The Schirach family or Šěrach is a German noble family of Sorbian (i.e. West Slavic) origin. Many family members were noted as theologians, lawyers, historians, writers and artists from the 17th century, and several family members have also been noted for their efforts to preserve the

Sorbian language The Sorbian languages (, ) are the Upper Sorbian language and Lower Sorbian language, two closely related and partially mutually intelligible languages spoken by the Sorbs, a West Slavic ethno-cultural minority in the Lusatia region of Eastern ...

. The family was raised to the hereditary

Austrian nobility The Austrian nobility () is a status group that was officially abolished in 1919 after the fall of Austria-Hungary. Austria's system of nobility was very similar to that of Germany (see German nobility), as both countries were previously part of ...

in 1776. Family members are resident 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 ...

and, since the 19th century, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

The name Šěrach is assumed to be derived from the Sorbian word ''šěrak'', meaning "greybeard" or "greyhead," in the sense of "old man" or possibly "wise man." Schirach is a Germanized spelling. The family's earliest known ancestor George Schirag was a farmer in Schiedel near

Kamenz Kamenz () or Kamjenc ( Sorbian, ) is a town (''Große Kreisstadt'') in the district of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany. Until 2008 it was the administrative seat of Kamenz District. The town is known as the birthplace of the philosopher and poet Gotth ...

, and is mentioned in 1485. One of his descendants, Peter Schirach (Pětr Šěrach) (1656–1727) became a theologian and parish priest in Kreba (Chrjebja). He had three sons who also became theologians, among them Christian Gottlob Schirach (Křesćan Bohuchwał Šěrach) (1709–1776), who was parish priest in

Holzkirch Holzkirch is a small municipality in the Alb-Donau-Kreis in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The community belongs to the administration unit Langenau. Geography Holzkirch is located on the southern edge of the Swabian Jura north of the Lone valley ...

and Tiefenfurth. Christian Gottlob Schirach was the father of

Gottlob Benedikt von Schirach Gottlob Benedikt von Schirach (13 June 1743 – 7 December 1804) (né ''Gottlob Benedikt Schirach''; also spelled ''Gottlob Benedict Schirach''; Sorbian ''Bohuchwał Benedikt ze Šěrach'') was a Sorbian historian, philosopher and writer, and late ...

(Bohuchwał Benedikt ze Šěrach) (1743–1804), a noted historian, Professor of Philosophy, publisher of the ''Political Journal'' (''Politisches Journal'') and later a diplomat in Danish service, who was ennobled in the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

on 17 May 1776. His son Karl Benedikt von Schirach (1790–1864) was a lawyer and writer in Germany, before he emigrated to the

in 1855. His son Karl Friedrich von Schirach (1842–1917) was a major in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

, fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

on the Union side and was an honour guard at President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

's funeral in 1865. Karl Friedrich von Schirach married Elisabeth Baily Norris, a member of a prominent

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

family.Oliver Rathkolb: "Baldur von Shirach", Chapter 1 She was the daughter of Richard Norris of

Norris Locomotive Works The Norris Locomotive Works was a steam locomotive manufacturing company based in Philadelphia, that produced nearly one thousand railroad engines between 1832 and 1866. It was the dominant American locomotive producer during most of that period a ...

. They had several children including composer and theatre director Carl Baily Norris von Schirach (1873–1948). Carl von Schirach was born in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

, but was an American citizen until joining the Prussian Army. He left the army in 1908 to become leader of the Weimar Court Theatre. He married Emma Middleton Lynah Tillou (1872–1944), who also belonged to a prominent Philadelphia family. Her great-grandfather was John Parker, a state senator for South Carolina who served as delegate to the

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation ...

. Her great-great-grandfather was

Henry Middleton Henry Middleton (1717 – June 13, 1784) was an American politician and planter from South Carolina. A member of the colonial legislature, during the American Revolution he attended the First Continental Congress and served as that body's presi ...

, who served as president of the

First Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies held from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia at the beginning of the American Revolution. The meeting was organized b ...

