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In Memoriam
Karl A. M. Scholtz
Silesia has given a host of her sons
to the Western World, many of whom
distinguished themselves in the land
of their adoption. In the front ranks
of these eminent citizens stands Karl
Adolph Maximilian Scholtz.
The Scholtz family is an old one in
Prussian Silesia, and its members had
been farmers for centuries past. Karl
Scholtz,—the grand-father of Karl A.
M. Scholtz,—was Supervisor General
of the estate of Count Henckel von
Donnersmarck.
His son, Paul Emil Scholtz (father
of Karl A. M. Scholtz) was born on
the above mentioned estate on Octo-
ber 3rd, 1830. He was an adventur-
ous man, of roving disposition, with a
lust for battle in defense of causes he
deemed just. While serving as a one-
year volunteer in the Prussian Army,
the American Civil War broke out,
and he at once applied for and re-
ceived a furlough, came to America,
and enlisted in the 52nd New York
Volunteer Infantry—an outfit com-
posed entirely of Germans, and of
Americans of German descent. He
participated in many battles, and
while serving in the Peninsular Cam-
paign in Virginia, was taken ill and
was hospitalized at Harrisburg, and
later discharged, after which he re-
turned to his home near Breslau.
Shortly afterward he married Hed-
wig Elizabet Franziska von Man-
stein,—born September 80, 1842,—
daughter of an East Prussian Army
officer. After a year or so, he and his
wife and a baby girl migrated to Rus-
sian Poland where they settled on a
farm. It was there, near the town of
Czenstochow, that the subject of this
sketch was born on July 3, 1869.
In 1871 the family came to America,
arriving at Locust Point in Baltimore
on October 3rd, on the Steamer
"Berlin."
Young Karl went to school in Bal-
timore, but at the age of twelve he
was compelled to seek employment in
order to help augment an all too
meager family income. This was in
the days antedating compulsory
education laws.
His first job was that of errand boy
for an importing house. This did not
last long, and he next sold news-
papers on the streets of Baltimore.
He established a well-paying route in
the section running from Pennsylva-
nia Avenue and Franklin Street, up
to Dolphin Street, and over to Rich-
mond Market.
Later he became errand boy and
general utility man for the old Balti-
more Type Foundry (founded by the
son of Christopher Sauer, of German-
town, Philadelphia, the first type-
founder in North America) on Bank
Lane, in the rear of Barnum's Hotel.
Here he served for four years, leaving
to take up the "art preservative of
all arts" with E. B. Read and Son,
printers, located at 15 South Street
on the fourth floor of the old Frank-
lin Bank Building. He soon showed
an aptitude for the art of printing,
and learned to love it, a love which
he retained throughout the rest of his
life. He remained with the Read
firm for eight years.
His thirst for knowledge promoted
him early in his career to become a
[34]
patron of the Enoch Pratt Free Li-
brary of Baltimore and he himself has
said that he was greatly indebted to
this library for the part it played in
his education. He was an omnivor-
ous reader, and became a brilliantly
educated man. It was while he was
working at the printing trade that he
attended night classes at the Balti-
more Law School, graduating in 1895.
He then began the practice of law,
and gradually developed an excellent
clientele, especially among the Ger-
man element. By his forthright and
ethical dealings he established an en-
viable reputation with Bench, Bar,
and public. He was considered an
authority on building and loan asso-
ciation matters, and was instrumental
in helping many a friend in the pur-
chase and ownership of a home.
Mr. Scholtz's active mind soon
prompted him to enlarge the scope of
his activities. He became interested
in the Reform League, an organiza-
tion dedicated to cleaning up political
corruption, both in elections and in
the expenditure of public funds. He
served the League in various capaci-
ties and upon the resignation of Mr.
Charles Morris Howard became its
Secretary. Later he was Secretary of
the Just Representation League,
which worked to secure a larger rep-
resentation for Baltimore City in the
General Assembly of Maryland. He
was also Secretary of the Municipal
League of Baltimore City, which for a
number of years made it a point to
look up the ability of those seeking
municipal office, and keeping a record
of their official conduct.
Still having time on his hands, he,
together with John H. Blacklock, a
bachelor, and a friend of the youth of
Baltimore, instigated propaganda for
more liberal use of the public parks
for playground purposes, athletics,
sports, etc. He was an ardent advo-
cate of abolition of the Sunday Blue
Laws. It was in the furtherance of
many such projects that he, as a rep-
resentative of the Turnverein Vor-
waerts, joined with a group of men
for the purpose of getting the large
Germanic population of Baltimore to
take a more active part in civic and
political affairs. This led to the for-
mation in 1900 of the Independent
Citizens Union of Maryland, an or-
ganization which did much good
work along various civic lines.
On June 30, 1903, Mr. Scholtz mar-
ried Miss S. Louise Witthaus, daugh-
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Erich Ludwig
Witthaus.
His activity in so-called German-
American circles was prodigious. He
joined the Turnverein Vorwaerts at
the age of eighteen, and was active in
its affairs for the rest of his life. He
served this Verein in nearly every ca-
pacity, from property custodian to
President. In recognition of his ser-
vices he was made an honorary mem-
ber. It was through his activities in
the Turnverein that he was recruited
into the service of the Children's
Playground Association, and served
for many years as a Director, and for
a time as Treasurer. After the Balti-
more fire he was a member of various
committees of the City Wide Con-
gress. For many years he was Presi-
dent of the Venable Improvement
Association.
In his later years he became tre-
mendously interested in the work of
the German Society of Maryland, a
benevolent organization founded in
1783. He was for many years a Di-
rector and was its President from
1924 until his death. The Society
benefited greatly by his wise counsel
and management. The Society for
the History of the Germans in Mary-
land afforded another outlet for his
energies. He was for thirty years
Chairman of its Executive Commit-
tee, and he did much work in foster-
ing the purposes of this Society. In
1922 he accepted the Chairmanship of
a Committee formed to raise funds
for the General German Orphan
Home to help defray the cost of their
new Home at Catonsville.
While Mr. Scholtz had no ear for
music (he admitted that he was tone-
deaf), yet he fully realized the im-
portance of music in the cultural and
[35]
social life of the community; he there-
fore lent his support to many musical
endeavors. He was for many years a
supporting member of the Arion Sing-
ing Society; he was Secretary of the
great Baltimore Saengerfest of 1903;
he helped launch the German Opera
Company on a successful American
tour in 1922, and he rendered note-
worthy service on the occasion of
the visits of the Dresdener Kreuzchor
to Baltimore. His membership, in
addition to those already mentioned,
included the Germania Club, the Ma-
sonic Fraternity, the Maryland His-
torical Society, Sons of Veterans of
the Civil War, the American Academy
of Political and Social Science (to
which he was a delegate representing
the City of Baltimore), the Steuben
Society, and the American, Maryland
State and Baltimore City Bar Asso-
ciations. He had no hobbies but
many activities.
In politics Mr. Scholtz was an inde-
pendent, with leanings to the Repub-
lican Party. This independence he
manifested characteristically when on
March 31, 1933—the very day before
the intense Jewish persecution in Ger-
many was launched—he sent a tele-
gram to Hitler—"I appeal to you to
exercise toward the German Jews a
spirit of justice, humanity and mercy.
I speak for our German racials who
have ever before and after the war
held high the German standard and
are sensitive to the honor of the
Germans."
Mr. Scholtz had no religious affilia-
tion. Though born a Roman Catholic,
he early in life became a free-thinker.
He was not a man of robust phy-
sique, but generally speaking, he en-
joyed good health. Several weeks
before his death he was taken ill, but
soon responded to treatment. He was
well on the road to recovery when he
died suddenly on Christmas morning,
1941. His funeral service,—non-reli-
gious,—was conducted by his close
friend, Rev. Fritz O. Evers before an
unusually large gathering of friends.
His body was cremated, and his ashes
were interred in the family burial plot
in Loudon Park Cemetery. Surviving
him are his widow, and their only son,
Eric Paul Scholtz.
Karl A. M. Scholtz was a man of
genial disposition, with a keen sense
of humor. Save for his love for his
family, nothing pleased him better
than to be in the company of his
friends and cronies, who enjoyed his
sparkling wit as much as he enjoyed
being with them. He was a prolific
writer, as evidenced by a very exten-
sive correspondence, and the author-
ship of a great number of monographs.
His literary style was unique,—always
readable and interesting and often
seasoned with a subtle humor.
He will not be forgotten.
L. KURTZ.
Dr. Christian Deetjen
Georg Christian Adolf Deetjen was
born August 29, 1863, at Buenos
Aires, as the fourth son of Nikolas
Deetjen (1831-1866) and his wife
Johanne Hunckel (1836-1910). Niko-
las Deetjen, a member of the well-
known North German family of that
name, had been living for some years
in the Argentine Republic, where he
had an interest in a ranch, and was
also active as an exporter. All of his
children were born at Buenos Aires:
Georg Justus (1860-1878) ; Karl Niko-
las (1861-1928); Johannes August
(1862-1935); Georg Christian Adolf
(1863-1940); Amalia, born in 1865, is
still living in Germany.
In the spring of 1866 Nikolas Deet-
[36]
jen decided to dispose of all his in-
terests in the Argentine, in order to
return permanently to Germany. He
placed his family on a sailing vessel
bound for Europe, at the same time
putting a cow aboard, in order to
provide milk for the children. The
father took a steamer going up the
west coast of South America, in order
to arrange some business at Val-
paraiso. When the vessel arrived at
this port on May 15, 1866, Nikolas
Deetjen had disappeared, and noth-
ing definite was ever learned of the
manner of his death. The wife, with
her five little children, was meanwhile
continuing on her voyage which lasted
101 days. When the ship touched at
Antwerp, one of her brothers came
aboard to break the news of her hus-
band's disappearance. The amount
ultimately realized from the South
American investments did not turn
out to be as considerable as had been
expected, and Mrs. Deetjen saw her-
self forced to economize in order to
bring up her young family. She de-
cided to settle at Rinteln on the
Weser, where Christian grew up. Rin-
teln had been the seat of a university
from 1621 to 1809, and still had some
of the old atmosphere of learning.
The Gymnasium, which Christian at-
tended up to the age of twenty, was
located in old buildings that had origi-
nally been used for a monastery. On
one occasion particularly, Christian
received quite a thrill when one of the
teachers got him to assist in sorting
out a large quantity of old, parch-
ment-bound books that had remained
there from the days of the monas-
tery. Notable among the books to
which his attention was at that period
directed was Friedrich von Spee's
Cautio criminalis, the first edition of
which had been printed anonymously
at Rinteln in 1636. All through his
life Deetjen sought for this extremely
rare witchcraft book, and only ac-
quired it about fifteen years ago,
when one of his friends surprised him
with it as a Christmas gift.
In 1883 or 1884 Deetjen left Rin-
teln to take up the study of medicine
at Würzburg. The limited allowance
that his mother was able to make
him did not prevent him from enjoy-
ing to the utmost the student life
at Würzburg. During the early semes-
ters not much real work was accom-
plished. Whenever funds ran low,
either Deetjen or some member of his
intimate circle would pawn a micro-
scope or other instrument in order to
tide them over until the arrival of the
next remittance. Later on, Deetjen
buckled down to serious work re-
ceiving the degree of M. D. about the
year 1889. He had devoted particular
attention to the study of nervous dis-
eases. About 1890 he spent some time
in a little place in Thuringia as assis-
tant to a country physician; later he
obtained a position in a sanatorium
at Reinbek in the Sachsenwald, very
close to Friedrichsruh, the residence of
Bismarck. The great chancellor was
an indefatigable walker, and Deetjen
loved to tell of their occasional meet-
ing in the forest. The story that
Deetjen saw Bismarck's body imme-
diately after the chancellor's death
must be apocryphal, however, for Bis-
marck died on July 30, 1898, three
years after Deetjen left Reinbek. His
stay there had been profitable from
the professional point of view, but the
financial emolument was not very
enticing. Deetjen therefore decided to
emigrate to the United States: in
1895 he took passage in the steerage
of a Hamburg Liner. The quarters
were not very comfortable, but the
ship's doctor, whom he had met at a
reception the day preceding the de-
parture, made him welcome in the
surgery, where Deetjen spent most of
his time.
Deetjen decided not to stay in New
York, but to settle in Baltimore. The
passing of the State Board examina-
tion turned out to be a mere matter
of form: the examiner, upon whom
he called at his office, merely asked
him a few questions as to where he
had studied and practiced, and then
forthwith gave him his certificate.
His first office, and residence, was on
Fayette Street near Paca. During his
[37]
first years in Baltimore patients were
few and far between, so that he had a
hard struggle to eke out an existence:
a German butcher in Lexington Mar-
ket used to sell him a generous portion
of pork chops, which Deetjen broiled
over the gas jet in his office; at other
times he used his last nickel to buy a
glass of beer, which entitled him to
eat his fill at the free lunch counter.
Ultimately, however, he built up a
good practice among the German citi-
zens of Baltimore. During these early
years his brother Johannes stayed
with him for some time, but finally
returned to Germany.
In 1900 Deetjen married Alma
Schmidt, a native of Germany, and
sister of Charles R. Schmidt, a promi-
nent German citizen of Baltimore.
About this time Deetjen rented a house
on Franklin Street near Charles, both
for an office and a residence. Dr.
Louis Hamman, then a young physi-
cian, took an office with Deetjen, and
this was the beginning of a life-long
friendship between the two. A few
years later Deetjen bought the house
at 1702 Eutaw Place, in which he
lived as long as he continued to
practice.
About the time of Deetjen's arrival
in Baltimore Wilhelm Konrad Rönt-
gen, Professor of Physics at Würz-
burg, announced his epoch-making
discovery of X-rays, which were to be
of momentous and indeed baleful im-
portance in Deetjen's life. Röntgen
had been Deetjen's teacher at Würz-
burg, where a certain course in phy-
sics was required of all medical stu-
dents. The fact that a man personally
known to him had made this impor-
tant discovery impelled Deetjen to
enter upon this new field as inten-
sively as possible. At the suggestion of
his brother-in-law he sent for all the
X-ray apparatus that was to be had;
he made experiments, and was soon
called in by other physicians to make
diagnoses and to give treatments. Un-
fortunately the destructive effects of
the X-rays had not been realized at
that early date: Deetjen, like other
pioneers, saw first his fingers, and
then his hands burned and scarred.
Skin grafting was tried, but did not
help much, and ultimately first one,
and then another finger had to be
amputated. As the left hand was
generally used in testing whether the
rays were working properly, this hand
was more severely affected than the
right. Finally in 1930, the left fore-
arm had to be amputated midway.
Before the operation Deetjen, by let-
ter, took leave of distant friends,
telling them that he did not know
whether he would survive the shock.
The operation was successful, how-
ever, and three days later Deetjen
insisted on going home unattended.
For a long time the left arm continued
to give him excruciating pain, and in
the spring of 1931, accompanied by
Mrs. Deetjen, he made a trip to Ger-
many, chiefly to consult Dr. Lexer,
chief surgeon at Munich. Lexer was
unable to do anything for him, and
the pain did not leave until long after.
The high point of this trip, as Deet-
jen delighted to tell on occasion, was
a visit to the old Abbey of Tepl, near
Marienbad, where he was introduced
by a friend. When the guests were
met at the station by the abbot's own
carriage, drawn by black horses with
silver trappings, the country-folk
whom they passed on the road did
deep obeisance. After lunch, the abbot
in person conducted them through the
various buildings. The library con-
tained some important German and
Latin manuscripts, as well as hun-
dreds of books printed before 1500.
What impressed Deetjen most of all
was a certain room whose cases were
entirely filled with incunabula, of
which the abbot remarked casually:
"These are our duplicates." These
duplicates Deetjen never forgot, as
indeed he cherished a love for old and
rare books to the end of his life.
Books on witchcraft were a special
delight to him, and his friends, who
knew of this passion, took all possible
pains to procure such books for him.
During his last years, after he had
given up practice, his chief pastime
was to mend these books, some of
[38]
them having very defective bindings.
These were never replaced by new
ones, but were either mended or
equipped with extra cases for their
protection. At his death his collec-
tion of books on witchcraft comprised
several hundred volumes, the rarest
of them being an edition of the Mal-
leus maleficarum printed in 1491.
Another of his hobbies was the
making of beeswax candles at Christ-
mas, which nearly became disastrous
for him in 1935. The pot of wax,
which he had set in the front of the
furnace to bring it to melting, in some
way upset, and in igniting sent forth
an immense sheet of flame, which
severely burned his face, hand, and
arm. His eyes were fortunately pro-
tected by his glasses. As far as the
hand was concerned, it appeared later
as if the flame had improved instead
of injuring its surface. During his
last years he kept on hoping that the
radium treatment administered by his
friend Dr. Burnham might be able to
arrest the progress of the disease, but
finally he faced the almost certain
necessity of having to amputate the
remaining fingers of his right hand,
an operation which would have left
him entirely helpless, unable to do
anything for himself.
Up until about eight or ten years
before his death, Deetjen every week
spent two nights and the intervening
day at his Round House, situated in a
secluded nook near Ten Hills. Here
he stayed entirely alone, cooking his
own meals, and on the second morn-
ing returned refreshed to his work.
At the Round House, in which there
was an old square piano, Deetjen
sometimes entertained the Saturday
Night Club, of which he was one of
the founders. He was also a member
of the Germania Club, the German
Society of Maryland, and the Society
for the History of the Germans in
Maryland, Among his friends were
Dr. William H. Welch, Dr. Howard
Kelly, Dr. Harry Friedenwald, Dr.
Louis Hamman, Dr. Max Broedel,
Senator O. H. Weller, and Henry
Mencken. He prized most highly an
autograph album dating back to his
youth, in which were inscribed not
only his intimate friends, but also the
many strangers who were welcomed
in his hospitable home: he always
asked his guests to write their native
language, and thus made his book a
veritable polyglot.
