Karoline (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: Chaile) Kaulla née Raphael, known foremost as 'Madame Kaulla' or '"Kiefe" Auerbacher' (1739, in Buchau am Federsee – 18 March 1809, in

Hechingen Hechingen ( Swabian: ''Hächenga'') is a town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about south of the state capital of Stuttgart and north of Lake Constance and the Swiss border. Geography The town lies at the foot of t ...

), was a German banker. She was one of the most famous

Court Jew In the early modern period, a court Jew, or court factor (german: Hofjude, Hoffaktor; yi, היף איד, Hoyf Id, קאַורט פאַקטאַר, ''Kourt Faktor''), was a Jewish banker who handled the finances of, or lent money to, European, main ...

s of her time, and reputed to have been the richest woman in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Life

Early life

Karoline Kaulla was the daughter of the banker Yitzchak (Isaak) Raphael and Rifka Wasserman. She was the sister of Raphael Kaulla. Her father was Court Jew for the house of

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...

. In 1757, she married Akiva Auerbach.

Business career

In 1768, Karoline Kaulla was appointed court factor to the court of

Fürstenberg Fürstenberg (also Fuerstenberg and Furstenberg) may refer to: Historical states * Fürstenberg-Baar, county (1441–1559) * Fürstenberg-Blumberg, county (1559–1614) * Fürstenberg-Donaueschingen, county (1617–1698) * Fürstenberg-Fürsten ...

of Donaueschingen. She provided the court in Donaueschingen with horses, silver, jewellery and other expensive goods. In 1770, she became court factor for the Duke of Wuerttemberg in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

.Chaile Raphael Kaulla in ''Jewish Women Encyclopedia''
/ref> She functioned as the treasurer at the Royal

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

Court, and leader of the Trading House Kaulla in

. She was a co-founder of the Royal Württemberg Court Bank, which after many fusions resulted in the

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

in the 1920s. She is reputed to have been a beautiful, impressive woman, praised for the welfare, her care for the poor regardless of religion, and her works for the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community in Hechingen. In 1808, Karoline Kaulla was awarded the honor of the Civil-Verdienst-Medaille with golden chain, presented to her by Emperor

Franz I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-L ...

, as a recognition of her financial contributions to the Imperial army. The golden chain is now displayed at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

historic museum in Jerusalem.

References

External links

Karoline Kaulla, Banker
(

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

)
Karoline-Kaulla-Weg, a street in Stuttgart

Guide to the Papers of the Kaulla Family
Court Jews 18th-century German Jews People from Biberach (district) People from Hechingen 1739 births 1809 deaths 18th-century German businesswomen 19th-century German businesswomen {{Jewish-hist-stub