Talk:Princess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1888–1913)

Jewish religion?

"Von Bleichröder's religion (Judaism) also played a factor in their decision."

Hans von Bleichröder was the son of Gerson von Bleichröder, a leading 19th century banker who became famous as financial adviser to German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

According to German Wikipedia, Hans von Bleichröder converted (perhaps nominally) to Protestant Christianity:

Sein erstgeborener Sohn Hans von Bleichröder hielt im Gegensatz zum Vater dem antisemitischen Druck nicht stand und ließ sich taufen.

Sca (talk) 17:03, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

• I found two articles that make a point of stating his religion (which they claim is Judaism). One in The Washington Post ("Has A Will Of Her Own", 14 June 1913), and Marlene Eilers Koenig's royal website. Ruby2010 (talk) 20:50, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

I don't know, but the German Wiki article clearly says he "allowed himself to be baptized" (sich taufen lassen) Sca (talk) 01:20, 12 September 2010 (UTC)

¶ I have been unable to find an article about Princess Sophie in the German Wikipedia !!! Therefore I found no such item that suggests that young von Bleichroeder was willing to convert from Judaism !! Sussmanbern (talk) 18:35, 19 November 2016 (UTC)

There seems to be no doubt that von Bleichroeder was (a) Jewish and (b) a banker, in fact, prior to these 1913 events he had worked on Wall Street. His family's religion (perhaps independent of any willingness of his own to convert) appears to have been a major stumbling block in the marriage altho not perhaps entirely to the Princess's parents. Bleichroeder was considerably more prosperous than the Saxe-Weimar family, which had been going through a couple of rough decades; the Princess's father was just getting by on a sort of monthly pension (appanage) received from the Grand Duke Ernst of Saxe-Weimer-Eisenach (a cousin, who may have had his own designs on Sophie). Sophie's brother had been coerced into giving up his royal titles because of some scandal a few years earlier. At one point the Princess's father had even borrowed money from von Bleichroeder's family. Evidently the marriage with the Baron required the permission of the Kaiser, which was not too difficult, but also that of Grand Duke Ernst of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, who was the principal source of their family's financial allowance, and who insisted that Sophie give up her royal title before she married Bleichroeder - which Sophie refused to do. The Grand Duke's hostility may have been partly because of the Judaism (he seems to have made a point of NOT mentioning it) but also partly because the von Bleichroeder family had only recently gotten the Baronial title at all and because Hans von Bleichroeder was actively engaged in business as a banker and was not one of the idle aristocracy (and because, being a wealthy non-royal, it looked too much to the Grand Duke like he was trying to buy his way into royalty by marriage with the Grand Duke's poor relation). Because she refused to give up the title of Princess and her family name, she was not allowed to marry Bleichroeder, and this was not so much her parents' decision as it was the Grand Duke's - but her father was so dependent on the Grand Duke for his appanage (a sort of royal allowance) that they didn't dare go against him. It appears that, after her suicide, her father was willing to issue a brief public statement that made him look like the hard-hearted parent rather than spread the blame anywhere else. Sophie may well have been the first royal woman in Europe to be cremated (reducing her to an urn may have resolved certain problems about the burial of someone from an aristocratic Christian family who had been engaged to a Jew, or, considering she had put the gun to her head, the usual embalming was impractical). Sussmanbern (talk) 15:38, 19 November 2016 (UTC)