BIOGRAPHY

Rau was born in Hamburg, Germany, on 11 December 1907. Her father, Caesar Freiherr Binder von Krieglstein, was Austrian, while her mother was born into the wealthy Wulff family of Hamburg. She had three brothers. Despite the abolition of nobility, she continued to hold great significance to her noble descent. She pursued a career as a singer and actress, performing under the name Ulla Binder at the Volksoper and the Staatsschauspiel (State Playhouse) in Dresden. On one occasion, she even portrayed Carmen in Georges Bizet’s opera of the same name.

In 1939, she met her husband, Hermann Rau, a patent lawyer and engineer. They had three sons together before the family moved from Dresden to Düsseldorf in 1949. In addition to caring for her sons, she also worked as her husband’s secretary and accountant. Moreover, she pursued her passion for acting and singing at theaters in Cologne and Düsseldorf, including the comedy theater and various other venues. It wasn’t until 1985, when she was nearly eighty years old, that she retired. Her husband passed away in 1978.

Until the end of her life, she resided in her own apartment in Golzheim. She made a habit of reading the Rheinische Post every day.

Rau passed away at the hospital in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on 8 August 2018, at the age of 110 years, 240 days. She was survived by her sons, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

RECOGNITION

On 19 February 2017, following the passing of 110-year-old Lucie Neumann, she became the oldest living person in Düsseldorf.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Älteste Bürgerin der Stadt wird 110 Jahre alt” – Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf, 8 December 2017

* “Felicitas Rau wurde 110 Jahre alt” – RP Online, 13 August 2018

GALLERY