The Democratic Women's League of Germany
(, or DFD) was the
mass women's organisation in
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
. It was one of the constituent members of the
National Front and sent representatives to the
Volkskammer
The Volkskammer (, "People's Chamber") was the supreme power organ of East Germany. It was the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it.
The Volkskammer was initia ...
. In 1988, membership was 1.5 million.
[Dirk Jurich, ''Staatssozialismus und gesellschaftliche Differenzierung: eine empirische Studie'', p.32. LIT Verlag Münster, 2006, ]
The DFD did not have much independence from the ruling
Socialist Unity Party
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (, ; SED, ) was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from the country's foundation in 1949 until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in 1989. It was a Ma ...
(SED).
Käte Selbmann, a member of the DFD's executive board, complained that it was "a pre-school for women, neither as central as the
FDGB nor even more important than any other mass organization to women's work, and absolutely subordinate to the SED",
while historian Valerie Dubslaff writes that "the role of the department was therefore neither to represent the interests of women nor to promote them within the party, but to execute the political will of its leaders".
Organization
The DFD was established in March 1947 and had the following official aims:
*Removal of fascist ideas
*Education for women
*Equal rights
*Fair social living conditions
*Education of children in the spirit of humanism and peace
*Co-operation with the international women's movement
Chairwomen of the Democratic Women's Federation of Germany
References
External links
*
Political parties in East Germany
Women's wings of communist parties
Organisations based in East Germany
Organizations established in 1947
1947 establishments in Germany
Mass organisations of East Germany
Feminist organisations in Germany
Women's International Democratic Federation affiliates
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