FAREWELL TO FRAU BORNSTEIN

By GEORGE SOLOVEYTCHIK

THE other day I saw in a paper that:the profession of private marriage-broker is henceforward to be prohibited in Germany and that the State will hence- forward assume these delicate and multifarious functions. Thus yet another firmly-established and most typical institution of Germany's liberal-bourgeois era is to dis- appear. The announcement is staggering and fills me with melancholy. For, indeed, I know of few things in pre- Hitler Germany that were more picturesque, romantic and comic than the marriage-broker and the advertise- ments of that venerable profession—and their potential clients—in the Press. Columns and columns and columns in the German papers used to be taken up by " Heirats- anzeigen," or 'matrimonial advertising. It presented infinite variety, and practically all of it was serious and genuine. Two principal categories of people had to be catered for : those who simply wanted to get married, and those who wished holy matrimony to provide them with a job, a flat, an income or some other definite amenity of life.

Much married happiness is said to have resulted from these advertisements. Married happiness ? Yes, indeed. One famous firm even had these two words as its tele- graphic address, and claimed a unique record in that direction. Listen to this : " Married Happinesa, Berlin, Registered telegraphic address, Certificate of Incorporation 9th July, 1898, Founder of my firm of over 30 years' standing. Working only definite propositions. World-famous results. Connexions throughout the whole of Europe. Receptions daily 11-1 o'c. Receive privately and discreetly at my villa.

On Mondays no reception. That day I pay country calls in my car—up to' two hours' distance. Written propositions, also from abroad, can only be dealt with successfully if full details supplied. Telephonic conversations for reasons of discretion impossible. My telephone only for making appointments. MARGARETE BORNSTEIN Villa Margaret, Berlin Grunewald."

Who could have missed this astonishing advertisement, so prominently displayed in Germany for nearly forty years ? Or those of Frau Bornstein's hated rivals, who also claimed, and no doubt possessed, most impressive records, and all mentioned "my car," "my villa," thus emphasising the solid foundations of their firm.

Sometimes they advertised definite propositions,—like this one, for instance : "'I am looking on behalf of the daughter of a Kommerzienrat, age 21, unconventional, very pretty, elegant, fond of sport, and musical, for a suitable life partner—only in good position. The father of the young lady is a very venerable gentleman, his total fortune amounts to about seven million marks. Detailed written applications requested. If desired can send my ear to fetch client. 14.-SE VON RIESENTHAL Many years of most exclusive marriage broking at home and abroad."

The German word " Einheirat " is untranslatable ; it means a marriage into something, usually into a busineis of some sort or other. The opportunities offered or sought with regard to a suitable " Einheirat " were invariably described in complete detail. This- " Christian young man of good Jewish family, desires promising Einheirat into wholesale corset business, in largo town," is as good a specimen as any. But, of course, this was in the days before the Aryan Grandmother was even in- vented, and nobody talked about all this Nordic non- sense.

Here is another typical case :

" Well-known South German toy factory. opening for serious, hardworking reliable young man, about 30, wit It a view to a possible partnership and marriage."

A different kind of proposition is the following :

" Who wishes to bring matrimonial happiness to eiteorful blonde, guiltless divorcee, with pleasant sunny four roomflat 1 Only gentleman of substance considered."

In the immediate post-War years, when flats were more than scarce, that sort of candidate had truly fantastic chances.

I cannot quote in full the extraordinary and most picturesque details about physique, tastes, requirements, financial position, education, religion and heaven only knows what else not to be found in these advertisements. All this would fill a book. But a good deal was left to the imagination, and that is where the romantic appeal came in. Terms like " over 40 " or " unconventional " were delightfully vague. And how would a lady look who described herself as " N'ollseldank," i.e., ample and yet slim ? Those who arc familiar Nvith I he odd outlines of the average feminine shape in Germany might be either pleasantly surprised or prcfoundly disappointed by the "'cheerful widow, over 40, with real German figure." What is one to make of the presumably dyspeptic " chemist's assistant, anxious to find trial job with potential father-in-law, Roman Catholic, sick of restaurant food, age about .50 " ? or the " industrialist's daughter, 23, slightly disappointed in life. seeking to he cheered up by gallant husband " ? " Slightly disappointed "- what a vista of possibilities that opens up.

What risks. what chances these adventurous people, belonging to all strata of society from the highest to the humblest, used to take. But not all. Some .of them took care to take none. I remember a friend's cook who married a widowed piano-tuner that way. He claimed to possess a complete set of domestic equipment in his little house in a Berlin suburb. So she and a friend went there one Sunday and checked every cup, saucer and teaspoon before the affirmative answer was given.

German law, while recognising the profession, refused to marriage-brokers the right to sue for their commission, so they mostly took a handsome payment on account, the basis of the transaction being a percentage of the dowry. Occasionally they were badly let down, but on the whole they used to live and prosper conspicuously hence " my car " and " my villa " among the more important.

Now all that is to be no more. A Nazi official in charge of National Hygiene has ordained that State matrimonial agencies must take the place of the private ones through-. out Germany. The State, he declares, has the greatest interest in the union of duly selected individuals. Bachelors will be encouraged to embark upon matrimony, and even the voluntarily or compulsorily sterilised will be given appropriate mates. How cynical, cold, matter- of-fact it sounds, compared with the match-making activities of the private broker. Henceforward human beings are to be dealt with like cattle. Suitable sires and dams will be selected, and brought together ; before long the State will decide how often they are to enjoy the pleasures of love and parenthood. Under these conditions Germany will be taking lessons from the Danish pig-farm, where the methods of selective breeding have achieved unprecedented efficiency.

Farewell, venerable Frau Bornstein, and the rest of you, whose name is legion. Those critics, who in your heyday thought your business all wrong and unromantic, who raved about " Love " and failed to realise that marriage is a social institution, did not know what was in store for them. The German marriage-brokers were merchant adventurers (or rather adventuresses, for they were mostly women) in the field of holy matrimony. They fulfilled a definite function in the life of the com- munity. Their passing means the end of an epoch, and their memory is inseparable from an era that is no more.