In
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, it was practiced to marry the pregnant fiancée of a fallen soldier to his dead body in order to legalize, otherwise out of wedlock, the child and provide a bride with benefits of being a soldier widow.
History
The possibility to marry a dead soldier was introduced by secret letter of Adolf Hitler from Nov 6, 1941. The legality of such a marriages was recognized by the British Occupation Forces in Germany, especially in Hamburg, where they were legally practised until Feb 28, 1946 and outside Hamburg until March 31, 1946.
The letter was legally discussed in the Palandt:Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch page 1912. The situation of the widows were regulated by the
Gesetz über die Rechtswirkungen des Ausspruchs einer nachträglichen Eheschliessung — BGBl. I S 215.
Notable examples
*
Franz Kutschera was married to a Norwegian woman after his death.
[https://whu.org.pl/2015/06/29/martwy-pan-mlody-teodora-zukowska Dead Bridegroom by Teodora Żukowska]
See also
*
Posthumous marriage in France
Posthumous marriage in France is legal but must be approved by several civil servants and the family of the deceased. France is one of the few countries in which it is legal to marry a partner posthumously.
Origins
A few women were married by ...
*
Chinese ghost marriage
In Chinese tradition, a ghost marriage () is a marriage in which one or both parties are deceased. Stockard, Janice E. ''Daughters of the Canton Delta'' Other forms of ghost marriage are practiced worldwide, notably in France since 1959 (see po ...
References
Posthumous marriage
Marriage in Germany
{{Nazi Germany-stub