Viola Herms Drath

Viola Herms Drath (February 8, 1920 – August 11, 2011) was a Washington, D.C., author, socialite and a German-American member of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy for over thirty years. She was murdered, at age 91, by her second husband, Albrecht Gero Muth.

Early life Drath was born in Düsseldorf, Germany, on February 8, 1920. She is reported to have learned English from vacations and boarding school in Scotland. In 1946, during her time working in Munich, Drath met U.S. Army Lt. Col. Francis S. Drath while visiting Lake Constance in Switzerland; he was, at the time, the deputy military governor of Bavaria. staged in Straubing's Municipal Theater and in Munich.

During the post-World War II period, Drath worked as a German interpreter in Munich, in the office of her soon-to-be husband, who was the deputy military governor of Bavaria.

After moving to Lincoln, Nebraska, with her first husband, she attended the University of Nebraska, where she studied for an advanced degree in literature and philosophy. During this time, Drath and her first husband moved to Washington, DC, where Col. Drath was a legislative liaison with the Selective Service. They bought a house at 3206 Q Street, Northwest, in the Georgetown district in northwest Washington, D.C.

After their marriage, Muth fabricated a story that an elderly German Count had fallen from an elephant in India and needed to appoint a successor before dying—from that point forward, Muth insisted on being called Count Albrecht. In a report submitted to the court, forensic psychologist Mitchell Hugonnet concluded that Muth had narcissistic personality disorder but was not mentally ill. In 2014, Muth was convicted of murdering his wife Judge Russell F. Canan's remarks before sentencing described Muth as "a common serial domestic violence abuser, made worse when he drinks, who subjected Ms. Drath to many years of abuse." The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 27, 2019, and was released theatrically in the United States on May 14, 2021.

Awards William J. Flynn Initiative for Peace Award from the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (2005) for promoting German reunification Recipient of the Iraqi Minister of Defense Commendation Medal Honorary Member, Berlin Air Lift Veterans Association ranking among the 700 Great Nebraskans inducted into the Nebraska Journalism Hall of Fame Honorable Mention for Writing by the Association of American University Women Honorary Citizen of Dallas, Texas