Beiträge zu Feminismus, Antisemitismus und
Nationalsozialismus im 19./20. Jahrhundert: Vol 4.
Antisemitism in the German Women's Movement 1865-1933 fills a gap in the research on antisemitism, women's movement and gender studies. The German women's movement of today must confront the accusation that even in its own ranks anti-Jewish modes of thinking and behavior were present from the very beginning. They occurred not only in nationalist, conservative associations but also in progressive ones, and even among social democratic feminists.
This antisemitism was distinguished not by open racism alone. Exclusion, enforced silence, marginalization – subtle forms of anti-Jewishness were found in virtually all associations belonging to the organized women's movement of Imperial Germany and after. The author traces this phenomenon in her documentation of extensive archival materials in Germany, Israel, and the United States.
This English edition is a translated, revised and extended version of the author's dissertation "Vaterland statt Menschenrecht," first published in Germany in 1999.
Table of Contents
1. Antisemitism, an Explanation of the Concept
2. Research on Antisemitism in the German Women's Movement
3. Research Method: Reading between the Lines (and chronology of antisemitic incidents)
4. A Classification Scheme
I. The Moderate Liberal Women's Movement
1. The General German Women's Association
a) From the Women's Education Organization to the General German Women's Association
b) Jewish Women in the General German Women's Association
c) Ignoring, a Form of an Antisemitic Attitude
d) Silence in the Face of Anti-Jewish Attacks
e) The Humanistic Ideal as a Christian Value?
2. German Teachers' Organizations
a) The Founding of Residences and Organizations for Women Teachers
b) The Israelite Women Teachers' Home Association
c) Institutional and Religious Exclusion of Jewish Women Teachers?
d) Reactions to Legal Discrimination against Jewish Teaching Staff
3. Nurses' Associations
a) A Short Overview of the History and Development of the Nursing Profession
b) The German Union of Jewish Nurses' Associations
c) The Red Cross: Friendly or Hostile to Jews?
d) Sister Agnes Karll: Ignorant or Antisemitic?
II. The Patriotic-Nationalist Women's Movement
1) The Patriotic Women's Associations
a) Historical Background, Foundation and Organization
b) Christian, Patriotic and Not at All Antisemitic?
c) Antisemitic "Tactlessness"
2) The National Women's Service
a) Development of the National Women's Service (NFD)
b) Jewish Women in the NFD
c) "Patriotism is not enough"
d) Self-Confident Jewish Women not wanted
III. The Nationalist-Imperialistic Women's Movement
1) The Women's League of the German Colonial Society
a) Beginning and Development
b) Nationalism and Racism as Eligibility Criteria
c) Antisemites among Colonialist Women?
2) The Naval League of German Women
a) Foundation and Political Objectives
b) Free of Antisemitic Attitudes?
IV. The Religious Women's Movement
1. The German Protestant Women's League
a) From the Protestant Social Women's Group to the Establishment of the German Protestant Women's League (DEF)
b) Antisemitic Sponsors of the DEF
c) Christian Chauvinism
d) Antisemitism within the German Protestant Women's League
2. The Catholic Women's League
a) The Development of the Catholic Women's League
b) Catholic Worldview as Demarcation Line
c) "Christian Superiority"
d) Relations with the Jewish Women's Movement
3. The Jewish Women's League
a) Founding and Development of the Jewish Women's League
b) The Fight against Antisemitism as Goal and Objective of the JFB
c) How did Jewish Feminists Experience Antisemitism in the German Women's Movement?
V. The Radical Liberal Women's Movement
1. The German Association for Women's Suffrage
a) Development and Tasks
b) Jewish Women and the Women's Suffrage
c) The Case of Käthe Schirmacher
d) A Resolution against Ritual Slaughter: Antisemitism or Animal Protection?
e) Reaction of the German Federation for Women's Suffrage
2. The Federation for the Protection of Motherhood
a) Eugenics and its Reception by the German Women's Movement
b) Founding and Goals of the Federation for the Protection of Motherhood
c) New Ethics for the Improvement of the "Race"
d) Did the BfM Members Help Pave the Way to National Socialism?
VI. The Socialist Women's Movement
1. Working Women's Associations in Berlin
a) History and Development
b) Collaboration between Socialist Women and Adolf Stoecker?
2. SPD Women's Organizations
a) Integration of the Socialist Women's Movement into the SPD
b) Antisemitism in the SPD
c) Anti-Jewish Trends in the Socialist Theory of Emancipation?
d) Anti-Jewish Symbols Maintain their Power
VII. An Umbrella Organization: The Federation of German Women's Organizations
a) An Umbrella Organization for All Women's Associations?
b) A Shift to the Political Right
c) The Eighth General Assembly in Breslau 1908
d) "Jewified Liberalism"
e) Further Antisemitic Incidents
VIII. Brief Overview: Women's Associations in the Weimar Republic
a) From Kaiserreich to Weimar Republic
b) New Women's Associations of the Weimar Republic
Objectives and Research Themes
This work provides the first comprehensive historical overview of the German women's movement between 1865 and 1933, specifically investigating the manifestations, forms, and expressions of antisemitism within its various branches. The primary research objective is to document how anti-Jewish attitudes were integrated into the ideological foundations and daily practices of diverse feminist organizations, moving beyond the simple classification of these groups as "emancipatory."
- Documentation of antisemitic incidents across moderate, radical, religious, and socialist women's organizations.
- Analysis of the relationship between Christian identity and the conceptualization of the "Jewish other" within the movement.
- Evaluation of how antisemitism influenced the professional exclusion and marginalization of Jewish feminists.
