Gertrud David, née Swiderski, (25 December 1872 – 21 June 1936) was a German
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
,
film producer
A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...
, director, and
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
.
Biography
Gertrud Swiderski was born on 25 December 1872 in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
to Helene (née Schlenk) and Philipp Swiderski. She was the oldest of four siblings born into a wealthy family. In April 1896, she married the
Eduard David
Eduard Heinrich Rudolph David (11 June 1863 – 24 December 1930) was a German politician. He was an important figure in the history of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and of the German political labour movement. After the German Re ...
, a newspaper editor and
Social Democrat, who would become involved in politics and a proponent of Socialist reform.
After her marriage, David studied
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
at
Women's college (german: Höheren Töchterschule) of Leipzig. As early as 1896, she had begun publishing about women's issues and from 1899 she wrote about the consumer cooperative movement. Between 1900 and 1917 she served as editor of the "Cooperative Society" (german: Genossenschaftswesen) section of the Socialist Monthly Lectures and wrote widely in the Social Democratic press. David and her husband relocated to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
in 1905, but separated in 1908, finally divorcing in 1911, though they continued to work closely together. Women's issues of maternity protection and sexual reformation were important topics she addressed.
In the early 1910s, David discovered the new medium of film and recognized its usefulness to publicize social issues. At the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, she produced a film, ''Die Geächten'', which dealt with the issue of
illegitimacy and the stigma it caused for children. This was followed by several films which brought commentary on social and economic conditions after the war.
Between 1922 and 1941, David and the company she founded, Gervid Film GmbH Berlin, produced social and industrial films, like those for the medical conglomerate Bethel. The films made for Bethel's hospitals, care facilities and research centers were both a historic record and a type of propaganda to boast of their own achievements brought about by their concept of Christian welfare and caring.
David died in Berlin on 21 June 1936, but her company continued to operate under the direction of her daughter, Sonja,
until operations were ceased by the
Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda.
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
*
filmography
{{DEFAULTSORT:David Gertrud
1872 births
1936 deaths
German journalists
Film people from Leipzig
German women journalists
German suffragists
German documentary film directors