Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-04-11
Former Kaiserine OF
Germany Dies Today
Continued from Faye ~

The ex-empress' gravest cloud, next
TO the abdication Of William ii. was
the tragic death of her son. Prince
Joachim, who committed suicide by
shooting himself in Berlin in 1890.
She was never informed, it is said,
Another depressing event which
haunted her, was the Russian revolu-
tion and the fate that befell EN-
peror. Nicholas and his family with
all of whom. before the war, she had
been on the kindliest terms.
Did Much Charity Work.
Augusta Victoria was notable chiefly
chiefly for her keen interest in char
table work and in the betterment of
the living conditions Of tho German
poor. 1t has been said Of her that
she was not in especially gifted
woman and that she cared more for
the simple duties Of home life than
for royal functions.
1t js not known hat she exercised
any considerable influence politically
or. that She desired to dc so. Her
talents seemed. instead, to be directed
to the task Of becoming a helpful
wife and a devoted, mother to her six
sons and n daughter. That she
achieved this aim. the former en-
peror attested frequently. He once
described her as the ideal of the
it is" he declared, ITO whom.I owe
that L. am able to bear the weighty
responsibilities of. my position in a
joyful spirit"
Concerning the. attitude OF the
former empress toward the war little
is known.
Some indication of her point of
view was given in her reply in July,
1915. to a letter written by the wife
of the Dutch minister of war. In re-
that Germany repeatedly had mani
tested her readiness for peace which,
she declared. had not been enter
tanned by the opposing powers.
That she subscribed to the conten-
ton of military leaders that Germany
was fighting a defensive war, was
shown by a statement she issued at
the beginning of the great conflict in
which she said that Germany was
arming itself for a fight (which it did
not cause or begin and which it. is
carrying on only to defend itself" In
this appeal she asked German women
to aid in caring for the German
wounded.
Sympathized With Soldiers
Numerous instances in which the
former empress visited German hos
pitfalls and expressed lively sympathy
for the wounded soldiers were re-
ported during the a On n &C.
casion she was said to have broken
down at the sight of great numbers
of the German wounded sent home
after one of the great battles in 1918.
Fer more than IL years she was a
semi-invalid.
Her sympathy with u%nderpaid
workers Of Germany was disclosed on
a visit which she paid some years ago
to an exhibition of home industries
was deeply moved by the evidence
she saw there of the fact that many
German workers earned only starva-
ton wages. What can be, done to
stop this misery" she inquired.
Her tenderness as a mother was
sevealed during the illness Of her sec
ond son, former Prince Eitel, whom
she attended day and night. Arriv-
ing at the house where he was under
physicians care at 6 a. m, one morn
ing. she refused to anyone for
fear Of disturbing him and, with her
maid, walked up and down for an
hour in the wintry morning until the
doors were opened by the servants.
Visited Schools.
One Of the stories told Of her is
that she enjoyed visiting schools in
country districts. selecting n of tbs
pupils and promising the child to
fulfill any wish the child might ex-
press. A disconcerting instance hap
pened when she did this in Alsace
where the schools were being Ger
manized and the French language
suppressed. A little girl, receiving
the promise Of the empress to grant
her wish, asked that her schoolmates
be allowed to study the French Ian
guage. The empress was taken aback
but French lessons we're given in that
school afterward.
Born October 20. 1855. at Dolzis,
Augusta Victoria was the oldest
daughter OF Grand Duke Frederick OF
Schleswie : Holstein : Sonderburg-
Augustenburg and ranked as a
princess Of Schleswtg-H olstein. Her
early childhood was spent at Kiel.
She married to the then Prince Will
lam OF Prussia on February 81,
1884. They had SIX sons and one
\ dA1lrhter.