. Carl von Schirach and Emma Tillou had four children, including opera singer

Rosalind von Schirach Rosalind von Schirach (21 April 1898 – 13 December 1981) was a German opera singer, mainly known as a lyric soprano. From 1920 to 1925 she performed under the pseudonym Rosa Lind at the Leipzig Opera. From 1925 to 1928 she performed as Rosa Lind ...

and Nazi war criminal Baldur Benedikt von Schirach. Emma burned to death on 16 July 1944 when a plane crashed into her house in Wiesbaden and she attempted to rescue her dog. Baldur was leader of the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...

until 1940 and was married to

Henriette von Schirach Henriette "Henny" von Schirach (''née'' Hoffmann; 2 February 1913 – 18 January 1992) was a German writer and wife of Baldur von Schirach, former '' Reichsjugendführer'' (Reich Youth Leader) and ''Gauleiter'' in Vienna. Henriette von Schirach ...

. Henriette von Schirach was one of the few people known to have challenged the persecution of Jews to Hitler personally, after which the couple fell into disfavour in the Nazi leadership. They were the parents of artist Angelika Benedikta von Schirach (born 1933), lawyer Klaus von Schirach (born 1935), Munich businessman Robert Benedict Wolf von Schirach (1938–1980), and

sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

Richard von Schirach (1942-2023). Robert von Schirach was the father of novelist Norris von Schirach (born 1963) and the bestselling crime writer

Ferdinand von Schirach Ferdinand Benedikt von Schirach (born 12 May 1964) is a German lawyer and writer. He published his first short stories at the age of forty-five. Shortly thereafter he became one of Germany's most successful authors. His books, which have been tra ...

(born 1964). Richard von Schirach is the father of the writer and philosopher Ariadne von Schirach (born 1978) and of the novelist

Benedict Wells Benedict Wells (born Benedict von Schirach, 29 February 1984) is a German-Swiss novelist. Life and career Wells grew up in Bavaria. At the age of six, he was sent to a state boarding school after his parents separated and had to deal with severa ...

(born Benedict von Schirach 1984). In the 18th century, family members took an active interest in preservation of the

, the Slavic language native to the people the family belonged to, which is closely related to

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

and

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

. One family member, Karl Gottlob Schirach (Korla Bohuchwał Šěrach) (1764–1836), published the first magazine in the Sorbian language, '' Měsačne pismo k rozwučenju a wokřewjenju''.

References

Literature

* '' Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch'', B, 1907 * '' Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'', Adelige Häuser B, Vol. XIV, pp. 460f., Vol 78 (Gesamtreihe), C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn) 1981, . * Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, ''Adelslexikon'' Band XII, Vol. 125 (Gesamtreihe), C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn), 2001, . * ''Kurzer Entwurf einer Oberlausitz-wendischen Kirchenhistorie'', Budissin, 1767. * Hermann Konrad Eggers, ''Die Schirach und von Schirach'', in: Vierteljahresschrift für Heraldik, Sphragistik und Genealogie Nr. 7 (1879), Berlin * Max von Schirach, ''Geschichte der Familie von Schirach'', Berlin 1939. * Gottlieb Friedrich Otto, ''Lexikon der seit dem 15. Jahrhunderte verstorbenen und jetzt lebenden oberlausitzischen Schriftsteller und Künstler'', Görlitz 1800–03. ND Hildesheim 1983 * Jan Brankačk/Frido Mětšk, ''Geschichte der Sorben'', Vol. 1, Von den Anfängen bis 1789, VEB Domowina Bautzen, 1977 * ''

Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie The ''Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie'' (''DBE'') is a biographical dictionary published by Walther Killy and Rudolf Vierhaus (from the third to fourth volume), the first edition of which was published from 1995 to 2003 in 13 volumes by K. ...

'' ublished by W.Killy & R.Vierhausvol.8. Darmstadt 1998 * * Michael H. Kater, ''https://books.google.com/books?id=v9xJPe0QchcC&pg=PA17&lpg=PA17 Hitler Youth''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004. , {{ISBN, 978-0-674-01991-1. S. 17. (Zur Genealogie von Karl Benedict von Schirach bis Baldur von Schirach)