Deetjen was fond of good food and
drink, but, in conformity with a
pledge made to his mother, never
touched whiskey or any concoction of
it. Particularly during prohibition
days it was his hobby to distill all
kinds of liqueur, the herbs for which
he procured in Europe, but he had
these more for his friends than for
his own use. At Würzburg he had
become acquainted with the famous
Bocksbeutel wine that grows on the
surrounding hills, and in later years
it was the greatest treat for him
if a friend returning from Germany
brought him a bottle of this wine.
Deetjen had a keen sense of humor,
and loved to mystify unsuspecting
hearers by apparently paradoxical
statements. As the years rolled on,
he suffered more and more from the
progress of his disease. He bore his
sufferings without complaint; at times
pain made him incapable of sustained
conversation, but he would neverthe-
less admit an intimate friend, deriving
comfort, as he said, from his mere
presence. During his last few years
the incurable illness of Mrs. Deetjen
caused him more concern than did
his own disease, and he remarked
repeatedly that but for her he would
long ago have welcomed the end.
Mrs. Deetjen died on December 24,
1940, and he followed her four days
later. They had no children. In
addition to his sister, Mrs. Amalia
Poppe, and her daughter, in Germany,
Deetjen is survived by a niece, Mrs.
Elizabeth Deetjen Finley, of Balti-
more, and a nephew, Ernest Christian
Deetjen, of Hagerstown, Maryland.
W. KURRELMEYER.
[39]
John George Mohlhenrich
was born in South Baltimore on
March 25, 1865. He was the youngest
child of John George Mohlhenrich
and Margaret, nee Schaberg. He had
two brothers and one sister. His
parents had come to Baltimore from
Gellershausen in the Duchy of Wal-
deck in Germany. The father died
when he was very young. He at-
tended the public schools and edu-
cated himself further in a business
training school. When about eighteen
years old, he entered the employ of
the Reliable Furniture Company and
in some ten years advanced himself
from his humble start as an appren-
tice to a point where he was able to
buy out the firm and to establish it
as "Mohlhenrich Furniture Com-
pany." His factory was located at
the corner of President and Fawn
Streets. For more than forty years
this business ranked with the first
furniture houses of the city. Taking
an active part in the national organi-
sations of the trade he was entrusted
with a number of important offices.—
One June 2, 1897, he was married
to Miss Marie Griesheim. Two sons
and two daughters graced his home.
In about 1900 he moved from his first
residence on Guilford Avenue north
of Lafayette to the spacious beauti-
ful house which he occupied to his
death at 512 Harwood Avenue. A
lingering illness lasting over two years
confined him to the house. He en-
tered into eternal rest on July 30,
1941, and was interred in Baltimore
Cemetery on August first. He had
been baptized and confirmed in Mar-
tini Lutheran Church at Sharp &
Henrietta Streets, but in later life he
affiliated with Zion Church at City
Hall Plaza.
J. George Mohlhenrich all his life
long held a deeply sincere and con-
scientious interest in cultural and
charitable organisations, representing
the activities of the German-Ameri-
cans of Baltimore. He was a member
and a director of the German Society
of Maryland and held the office of
Vice-President at the time of his
death. He was also Vice-President
of the Society for the History of the
Germans in Maryland. When after
the first world war the Steuben So-
ciety of America was founded, Mr.
Mohlhenrich from the very outset
became one of its most ardent pro-
moters. In the local branch, Schley
Unit No. 37, he occupied the chair
of the magistrate, and served in sev-
eral offices with the National Council
of the organisation. Mr. Mohlhen-
rich was the father of the Julius Hof-
mann Memorial Fund and a trustee
of the fund to his end. To com-
memorate the name of Pastor Hof-
mann he conceived of a living monu-
ment in the form of annual awards to
students of German in each of the
Baltimore High Schools, consisting of
a bronze medal and a book prize.—
Four times he crossed the ocean to
visit the land of his forebears, the last
time in 1924 in the company of his
wife and his daughter Gretchen. Al-
though born in America and by cir-
cumstances held to a limited edu-
cation, he nevertheless acquired a
knowledge of the German classics
which was astounding. Every cultural
endeavor found a friend in him. He
was deeply fond of music in every
form. He read extensively in litera-
ture and history both of American
and European origin. His love of
reading and the search for informa-
tion stayed with him to the last,
abated only by growing infirmity.
The niche of affection which he
occupied in the hearts of all who knew
the man was well earned by his kindly
noble character and his gentlemanly
attitude in all things. With him one
more from the ranks of true idealists
has gone into eternity.
F. O. EVERS.
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