Emanuela Kielmansegg

1901, Vienna – 1983, Vienna

After finishing school, Emanuela von Kielmansegg spent a year in a convent – until she was asked to leave. From 1932 onwards, she worked as a social worker, initially at the “Mater tre admirabilis” facility founded by Countess Wenckheim at 108 Buchengasse in Favoriten. From 1934, she was employed as head social worker at the Youth Welfare Office. Alongside her work as a social worker, she was active in the resistance against the Nazi regime.

In 1938, she founded the secret Catholic relief organisation “Aktion K” – named after her surname – together with Father Georg Bichlmair. They supported Catholic converts who had previously been Jewish and were therefore being persecuted. A group of ten people, including her sister Pia, organised donations and helped many people to flee. In the first half of 1940, Emanuela Kielmansegg headed the network and continued to be involved in rescue operations and to maintain links with the Erzbischöflichen Hilfsstelle für nichtarische Katholiken (‘Archbishop’s Aid Centre for Non-Aryan Catholics’) thereafter.

After the war, Emanuela Kielmansegg worked at the Federal Chancellery for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). Even after her retirement, she continued to care for people in need. As part of the Catholic women’s movement, she provided support to women facing unwanted pregnancies.