About Marthe Hanau
Lived 1886 – 1935 (aged 49). Marthe Hanau was a French businessperson, journalist and banker.
Marthe Marie Hanau (1 January 1886 – 19 July 1935) was a Frenchwoman who successfully defrauded French financial markets in the 1920s and the 1930s.
Early life Marthe Marie Hanau was born in Lille to the family of a Jewish industrialist.
She married Lazare Bloch in 1908; they later divorced. In 1925, she and Bloch, who remained business partners after their divorce, founded an economic newspaper, La Gazette du Franc et des Nations. She died in Fresnes Prison a few days before the end of her prison term.
Legacy A French movie, "La Banquière" (The Lady Banker), by Francis Girod, was made in 1980, starring Romy Schneider as "Emma Eckhert", a thinly-fictionalized Hanau.
Season 7, Episode 7 of the Bad Gays podcast covers her life and crimes.
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Important facts
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Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Marthe Hanau?
French fraudster (1886–1935)
When was Marthe Hanau born?
Marthe Hanau was born on 10 January 1886 in Paris.
When did Marthe Hanau die?
Marthe Hanau died on 14 July 1935 in Fresnes.
What was Marthe Hanau's occupation?
Marthe Hanau was a businessperson, journalist and banker.
What nationality was Marthe Hanau?
Marthe Hanau was French.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Marthe Hanau. https://biography.guide/marthe-hanau/
MLA: "Marthe Hanau." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/marthe-hanau/.
Chicago: "Marthe Hanau." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/marthe-hanau/.
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