Eleonore Schönborn

Eleonore Gräfin von Schönborn (née Freiin[lower-alpha 1] von Doblhoff; 14 April 1920 – 25 February 2022) was an Austrian politician. She and her family were expelled from Czechoslovakia in 1945, settling in Austria. She became the first woman to hold a procuriate in Vorarlberg, and to be elected to the Schruns municipal council. She was director of the Montafoner Heimatmuseum, and co-founded an association for care of senior citizens at their homes. Schönborn had four children, including Cardinal Christoph Schönborn and the actor Michael Schönborn. She received awards for her work for cultural and social improvements in the region, including the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria.

Eleonore Schönborn
Born
Eleonore Freiin von Doblhoff

(1920-04-14)14 April 1920
Brno, Czechoslovakia
Died25 February 2022(2022-02-25) (aged 101)
Schruns, Austria
Spouse
Hugo-Damian Schönborn
​
​
(m. 1942; div. 1958)​
Children4, including Christoph and Michael
Parent(s)Baron Herbert von Doblhoff
Gertrud von Skutezky
FamilyDoblhoff (by birth)
Schönborn (by marriage)
Awards

Life and career

Eleonore Freiin von Doblhoff was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, the youngest daughter of Baron Herbert von Doblhoff and his wife Gertrud (née von Skutezky), members of the Doblhoff family, an ancient noble family. She grew up in Ratschitz, where she attended a boarding school. Her father died of multiple sclerosis while she was still young.[1]

In April 1942, she met the painter Hugo-Damian Schönborn (1916–1979),[2] of the Bohemian Schönborn noble family.[3] They married in Prague, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, Germany, on 10 May that year and took up residence in Skalka Castle in Vlastislav.[1] Her husband was a soldier who sympathized with the resistance to the Nazis.[4] He was convinced that Hitler was a criminal, wanted to do as little as possible for the war, and stubbornly refused to become an officer in the Wehrmacht, which would have been his position.[4] In October 1944, he deserted in Belgium to the British forces.[5]

In September 1945,[6][7] Schönborn was expelled from Czechoslovakia and fled with her two small children Philipp and Christoph.[5][8] She found shelter first with relatives in Breiteneich in Lower Austria. From 1946, she lived with her sister in Graz, where she was later reunited with her husband.[5][7] They had two more children, Barbara and Michael. The family moved to Schruns in 1950, where she found work. In 1958, the couple divorced.[lower-alpha 2][2] She made a living working at the Getzner Textil company in Bludenz, where she worked for 30 years. Due to her language proficiency, she was promoted to chief secretary, procurist and press speaker, the first woman in such positions in Vorarlberg.[10] She had a house built for her family, and was active in the council of the church parish.[5]

Schönberg was the first woman elected to the Schruns municipal council, serving from 1975 to 1985,[5] initiating the erection of museums in Montafon.[11] From 1979 to 2000, she was museum director of the Montafoner Heimatmuseum Schruns.[12] She founded, together with nurse and nun Bernardis Hinrichs, an association for medical assistance and care at home (Krankenpflegeverein Außermontafon).[5][13] In 2008, she was made an honorary member.[5] She was awarded the Order of Merit of Vorarlberg in 1997, and in Gold in 2013, and received the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria in 2013.[5]

She recounted in interviews and her memoir her memories of her expulsion, the life of her son Christoph, who became Cardinal and Archbishop of Vienna, and social topics in general. Schönborn opposed the deportation of refugee families. [3][14] She was a committed European and also a passionate card player.[3]

Due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was unable to celebrate her centenary with her family.[15] With limited ability to move, and almost completely blind, Schönborn died in Schruns on 25 February 2022, aged 101.[1]

Notes
  1. Regarding personal names: Freiin is a title, translated as Baroness, not a first or middle name. The title is for the unmarried daughters of a Freiherr.
  2. Munzinger: 1959.[9]

References
  1. "Trauer um Kardinalsmutter Eleonore Schönborn". Webseite der Erzdiözese Wien (in German). 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  2. "Kardinal Schönborn: Nicht über gescheiterte Ehen urteilen". katholisch.de (in German). Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  3. Pernsteiner, Johannes (25 February 2022). "Trauer um Kardinal Schönborns Mutter Eleonore". domradio.de (in German). Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  4. Christa Zöchling: Die wahren Kriegshelden. Wie prominente Österreicher dem NS-Terror widersetzten (in German) profil 29 August 2009, retrieved on 18 May 2021.
  5. "LH Wallner: "Bewegtes Leben in einer bewegten Zeit"". OTS.at (in German). 16 July 2013.
  6. Gerhard, Scopoli (1 January 2014). "Messfeiern mit Kardinal Schönborn in Schruns". vol.at (in Kinyarwanda). Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  7. Kalchhauser, Martin (4 March 2015). "Kardinal war Breiteneicher". NÖN.at (in German). Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  8. Markus, Georg (2014). Das kommt nicht wieder, Neue Geschichten aus alten Zeiten (in German). S.l: Amalthea Signum Verlag. ISBN 978-3-902998-45-3. OCLC 1176481121.
  9. "Christoph Kardinal Schönborn". Munzinger Biographie (in German). Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  10. Getzner, Manfred (1990). Getzner, Mutter & Cie, Bludenz und die Entwicklung der Textilindustrie im Vorarlberger Oberland (in German). Feldkirch, Austria: Rheticus-Gesellschaft. ISBN 978-3-85430-112-7. OCLC 38611860.
  11. Wolf, Günther J. (2008). Silvretta Connection : die schicksalhaften Aufenthalte von Ernest Hemingway und John Dos Passos im Montafon (in German). Bludenz: Rhätikon. ISBN 978-3-901607-32-5. OCLC 492094500.
  12. Media, Meznar (29 April 2010). "Museumfest für Lore Schönborn". vol.at (in German). Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  13. "Hauskrankenpflege und Mobiler Hilfsdienst Außermontafon". Hauskrankenpflege Vorarlberg (in German). Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  14. Hug, Bettina (8 April 2020). "Heute ist alles viel schlimmer". news.at (in German). Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  15. "Eleonore Schönborn wird 100 Jahre alt". vorarlberg.ORF.at (in German). 13 April 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2022.

Further reading
  • Andreas Rudigier, Peter Strasser (eds.): Montafon. Beiträge zur Geschichte und Gegenwart. Festschrift für Frau Eleonore Schönborn zum 75. Geburtstag. (Bludenzer Geschichtsblätter 24–26) Schruns 1995. OCLC 312325990
  • Welzig, Elisabeth (2006). Leben und überleben : Frauen erzählen vom 20. Jahrhundert (in German). Wien: Böhlau. ISBN 978-3-205-77336-8. OCLC 71746866.
  • Eleonore Schönborn (with Adi Fischer): Das Leben lässt sich nicht planen. Ein Schicksal in bewegter Zeit. Memoir of Eleonore Schönborn. Wolfurt: Mohr KG, 2016, in Czech by Helena Rudlová and František Rudl: Život se nedá plánovat: osud v pohnutých časech. Prague 2018, ISBN 978-80-200-2790-0
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