donate a Bible with a dedication and a Bible quote (see photo below). But while she thought of it as her duty to help the less fortunate she never doubted the social order or the monarchy which she perceived as God given.
Auguste Victoria was also a devoted wife and did everything in her power to calm and support her husband when he started to doubt himself, especially during World War I, when it became clear that the Germans would not only not win quickly but not win at all. She was a staunch believer in the monarchy and was opposed to any kind of democratic concessions.
Things named after her
In 1890, rose breeder Peter Lambert of Trier cultivated a white hybrid tea rose that he named after the Empress “Kaiserin Auguste Victoria”.
Hapag stands for “Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft” (Hamburg American package voyage stock company/corporation) and it was founded in May of 1847 by 41 merchants.
The trade between America and Europe had been booming since the beginning of the 19th century, but not just goods and mail was being transported across the Atlantic, also many emigrants who were looking for a new life on the American continent.
The city of Bremen was the most important trading partner in Germany for the US, but when Bremen planned to take over the mail business, Hamburg reacted and founded the Hapag.
Three Hapag ships started taking goods, mail, and passengers across the big pond from Hamburg to New York on a regular basis. They had around 15-17 staff members, 20 passengers cabins, and room for another 200 people between-decks. There was also storage space for luggage, goods, and packages and other mail. From the beginning the focus was on the passenger as a customer. Even for the cheaper tickets, Hapag aimed to make the journey comfortable but still affordable by avoiding unnecessary luxury.
It is maybe not surprising that in the coming years, Hapag expanded its fleet, got involved in the trade in South America and South East Asia, and offered what could be considered the first cruises, traveling from harbor to harbor in the Mediterranean. One of these ocean liners was named after the Empress Augusta Victoria, another was called Prinzessin Victoria Luise, the daughter of Wilhelm and Auguste Victoria.
More about Auguste Victoria
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Thank you for this enlightening report, I did not know anything.about the last empress, having been born and raised during Hitler’s regime. Thank you again .
Hi Anne, thank you for your comment. I have to say I didn’t really know much about her either until I started researching.