- Assessment of the role of nationalist and colonialist ideologies in fostering anti-Jewish sentiments among German women.
- Critical examination of the failure of the women's movement to achieve effective solidarity against rising antisemitism before 1933.
Excerpt from the Book
Silence in the Face of Anti-Jewish Attacks
Henriette Goldschmidt had been – as already mentioned – a member of the ADF board for almost 40 years and had held the office of vice-president for many years. In Leipzig, she brought into existence many social institutions, such as kindergartens and a women's university. In light of the position she held in the ADF, and of her very active and fruitful cooperation in the women's movement, it is simply astonishing that the ADF board members remained silent when she was publicly attacked in the press.
On November 5th 1913, the Staatsbürger Zeitung, a Berlin daily, published the following item: "The education of children and women in Leipzig in the hands of a rabbi's wife. The L.N.N. [Leipziger Neue Nachrichten] announced: 'The Organization for Families and People's Education, founded in Leipzig in 1871 (chairwoman is the Jewess Henriette Goldschmidt) gives us in its report at hand, of 1910-12, a delightful picture of the development and growth of the facilities'."
In the news item, the institutions belonging to this education organization are then named, as well as the number of children, schoolgirls, students, etc. who had attended them. To which the brief commentary concludes: "So Jewry succeeds, even in a city like Leipzig, in subjecting all education, to the extent it is in the hands of women, to Jewish influence and decision-making authority! Yet another reason that the time has urgently come to organize antisemitic women's leagues."
The JFB, of which Henriette Goldschmidt was an honorary member, addressed the board of the BDF shortly afterward, and asked its members to publish a rebuttal: "My Dear Dr. [Bäumer; H.W.]! The board meeting of the Jewish Women's League, on the 23rd of this month, discussed the enclosed item from the 'Staatsbürger Zeitung'. We are of the opinion, along with many persons associated with the history of the German women's movement, that the 'Jewess and rabbi's wife', Henriette Goldschmidt, has so advanced the lives of women and German culture, and has so enriched them even into her old age, that an unqualified statement as the aforementioned should not remain uncontradicted."
Summary of Chapters
The Moderate Liberal Women's Movement: This section explores the foundational liberal-democratic goals of the movement and highlights the paradoxical exclusion and marginalization of Jewish members despite their active participation in leadership roles.
The Patriotic-Nationalist Women's Movement: This chapter analyzes how patriotic goals and loyalty to the monarchy prioritized national unity over the inclusion of Jewish women, leading to instances of social exclusion.
The Nationalist-Imperialistic Women's Movement: This part examines how colonialist and imperialist ideologies fostered racist and antisemitic frameworks, positioning "white" German identity against perceived outsiders.
The Religious Women's Movement: This chapter investigates how Christian religious identities, specifically within Protestant and Catholic leagues, created a sense of supremacy that fundamentally alienated and excluded Jewish feminists.
The Radical Liberal Women's Movement: This analysis focuses on the suffrage movement and exposes how even progressive, reformist circles failed to challenge, and at times actively promoted, antisemitic resolutions regarding ritual practices.
The Socialist Women's Movement: This section documents how the SPD-aligned women's movement, while theoretically universalist, relied on antisemitic metaphors and expectations of Jewish assimilation as the price for equality.
An Umbrella Organization: The Federation of German Women's Organizations: This chapter traces the BDF's trajectory from an inclusive potential toward an exclusionary, nationalist entity that struggled to reconcile its stated neutrality with the antisemitism of its affiliates.
Brief Overview: Women's Associations in the Weimar Republic: This final overview outlines the post-WWI radicalization of women's associations and their alignment with extreme right-wing and völkisch movements.
Keywords
Antisemitism, German women's movement, feminism, Jewish Women's League, Jüdischer Frauenbund, BDF, Bund Deutscher Frauenvereine, Christianization, nationalism, racism, eugenics, National Socialism, suffrage movement, assimilation, exclusion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this study?
This study focuses on the early German women's movement from 1865 to 1933 and documents the presence of anti-Jewish attitudes, stereotypes, and exclusionary practices within the various ideological branches of the movement.
Which central thematic areas are covered?
The book covers a diverse range of organizations, including moderate and radical liberal movements, religious leagues (Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish), nationalist-imperialistic groups, and the socialist women's movement.
What is the primary research goal?
The primary goal is to render visible the various, often subtle forms of antisemitism that persisted within an emancipatory movement and to analyze how Jewish feminists perceived and responded to these challenges.
Which scientific methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a methodology of "reading between the lines" of archival sources, published documents, and autobiographical narratives to detect hidden discrimination and bring the often ignored experiences of Jewish women to light.
What does the main body of the work treat?
The main body provides an in-depth chapter-by-chapter analysis of fifteen distinct women's organizations, detailing their ideological orientations, their relationship to Jewish feminists, and their responses to antisemitism during the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic.
What characterizes the key keywords of the book?
Key terms such as "antisemitism," "emancipation," "nationalism," "Christian identity," and "exclusion" characterize the book, emphasizing the friction between feminist progress and societal prejudice.
How does the work address the role of Protestantism in the women's movement?
The work demonstrates how Protestant ethics and the claim of Christian moral superiority were utilized by organizations like the DEF to legitimize the exclusion of Jewish women from leadership and influence.
What conclusion does the author draw regarding the movement's relationship to National Socialism?
The author concludes that by adopting nationalist, eugenic, and racist ideologies, many women's organizations—despite their emancipatory slogans—indirectly helped prepare the social and ideological ground for the rise of National Socialism.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Dr. Heidemarie Wawrzyn (Autor:in), 2011, Antisemitism in the German Women's Movement 1865-1933, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/176210
