Eleonore Prochaska

fought disguised as a man

Military service was forbidden to women at the time.

💡 Did you know? Prochaska secretly left her post and, disguised as a man, joined a volunteer corps to fight Napoleon.

Wars of Liberation against Napoleon

She joined a Prussian volunteer corps.

💡 Did you know? She fought in the Wars of Liberation of 1813, when many Germans rose against Napoleonic rule.

August Renz

As a soldier Prochaska went by the man's name „August Renz“ and served at first as a drummer.

💡 Did you know? Her true identity was not noticed during her service.

when her wound was treated

She was wounded in a battle at the Göhrde in northern Germany.

💡 Did you know? Only when she was treated for a serious wound did her comrades discover that „August Renz“ was a woman.

28 (of her injuries)

She died a few weeks after being wounded.

💡 Did you know? Prochaska died at 28 of her wounds and was soon glorified as a heroine and symbol of patriotic resistance.

humble background (housemaid)

She was born in Potsdam in 1785.

💡 Did you know? The daughter of a non-commissioned officer and a sometime maidservant, Prochaska came from humble origins.

Potsdam Joan of Arc

For her courage Prochaska was revered as the „Joan of Arc of Potsdam“ and immortalised in poems and music.

💡 Did you know? Ludwig van Beethoven wrote music in her memory.

Eleonore Prochaska

Eleonore Prochaska (1785 to 1813) was a German woman who fought disguised as a man in the Wars of Liberation against Napoleon.

💡 Did you know? Ludwig van Beethoven composed music for a play about Prochaska: a sign of her early fame.

1785

Born: 11 March 1785 in Potsdam

1813

Died: 5 October 1813, aged 28