Erica Pappritz (25 June 1893 – 4 February 1972) was a German diplomat and

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. She co-wrote two books on social etiquette, ''Buch der Etikette'' ("The Book of Etiquette") and ''Etikette neu'' ("New Etiquette").

Personal life

Pappritz's father was a ''

Rittmeister Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A is typically in charge of a s ...

'' in the German Army. Her name was often incorrectly translated as "Freifrau von" ("Dame of"), in reference to German poet

Marie Luise Kaschnitz Marie Luise Kaschnitz (born Marie Luise von Holzing-Berslett; 31 January 1901 – 10 October 1974) was a German short story writer, novelist, essayist and poet. She is considered to be one of the leading post-war German poets. Biography She was b ...

. In 1972, she died in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

Career

In 1919, Pappritz joined the

Federal Foreign Office The Federal Foreign Office (, ; abbreviated AA) is the Foreign minister, foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency (Germany), federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with ...

, working in the foreign trade office. She supervised the Diplomatic Corps during the

Nuremberg Rallies The Nuremberg rallies ( , meaning ) were a series of celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party and held in the German city of Nuremberg from 1923 to 1938. The first nationwide party convention took place in Munich in January 1923, but th ...

. In 1943, Pappritz became a

. On her 50th birthday, she was given the salary of a first-grade Legation Council member. In 1944, she was transferred to

Karpacz Karpacz (, German: ''Krummhübel'') is a spa town and ski resort in Jelenia Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland, and one of the most important centres for mountain hiking and skiing, including ski jumping. Its populatio ...

, after her office was converted into an armaments factory. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Pappritz was made to attend a

denazification Denazification () was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by removing those who had been Nazi Par ...

board meeting along with Vollrath von Maltzan. Both said that they had rejected

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

. Pappritz had been a member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

. Pappritz settled in

Eichenau Eichenau () is a municipality in the district of Fürstenfeldbruck, in Bavaria, Germany. It is 20 km west of Munich (centre). Eichenau was officially named in 1907 as a separate settlement to the community of Alling. Its location is due ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, and in 1949, she was asked to take the Bavarian State Chancellery to

. In 1950, she agreed the etiquette during a disagreement between

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and Bonn over the seating arrangements at an event to celebrate 1900 years since the founding of Cologne. In 1956, Pappritz and Karlheinz Graudenz wrote the book ''Buch der Etikette'' (''The Book of Etiquette''). At the time, she was working as the Legation Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Protocol to the Foreign Office in Bonn. The book had a focus on increasing civility in post-Nazi Germany, focusing on politeness and a respect for human rights. The book includes sections on correct odour and on how Bonn diplomats liked to carry umbrellas. At the time, the book was criticised for promoting

snobbery ''Snob'' is a pejorative term for a person who feels superior due to their social class, education level, or social status in general;De Botton, A. (2004), ''Status Anxiety''. London: Hamish Hamilton it is sometimes used especially when they pr ...

. ''

Stockholms-Tidningen ''Stockholms-Tidningen'' () was a Swedish-language morning newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden, between 1889 and 1984 with an interruption from 1966 to 1981. It was one of the major dailies in the country together with ''Dagens Nyheter'' and ...

'' journalist said: "One does not know whether one should laugh or cry over this etiquette bible certified by the West German Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1957." Pappritz made some corrections to the original book, and the third edition was published in 1957. In 1967, Pappritz and Graudenz wrote another book, ''Etikette neu'' (''New Etiquette''). The book became available at the German

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

in 2007. Pappritz retired from public office in 1958, after which she occasionally lectured on tourism, advertising, and social etiquette.

Books

*Graudenz, Karlheinz, Pappritz, Erica, ''Buch der Etikette'' (1956) *Graudenz, Karlheinz, Pappritz, Erica, ''Etikette neu'' (1967)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pappritz, Erica 1893 births 1972 deaths 20th-century German diplomats 20th-century German women writers 20th-century German writers Nazi Party members