DBP 1994 1723 Bund Deutscher Frauenvereine

The Bund Deutscher Frauenvereine (Federation of German Women's Associations) (BDF) was founded on 28/29 March 1894 as umbrella organization of the women's civil rights

feminist movement The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for Radical politics, radical and Liberalism, liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality b ...

and existed until the

Nazi seizure of power Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

in 1933. Its creation was inspired by the founding of the

World's Congress of Representative Women The World's Congress of Representative Women was a week-long convention for the voicing of women's concerns, held within The Woman's Building (Chicago), The Woman's Building of the World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago, May 1893). At 81 meetings, ...

meeting on the occasion of the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in Chicago. Several women from Germany attended this event: Anna Simson, Hanna Bieber-Böhm, Auguste Förster,

Käthe Schirmacher Käthe Schirmacher ( Danzig, 6 August 1865 – Meran, 18 November, 1930) was a German writer, journalist, and political activist who was considered to be one of the leading advocates for women's rights and the international women's movement in th ...

. They took the example of the American National Council of Women as a model for the BDF. The

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., with ...

also played a role in strengthening the co-operation between the NCW and the BDF.

Governance

The first board was composed of: * Auguste Schmidt * Anna Schepeler-Lette, Chairperson of the Latvian Club * Anna Simson *

Hanna Bieber-Böhm Hanna Bieber-Böhm (6 February 1851 – 15 April 1910) was a German feminist and pioneer of social work. She established an organization to assist young women seeking work in Berlin and help protect them from becoming prostitutes, and founded a rec ...

as chairwoman of the association for the protection of minors Representative of the morality movement * Auguste Förster *

Ottilie Hoffmann Ottilie Franziska Hoffmann (14 July 183520 December 1925) was a German educationalist and social reformer who came to prominence as a pioneering temperance activist. Early life and education Ottilie Hoffmann was born in the central quarter of ...

, temperance activist *

Helene von Forster Helene von Forster (born Helene Schmidmer: 27 August 1859 – 16 November 1923) was a German women's rights activist and author. She is considered the most important representative of the feminist movement's moderate "bourgeois" wing in Nuremb ...

, chairwoman of the Nuremberg Association Women's Welfare *

Helene Lange Helene Lange (9 April 1848 in Oldenburg – 13 May 1930 in Berlin) was a pedagogue and feminist. She is a symbolic figure of the international and German civil rights feminist movement. In the years from 1919 to 1921 she was a member of the Hamb ...

* Betty Naue In 1896 they were joined by: * Jeanette Schwerin, Head of girls and women's groups for social work * Marie Stritt, Founder of the first legal protection association for women in Germany

Constituent groups

Among others, the Reifenstein schools, Reifensteiner Association was among the members.

History

Wilhelmine period

Weimar period

The Nazi rise to power, in 1933, led to their with the assertion of control over women's associations. Such groups involving communists or socialists were forbidden, and members were arrested or even assassinated in rare cases.http://www.erudit.org/revue/rf/1991/v4/n2/057649ar.pdf All associations were asked to turn in Jewish members, including the Union of Protestant Women, the Association for Home and Countryside, the Union of German Colonial Women, and the Queen Louise League, Union of Queen Louise. But soon, the majority of the organizations disbanded or chose among themselves to disappear, like the BDF which dissolved in 1933 to avoid being controlled.Marie-Bénédicte Incent,'' Histoire de la société allemande au XXe siècle. Tome I. Le premier XXe siècle. 1900-1949'', Paris, 2011, p. 42 Some of the affiliated associations joined the Deutsches Frauenwerk.

Membership

Membership steadily grew in the first twenty years: * 1895 : 65 chapters * 1901 : 137 chapters and 70,000 members * 1913 : 2200 chapters and 500,000 members

Articles

* Women in the Third Reich * Deutsches Frauenwerk * Frauenschaft

References

{{Authority control Feminism in Germany Organizations of the German Empire Organizations based in the Weimar Republic Women's organisations based in Germany 1894 establishments in Germany Organizations established in 1894 1933 disestablishments in Germany Organizations disestablished in 1933