BIOGRAPHY

Rothaus was born in Sassenberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on 26 March 1914, as the oldest of five children. When she was four and a half years old, her father returned from the First World War. Despite being a diligent student, she was unable to attend secondary school. Consequently, her parents arranged for her to receive home economics lessons from the nuns in Stockkämpen. Subsequently, she found a job as a housemaid in Freckenhorst. In 1938, her father passed away from lung disease at the age of just 54. He worked as a postman and was a staunch opponent of the Hitler regime.

In 1942, at the age of 28, she became engaged, but her fiancé was drafted just two weeks later. Her brothers, aged 19 and 17 respectively, were also called to the front. The older one spent two years in Siberian captivity, while the younger one, along with a comrade, arrived in Füchtorf eight days before the end of the war. Her fiancé returned from the war unharmed in 1945. Following their wedding, they moved to Warendorf, where she still resides to this day. Their eldest son, Bernhard, was born in 1946, followed by four more children.

After her husband’s death in 1994, she took up gardening as a hobby. At the age of 108, she was still reading on her e-book and playing Doppelkopf twice a week. At that time, she had six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Rothaus died in Warendorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on 8 April 2024 at the age 110 years, 13 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age has not been validated by LongeviQuest.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Elisabeth Rothaus wurde zu Kaisers Zeiten geboren” – Westfälische Nachrichten, 26 March 2022

* “Obituary” – Die Glocke, 12 April 2024

GALLERY