Aline Mayrisch de Saint-Hubert née de Saint-Hubert (22 August 1874 – 20 January 1947) was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

campaigner, socialite, philanthropist. Mayrisch established many non-governmental organisations and was President of the Luxembourg Red Cross. She married

Émile Mayrisch Jacob Émile Albert Mayrisch (10 October 1862 – 5 March 1928) was a Luxembourgian industrialist and businessman. He served as president of Arbed. He was married to Aline Mayrisch de Saint-Hubert, Aline de Saint-Hubert, who was a famous women' ...

Life

Saint-Hubert was the daughter of Xavier de Saint-Hubert, and sister of Jeanne de Saint-Hubert, who had married

Xavier Brasseur François Xavier Brasseur (19 October 1865 – 4 July 1912) was a Luxembourgian politician and jurist. Brasseur was educated at the Athénée de Luxembourg, graduating in 1884. Afterwards, he studied law, graduating on 17 June 1890, and began pra ...

the previous year (and would marry Brasseur's cousin,

Robert Brasseur Robert Brasseur (19 November 1870 – 15 February 1934) was a Luxembourgish politician, jurist, and journalist. Born in Luxembourg, Brasseur was educated at the Athénée de Luxembourg, before studying law at University of Strasbourg and in Paris ( ...

, in 1914).Mersch (1963), p. 471 She married the industrialist

, who would become President of the steel giant

Arbed The Aciéries Réunies de Burbach-Eich-Dudelange ( French; literally "United Steelworks of Burbach-Eich-Dudelange"), better known by its acronym ARBED, was a major Luxembourg-based steel and iron producing company. Created in 1911 after the merge ...

, on 15 September 1894. Together, they lived in

Dudelange Dudelange (; lb, Diddeleng , german: Düdelingen) is a commune with town status in southern Luxembourg. It is the fourth-most populous commune, with 19,734 inhabitants. Dudelange is situated close to the border with France. , the town of Dudela ...

. The first of many organisations that she set up was the ' League for the Defence of the Women's Interests' (french: l'Association pour la Défense des Intérêts de la Femme) in 1905.Mersch (1963), p. 471 Saint-Hubert offered the patronage to Hereditary Grand Duchess Marie-Adelaide, but she declined, as a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

feminist organisation was due to be set up. The league's main purposes was to seek the establishment of public girls' schools, which gained momentum with the League's creation of the associated Association for the Creation of a School for Young Girls. This campaign achieved success in 1911 when the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

unanimously voted to establish publicly funded girls' schools in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...

and

Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (; lb, Esch-Uelzecht ; german: Esch an der Alzette or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is the second city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the country's second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies ...

.Mersch (1963), p. 472 At the same time, Mayrisch persuaded a group of other prominent Luxembourgian ladies to establish the Association of Girl Guides. She was active in work for charitable organisations such as the Luxembourgish League against Tuberculosis, and the Luxembourgish Red Cross, as well as advocating for the professionalisation of social work. On the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Saint-Hubert set up a hospital near Dudelange, for the aid of servicemen of either side. After the war, she played a key role in setting up the Luxembourgian League Against Tuberculosis, of which she was Vice-President. She and her husband Émile were the main donors to the League and her other endeavours over the years. She soon became involved in the Luxembourg Red Cross, being appointed a member of its administrative council in 1926, Vice-President after the death of Émile in 1928, and President in 1933.Mersch (1963), p. 473 She and her husband moved to Colpach in 1920, and after the war they received many German and French intellectuals here under the name of ''Cercle de Colpach'', such as

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

Jean Guéhenno Jean Guéhenno born Marcel-Jules-Marie Guéhenno (25 March 1890 – 22 September 1978) was a French essayist, writer and literary critic. Life and career Jean Guéhenno, writer and educator, was a prominent contributor to the NRF. He was edito ...

Jacques Rivière Jacques Rivière (15 July 1886 – 14 February 1925) was a French "man of letters" — a writer, critic and editor who was "a major force in the intellectual life of France in the period immediately following World War I". He edited the ...

Karl Jaspers Karl Theodor Jaspers (, ; 23 February 1883 – 26 February 1969) was a German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher who had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry, and philosophy. After being trained in and practicing psychiatry, Jasper ...

Bernard Groethuysen Bernard Groethuysen (9 September 1880 – 17 September 1946) was a French writer and philosopher. His works, which transgressed the confines of history and sociology, concern the history of mentalities and representations and the interpretation ...

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the Symbolism (arts), symbolist movement, to the advent o ...

, Jean Schlumberger,

Ernst Robert Curtius Ernst Robert Curtius (; 14 April 1886 – 19 April 1956) was a German literary scholar, philologist, and Romance language literary critic, best known for his 1948 study ''Europäische Literatur und Lateinisches Mittelalter'', translated in Eng ...

Annette Kolb Annette Kolb (pseudonym of Anna Mathilde Kolb; born February 3, 1870 in Munich; died December 3, 1967 in Munich) was a German author and pacifist. She became active in pacifist causes during World War I and this caused her political difficulti ...

and

Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi Richard Nikolaus Eijiro, Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi (16 November 1894 – 27 July 1972) was an Austrian-Japanese politician, philosopher and Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi. A pioneer of European integration, he served as the founding president of ...

. They turned their old house in Dudelange into a home for children, the ''Fondation Kreuzberg''. During World War II, she lived in

Cabris Cabris is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department The following is a list of the 163 communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department of France. The ...

in the south of France.

Art and literature

Aline Mayrisch had a great interest in arts and literature and saw herself as a mediator between the German and French cultural worlds. From 1898, she published articles on German painters and literary criticisms, amongst others on '' L'Immoraliste'' by André Gide, in the Belgian

avant-gardist The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or 'vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, Wikt:radical#Adjective, radical, or unorthodox with respect to The arts, art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Av ...

review ''L'Art moderne''. She maintained friendships and correspondences with numerous writers and intellectuals, such as André Gide, Jean Schlumberger, Jacques Rivière,

Henri Michaux Henri Michaux (; 24 May 1899 – 19 October 1984) was a Belgian-born French poet, writer and painter. Michaux is renowned for his strange, highly original poetry and prose, and also for his art: the Paris Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim ...

, Marie and

Théo van Rysselberghe Théophile "Théo" van Rysselberghe (23 November 1862 – 13 December 1926) was a Belgian neo-impressionist painter, who played a pivotal role in the European art scene at the turn of the twentieth century. Biography Early years Born i ...

Marie Delcourt Marie Delcourt (Ixelles, 18 November 1891 – Liège, 11 February 1979) was a Belgian classical philologist. She studied at the University of Liège (ULg), and obtained a PhD in classical philology in 1919. Under the German occupation of Belgium du ...

, Alexis Curvers, Annette Kolb, Gertrude Eysoldt, Ernst Robert Curtius and Bernhard Groethuysen. In 1914, she accompanied André Gide and

Henri Ghéon Henri Ghéon (15 March 1875 – 13 June 1944), born Henri Vangeon in Bray-sur-Seine, Seine-et-Marne, was a French playwright, novelist, poet and critic. Biography Brought up by a devout Roman Catholic mother, he lost his faith in his early teens ...

to Turkey and in 1927, she travelled to the

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...

and the

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

with Ernst Robert Curtius. In Colpach Castle, she arranged Franco-German encounters at which André Gide could meet

Walther Rathenau Walther Rathenau (29 September 1867 – 24 June 1922) was a German industrialist, writer and liberal politician. During the First World War of 1914–1918 he was involved in the organization of the German war economy. After the war, Rathenau s ...

and Ernst Robert Curtius. Aline Mayrisch also introduced André Gide to the texts of

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...

, and in publishing an article on Rilke in the ''Nouvelle Revue Française'', she helped find a French public for the German writer. It was in this same review that she published articles on the intellectual situation in Germany after the First World War, as well as her autobiographical travel account ''Paysages de la trentième année'', which, starting in the island sceneries of Corsica and Iceland, evoked the confrontation with emptiness, absurdity and nothingness. Her unfinished novel ''Andrée Reimenkampf'' has not been preserved for posterity. In collaboration with Marie Delcourt and Bernhard Groethuysen, Aline Mayrisch also translated the sermons of the medieval mystic

Meister Eckhart Eckhart von Hochheim ( – ), commonly known as Meister Eckhart, Master EckhartAlbert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

. In the 1930s, Aline Mayrisch financially supported the exile publication ''Maß und Wert,'' edited by

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...

. The following works were dedicated to Aline Mayrisch: ''Das literarische Frankreich von Heute'' by Frantz Clément, ''Les Cahiers de la Petite Dame'' by Marie van Rysselberghe and ''La vie d'Euripide'' by Marie Delcourt.

Legacy

The

Lycée Aline Mayrisch The Lycée Aline Mayrisch is a high school in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is located on Campus Geesseknäppchen, along with several other educational institutions, most of which, including the Lycée Aline Mayrisch, is in the quart ...

, open in 2001 in

, the city in which she was born, is named after her.

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayrisch De Saint-Hubert, Aline Luxembourgian philanthropists Luxembourgian socialites Luxembourgian feminists 1874 births 1947 deaths People from Luxembourg City Luxembourgian women's rights activists 19th-century Luxembourgian women Catholic feminists