Engelbertha Stroebele

Engelbertha Stroebele (13 Jun 1854-27 Jan 1911), was a German born immigrant to the United States of America. Author David Stroebel suggests that she was a member of Germany's prominent Krupp 400-year-old steel and munitions dynasty (Known today as ThyssenKrupp AG) of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany that became famous for their steel and munitions production, especially during 1870's Franco-Prussian War when they handed Germany a decisive victory over France with their superior cannons, obliterating Napoleon III's French Army. According to Stroebel, who is a descendant of Engelbertha Stroebele, she was the daughter of Alfred Krupp (1812-1887) and Bertha Eichhoff (1831-1888). Stroebel contents that Engelbertha Krupp was banished and disinherited from her dynasty family for disobeying her father and marrying a poor, Catholic shoemaker employed at the Krupp estate in Essen. Stroebel's claims are disputed by the Krupp family estate.
As Engelbertha Stroebele's supposed brother, Friedrich Alfred Krupp, was born only three months earlier than Engelbertha, the story of Engelbertha's life itself might be true. The relationship to her supposed parents seems very unlikely.
Early life
Engelbertha Stroebele was allegedly banished and disinherited from her Krupp dynasty family around the year 1874 by her father, Alfred Krupp. Her brother was Friedrich Alfred Krupp, who ran the firm from 1887 until his death in 1902. It is believed Engelbertha was born on June 13, 1854, in Essen. Her very existence was believed by some of her descendants to have been removed from the memory of her family and from the church records by her father, where it is believed she was baptized.
Claimed to be born into Germany’s most successful and infamous steel and armament manufactures, Engelbertha Stroebele became romantically involved with John Joseph Stroebele, a poor shoemaker and veteran of the Franco-Prussian War who was born in Veringenstadt, Baden-Wurttemberg, and later resided in Mengen. His father, also named John Stroebele, was a teacher in Rosna, Baden-Wuerttemberg, who died in 1848. His mother, Walburga Staudinger Stroebele, died from tuberculosis (TB) in 1852. It is not known who raised John Stroebele and his three siblings Adolf, Otto and Emma after the deaths of his parents when he was nine years of age. Brother Otto immigrated to Blossburg, Pennsylvania in 1866 then moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, then finally Jersey City, New Jersey, where he was reunited with his brother John Stroebele in December 1882. John Stroebele became employed at Villa Hügel, the Krupp estate in Essen after demobilizing from the Prussian Army after seeing combat as an Infantry Officer in the Battle of the Lisaine, France from 15-17 January 1871. It was at Villa Hügel that he met Engelbertha Krupp.
Banishment revelations
Engelbertha Stroebele's alleged banishment went unrecorded by her German family. A total of 15 "revelations" passed down through six relatives within the Stroebele family support this banishment theory. John Stroebele and Engelbertha Stroebele fell in love and intended to marry. When Engelbertha announced her marriage intentions, they were against it and she was warned by her father that if she did, she would lose her inheritance and be cut off from the family forever. When she proceeded with her plans to marry Stroebele, it is believed her father immediately disinherited her. Their son, Friedrich became the sole heir upon the death of his father in July 1887. These 15 revelations encompass: revelations regarding events in Germany, Jersey City, and Albany, New York, supporting the banishment. The latest revelation came in January 2013 from a distant relative living in Florida concerning Kaiser Wilhelm I.
German inheritance law
Friedrich becoming sole heir violated German law that forbade an inheritance to be transferred to just one child of a family while there were other living children. During the timeframe when Engelbertha Stroebele was banished and disinherited (1874) there existed a set of laws titled, [http://translate.google.com/translate?slauto&tlen&jsn&prev_t&hlen&ieUTF-8&eotf1&uhttp%3A%2F%2Fra.smixx.de%2FLinks-F-R%2FPrALR%2Fpralr.html&act=url General Law of Prussia of 1793] (English translation) and (German language) . The section covering inheritance is Third Title- Of the Rights and Obligations of the Other Members of a Family (English translation) and Of the Rights and Obligations of the Other Members of a Family (German language). German law has not changed much since then. Today in Germany it is still illegal to leave an entire inheritance to just one child when there were others. An inheritance must be divided equitably between surviving children.
Passing of inheritance
Friedrich Krupp had two daughters named Bertha and Barbara Krupp in 1886 and 1887, respectively. Engelbertha gave birth to three sons in the town of Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, named John, Adolph, and Otto in 1876, 1879, and 1882, respectively. With the sudden death of Friedrich in 1902 at the age of forty-eight, he had no male heir to succeed him. His daughter, Bertha was chosen to be the sole heiress, but sister Barbara received her half of the inheritance in the form of a payment. But at age sixteen, Bertha required a man of business experience to manage the operations of the Krupp works. Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach was the man she married through an arranged marriage by Kaiser Wilhelm II who would run Krupp. He would also be allowed to use the Krupp last name.
Impact of banishment
It has been suggested by author David Stroebel that the banishment of Engelbertha Stroebele had a lasting impact on German history. Her banishment left brother Friedrich as the sole heir while she was shut-out of any inheritance at all-a violation of German Inhertiance Law then and now. Ultimately, it set the stage for Friedrich's daughter, Bertha to inherit the Krupp works in 1902, marry Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach in an arranged marriage by Emperor Wilhelm II and give birth to Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, who was convicted at the Nuremberg Trials for crimes against humanity after World War II. It was Gustav, not his wife Bertha, who aligned the Krupp works with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party and greatly expanded the global reach of Hitler’s war machine and who used force slave labor from the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in the Berthawerk factory nearest it.
Discovery of photograph
A discovery was made by author Stroebel in 2009 of what may be the only photograph to exist of Engelbertha Krupp with her parents and brother, Friedrich. The photograph titled, Krupp Family with Friends, appears on page 209 in the book by the late Klaus Tenfelde titled, Pictures of Krupp: Photography and History in the Industrial Age. The photograph shows a remarkably strong resemblance to both parents Bertha and Alfred Krupp, but the caption identifies the young girl as Clara Bruch, but this theory was debunked by English conductor and classical music historian and musicologist Christopher Fifield of London, author of the book, Max Bruch: His Life and Works. It is the author's opinion that the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation has been unable to account for this young girl.
Third Krupp family line
When Engelbertha Stroebele emigrated from Germany in March 1883 it left Germany with only her brother Friedrich to carry on the Krupp name and family line. Friedrich's two daughters married men named von Wilmosky and von Bohlen und Halbach, but there was a third Krupp family descendant line living quietly and unnoticed in the United States, and it was the Stroebele family in Jersey City. When John and Engelbertha arrived in Jersey City they were a family of five. Today, there are approximately 50-60 surviving descendants of John and Engelbertha..

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu