Abstract
From the mid‐nineteenth century through World War I, female marital status was indicated through the legally designated titles of Fräulein and Frau. Women earned the title Frau through marriage. In the large state of Prussia, German women had the right to appeal to the Government in order to change their title to Frau without the benefit of marriage. This article offers a composite view of all title‐change applications submitted by women to the Prussian Ministry of the Interior from 1850 to 1917. The evidence indicates that the onset of World War I changed the way in which the Prussian Government viewed marital status. Prior to World War I, 35% of all applications were approved. During the war, petitions met 87% approval. The legal view of female titles reflected German conceptions of family and the relationship of the family to the state, though that relationship was viewed differently in times of war than in times of peace.
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