Carolat Beiten, Elizabeth Zu

Countess Elizabeth von Hatzfeldt was born in the first marriage of Prince Herman Anton von Hatzfeldt zu Trachenberg (1808–1874) and Countess Matilda von Reichenbach-Goschütz, divorced by Countess Goetzen (1799–1858). Elizabeth grew up in her father's estate in Lower Silesia , was brought up in the Catholic religion and played a big role in the public life of Berlin . Philip zu Eilenburg described her as a delightful woman who attracted numerous representatives of the court circles. Like many others, Eilenburg himself in his youth was in love with the countess.

Attractive and witty Elizabeth von Gatzfeldt was popular in Berlin salons and was known for her penchant for gambling, it was rumored that in one evening she had lost the legacy she had just received of 110 thousand thalers. The unfortunate affair with Count Herbert von Bismarck, the eldest son of Reich Chancellor Otto von Bismarck was at the center of the political positional struggle at the Prussian court. After a divorce in 1881 and a break with Count Bismarck, Elizabeth zu Carolat-Beiten lived in Venice, where she died six months before the outbreak of World War I.

Herbert von Bismarck met Princess Elizabeth when she had been married for several years to a member of the Silesian estate assembly and to the Reichstag deputy Karl zu Karolat-Beiten. Bismarck fell in love with the princess, who was ten years older than him. According to contemporaries, she became a great love in the life of the usually harsh Herbert. A stormy romance between Elizabeth and Herbert began in 1879, in April 1881, Elizabeth divorced her husband to marry Bismarck, who hastened to announce the wedding in the light. Philip zu Eilenburg, who was on friendly terms with both and, nevertheless, a welcome guest at the senior Bismarck, played an important role as an intermediary in this love story.

The desire of the son to tie the knot with the princess came up against the decisive and fierce resistance of the senior Bismarck. In his opinion, which was supported by others, there were several circumstances that prevented marriage. Elizabeth was a Catholic and divorced woman, which was completely unacceptable in a Prussian Protestant court society. The age difference was also egregious. In addition, Bismarck also made other claims that were clearly personal in nature and exacerbated the tense situation: Princess Elizabeth came from the Gatsfeldt-Trachenberg family, which Bismarck hated for their moderately liberal views. The elder sister of the bride Herbert Francis was married to a Catholic, Adjutant General Walter von Lohe, who opposed Bismarck during the Kulturkampfa period and vigorously defended the relationship between Elizabeth and Herbert. The sworn enemy of the “iron chancellor” was also the half-sister Elizabeth Countess Maria von Schleinitz , whose Berlin salon from the 60s served as the meeting place of the liberal front against Bismarck.

In the spring of 1881, the love story, which was fussed about by all of Berlin, reached its climax. Opposition newspaper Vossische Zeitung published an ironic note stating that Reichstag deputy Prince Karolat-Beiten had applied for a long vacation, which he would spend on his estate, Princess Karolat arrived in Sicily in Messina , and Earl Herbert Bismarck left Berlin some time ago. unconfirmed reports went on a special mission to Italy.

In fact, court society has long been aware of a romance between Herbert and Elizabeth. The princess filed for divorce, which clearly put Herbert in front of the need to make a decision. When Herbert requested permission for marriage from his father, whose subordinate he was as an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a scandal erupted in the Bismarck House. The Chancellor stamped his feet and threatened his son with the deprivation of inheritance and the transfer of the rights of his eldest son to his younger brother Wilhelm, which would leave Herbert without a means of subsistence. As Herbert told his friend Eilenburg, Bismarck Sr. even threatened his son with suicide if the princess took his last name.

In May 1881, Princess Elizabeth went to Venice, Herbert wanted to follow her, but his father announced that he would follow him and would call the princess to the answer that he would put the chancellor in a ridiculous position, especially in the eyes of the liberal press. According to Eilenburg, the chancellor knew for sure that Herbert would never allow this. Herbert surrendered, Elizabeth, disappointed by his weakness, interrupted correspondence with him and lived until the end of her life in the Palazzo Modena on the Reggio Canal in Venice. Forced to step on his own feelings, Herbert von Bismarck broke his life, began to drink and struggled to cope with bouts of anger. The princess was subjected to public contempt. Members of the public critical of the chancellor suggested that such a fierce, hysterical speech by the chancellor against the marriage of his son with Princess Elizabeth could be explained by the desire of Otto von Bismarck to see his son as his successor as chancellor and marry him to the Prussian princess, possibly the daughter of Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm .

On April 23, 1866, Elizabeth von Gatzfeldt married Prince Karl Ludwig Erdman Ferdinand zu Karolat-Beiten (1845-1912). The marriage was dissolved in 1881. The couple had a daughter, Princess Carolina Elizabeth Octavia Sibylla Margarita von Schöneich-Karolat (1867-1912), who in 1894 married Count Hans von Konigsmark (1865-1943).

• Philipp zu Eulenburg-Hertefeld, Herbert Bismarcks Tragödie , in: Aus fünfzig Jahren , Berlin 1923, S. 81-107.
• Bernhard von Bülow, Denkwürdigkeiten , Bd. 4, Berlin 1931.
• Louis Leo Snyder, Political Implications of Herbert von Bismarck's Marital Affairs, 1881, 1892 , in: The Journal of Modern History , Bd. 36/2 (Juni 1964), S. 155-169.