About Berta Folz

From lady-in-waiting and mother to novel character

She only lived for her family and rarely took time for herself. She never had a friend with whom she did anything. If her children were doing well, she was happy."

^{Source: Folz-Philipp, Erna Maria: Berta. A life story in the 20th century, Norderstedt 2000, p. 266.}

A life that may seem ordinary at first glance turns out, on closer inspection, to be a relevant testimony to the realities of female life at the beginning of the 20th century. Wars, poverty and restrictive social norms characterised this period. The author Erna Maria Folz-Philipp also recognised this historical value in the life story of her mother Berta and wrote a biographical novel about her.

First love and starting a family

Berta Folz was born on 30 December 1899 in Medelsheim, near Gersheim. She was the fourth of the eight children of Nikolaus Engelbert and Luise Allgaier. Her father was a craftsman and initially ran a workshop. However, after running it into financial ruin, he had to give up the workshop in 1909.

The family then moved to Lorraine. The time there was characterised by poverty and the absence of the mother, who suffered from a miscarriage. As a result, Berta had to take over the household and childcare from an early age. By 1912, the family's financial situation had improved and they were able to return to Medelsheim, where her father opened a workshop again. During the First World War, Berta's brother Erhard was called up and fell three years later.

At this time, Berta began a romance with a young man called Peter. However, as he was a Protestant, her father forbade further meetings with him. But Berta defied her father's orders and continued to meet her great love in secret. In 1919, however, her father sent her to work at the Drehbrunn farm. Life there was very isolated as she had few opportunities to get to Medelsheim and meet up with Peter due to the constant work.

Meanwhile, a rumour grew in the village that Berta was having an affair with the lord of the manor, Georg Folz. In fact, however, this was not true. Although Georg had taken a liking to the much younger Berta, the relationship was not mutual. However, when Berta learnt that Peter had emigrated, she finally agreed to marry Georg. As his wife, she would be away from her controlling father and financially secure at the same time. Their wedding finally took place in Blieskastel. After the wedding, Berta became the lady of the manor, housekeeper and gardener. She initially had two children with Georg, daughter Hilde and son Otmar.

Move to Hanweiler

Although she was well looked after and Georg was a kind husband, Berta wanted more from life than to stay on the farm forever. When the agricultural crisis also hit the Drehbrunn farm and daughter Hilde reached school age, Berta saw her chance to come a little closer to realising this wish. She finally persuaded Georg to lease the farm and move to Hanweiler Bad-Rilchingen for a few years while the children were at school. Around 1929, they took out a loan for a house with a café and guest rooms. Nevertheless, the income remained low. In addition, after some time the lease payments for the farm were also cancelled.

As Berta and Georg still had to pay the farm's duties and taxes, they were no longer able to bear the costs incurred. Even when they found a new tenant for their land, the financial situation did not improve, so they ultimately had to hand over the Drehbrunn farm to the bank. In the meantime, Berta and Georg had two more children, son Hermann and daughter Erna Maria. In order to continue to support the family, Georg then had to work in road construction.

The Second World War and the years that followed

During the Second World War, Berta and her family had to be evacuated twice. First they went to the Harz Mountains, later to Vilseck in Bavaria. Due to the severe shortage of food, Berta went begging for her family during this time. Her eldest son Otmar survived the war as a soldier. However, Berta's brother Hermann died. Her husband Georg also died in 1953. As he had only started paying into the insurance scheme late, Berta's pension was very small. Until she was able to live on the payment of a share of her inheritance, she therefore initially had to be financed by one of her sons.

It was only in her 1970s that Berta was gradually able to enjoy life for herself. She became part of a knitting group, met other women and travelled to Lourdes and Austria for the first time. However, she then suffered a stroke and her health deteriorated. Her daughter Erna looked after her before Berta had to move into the nursing home in Auersmacher near Kleinblittersdorf. She died there at the age of 80.

Written by: Luisa Spindler, student of Historically Oriented Cultural Studies and intern at the Women's Office of the Saarpfalz District

_{Published: 30.03.2026; Last updated: 27.04.2026.}