Pohl-Stroher was born on 18 January 1919 in Wurzen in Saxony, East Germany and grew up in Rothenkirchen in Vogtland.
[1] Pohl-Stroher's grandparents, Franz and Marie Stroeher, founded the hair care and cosmetics company Wella AG in the 19th century.
[2] Her net worth was estimated by Forbes magazine to be US$1.3 billion making her the 101st wealthiest person in Germany at the time of her death.
[2] From 1978 until her death, Pohl-Ströher amassed a large collection of European portrait miniatures from the 16th through the 19th centuries, including works by, among many others, Nicholas Hilliard, Rosalba Carriera, Jean-Étienne Liotard, Heinrich Friedrich Füger, Jean-Baptiste Jacques Augustin, and Moritz Michael Daffinger.
Pohl-Ströher received a number of geosciences award, including the Stein im Brett by the Association of German Geologists and an honorary doctorate from TU Bergakademie Freiberg's Faculty for Geosciences, Geotechnical Engineering and Mining.