Karoline (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: 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 th ...

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

Court Jew In early modern Europe, particularly in Germany, a court Jew (, ) or court factor (, ) was a Jewish banker who handled the finances of, or lent money to, royalty and nobility. In return for their services, court Jews gained social privileges, inc ...

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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Life

Early life

Karoline Kaulla was the daughter of the banker Yitzchak (Isaak) Raphael and Rifka Wasserman. She was the sister of Jacob Kaulla. They had gained the

family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

Raphael by adopting the name of their father. She would later change her family name to Kaulla, a play on her birth name Chaile and was adopted by her brother. Her father was Court Jew for the house of

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. ...

. In 1757, she married Akiva Auerbach who would adopt her last name.

Business career

In 1768, Karoline Kaulla was appointed court factor to the court of Fürstenberg 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 German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

.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 Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

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 (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...

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 (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

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

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

historic museum in Jerusalem.

References

External links

Karoline Kaulla, Banker
(

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also 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 18th-century German businesspeople 19th-century German businesswomen 19th-century German businesspeople Bankers from the Holy Roman Empire {{Jewish-hist-stub