This bonus episode is brought to you by Mercedes-Benz. From a company built on the legacy, determination and inspiration of women, Mercedes-Benz and Encyclopedia Wommanica celebrate those driving change. All month, we’re talking about women in the driver's seat. Every Saturday this month we are sharing the stories of women who defied the odds to change the auto industry forever. For this first episode, we’re focusing on the beginning of the Mercedes Benz story, and two women who had an outsized impact in creating the brand we know today. Let’s talk about Bertha Benz and Mercedes Jellinek.

Bonus: The Beginning — Bertha Benz & Mercédès Jellinek

Thinking back to our history classes growing up, we had one question: Where the ladies at? Enter, Womanica. In just 5 minutes a day, learn about different incredible women from throughout history. On Wonder Media Network’s award-winning podcast, we’re telling the stories of women you may or may not know — but definitely should. 

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Marguerite de la Rocque (c. 1542) was meant to disappear. That’s what her older relative, Sieur de Roberval, intended to happen when he marooned Marguerite on an uninhabited Canadian island. But against all odds, she survived instead.

Disappearing Acts: Marguerite de la Rocque

Barbara Newhall Follet (1914-unknown) was an American child prodigy novelist. She published two books before she was a teenager and wrote poetry as well. When she was in her twenties, she left her house after fighting with her husband and was never seen again.

Disappearing Acts: Barbara Newhall Follett

Clara Bow (1905-1965) was an American film star of the 1920s. Her flapper persona helped bring about the “it” girl and popularize the fads of the era. Her sudden retirement at the age of 28 essentially erased her from later films as the studio system grew, but she left an undeniable imprint on film history.

Disappearing Acts: Clara Bow

Irmgard Keun (1905-1982) was a best-selling novelist in Germany in the early 1930s. After she ran afoul of Nazi censorship, she became an exiled, “anti-German” expatriate hiding from the Nazi regime. That’s when she was reported dead by suicide. But was that really the full story?

Disappearing Acts: Irmgard Keun

Nadine Hwang (1902-1972) was a Chinese pilot, a lesbian writer’s driver, a foreign diplomat, and a resistance fighter. In 1944, she was captured by Nazisand vanished into the Ravensbruck concentration camp – where she endured inhumane conditions, and, met the love of her life.

Bonus: The Beginning — Bertha Benz & Mercédès Jellinek

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