Democratic Women's League of Germany

Democratic Women's Federation of Germany
Demokratischer Frauenbund Deutschlands
	DFD flag
	DFD logo
Formation	March 1947;77 years ago
Dissolved	1990
Type	Mass organization
Purpose	Women's rights
Membership(1988)	1.5 million
Parent organization	National Front

TheDemocratic Women's League of Germany^[1]^[2]^[3](‹See Tfd›German:Demokratischer Frauenbund Deutschlands,orDFD) was themass women's organisationinEast Germany.It was one of the constituent members of theNational Frontand sent representatives to theVolkskammer.In 1988, membership was 1.5 million.^[4]^[1]

The DFD did not have much independence from the rulingSocialist Unity Party(SED).Käte Selbmann,a member of the DFD's executive board, complained that it was "a pre-school for women, neither as central as theFDGBnor even more important than any other mass organization to women's work, and absolutely subordinate to the SED ",^[5]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".^[6]

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

Name	Entered Office	Left Office
Anne-Marie Durand-Wever	1947	1948
Emmy Damerius-Koenen	1948	1949
Elli Schmidt	1949	September 1953
Ilse Thiele	September 1953	November 1989
Eva Rohmann	1989	1990
Gisela Steineckert	1990	1990

References

^^a ^bShreir, Sally, ed. (1988).Women's Movements of the World: an international directory and reference guide.Longman Group UK. pp. 99–100.ISBN 978-0-89774-508-6.
^Guenther, Katja (2010).Making Their Place: Feminism After Socialism in Eastern Germany.Stanford:Stanford University Press.p. 31.ISBN 978-0-8047-7072-9.The official women's group of the SED, the Democratic Women's League of Germany dominated women's organizational efforts in the GDR [...]
^McCauley, Martin(1983).The German Democratic Republic since 1945.New York:Palgrave Macmillan.p. 38.ISBN 978-1-349-18403-3.[...] the Democratic Women's Association of Germany (DFD) was founded in March 1947.
^Dirk Jurich,Staatssozialismus und gesellschaftliche Differenzierung: eine empirische Studie,p.32. LIT Verlag Münster, 2006,ISBN 3825898938
^Harsch, Donna (2000)."Approach/Avoidance: Communists and Women in East Germany, 1945–9".Social History.25(2): 176–178, 180.doi:10.1080/030710200363186.ISSN 0307-1022.JSTOR 4286643.
^Dubslaff, Valérie (2014)."Les femmes en quête de pouvoir? Le défi de la participation politique en République démocratique allemande (1949-1990)"[Women in Search of Power? The Challenge of Political Participation in the German Democratic Republic (1949-1990)].Allemagne d'aujourd'hui(in French).207(1): 37.doi:10.3917/all.207.0033.ISBN 9782757406915– viaCairn.info.

External links

Media related toDemokratischer Frauenbund Deutschlandsat Wikimedia Commons

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[Shreir-1] Shreir, Sally, ed. (1988).Women's Movements of the World: an international directory and reference guide.Longman Group UK. pp. 99–100.ISBN 978-0-89774-508-6.

[2] Guenther, Katja (2010).Making Their Place: Feminism After Socialism in Eastern Germany.Stanford:Stanford University Press.p. 31.ISBN 978-0-8047-7072-9.The official women's group of the SED, the Democratic Women's League of Germany dominated women's organizational efforts in the GDR [...]

[3] McCauley, Martin(1983).The German Democratic Republic since 1945.New York:Palgrave Macmillan.p. 38.ISBN 978-1-349-18403-3.[...] the Democratic Women's Association of Germany (DFD) was founded in March 1947.

[4] Dirk Jurich,Staatssozialismus und gesellschaftliche Differenzierung: eine empirische Studie,p.32. LIT Verlag Münster, 2006,ISBN 3825898938

[Harsch-5] Harsch, Donna (2000)."Approach/Avoidance: Communists and Women in East Germany, 1945–9".Social History.25(2): 176–178, 180.doi:10.1080/030710200363186.ISSN 0307-1022.JSTOR 4286643.

[Dubslaff-6] Dubslaff, Valérie (2014)."Les femmes en quête de pouvoir? Le défi de la participation politique en République démocratique allemande (1949-1990)"[Women in Search of Power? The Challenge of Political Participation in the German Democratic Republic (1949-1990)].Allemagne d'aujourd'hui(in French).207(1): 37.doi:10.3917/all.207.0033.ISBN 9782757406915– viaCairn.info.

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v t e Political partiesinEast Germany
Parties of the Democratic Bloc(1945–1950)	Communist Party of Germany(to 1946) Social Democratic Party of Germany(to 1946) Christian Democratic Union Liberal Democratic Party Socialist Unity Party of Germany(from 1946)
Parties of the National Front(1950–1989)	Socialist Unity Party of Germany Christian Democratic Union of Germany Liberal Democratic Party of Germany National Democratic Party of Germany(formed in 1948) Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany(formed in 1948)
Parties during and after the Peaceful Revolution(1989–1990)	Alliance 90 Democracy Now Initiative for Peace and Human Rights New Forum Alliance for Germany Christian Democratic Union Democratic Awakening German Social Union Association of Free Democrats Liberal Democratic Party Free Democratic Party German Forum Party Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany Communist Party of Germany Green Party National Democratic Party of Germany Social Democratic Party Socialist Unity Party of Germany—Party of Democratic Socialism United Left
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v t e Organizations of theGerman Democratic Republic
Mass organizations with representation in theVolkskammer	Free German Trade Union Federation(1946–90) Free German Youth(1936–present) Democratic Women's Federation of Germany(1947–90) Cultural Association of the DDR(1945–90) Peasants Mutual Aid Association(1945–90)
Other organizations within theNational Front	Society for German–Soviet Friendship People's Solidarity German Gymnastics and Sports Federation Sport and Technology Association Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation Association of Gardeners, Settlers, and Animal Breeders Writers' Association of the GDR GDR Union of Journalists Handelsorganisation Konsum Domowina Urania
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