Anna Vock

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Anna Vock , also known under the pseudonym Mammina (born January 13, 1885 in Anglikon , † December 14, 1962 in Zurich ), was a Swiss activist of the first lesbian movement.

Life

Nothing is known about Vock's origins and life prior to the 1930s. Around 1932 she can be verified as an office worker in Zurich. In the same year she met the initiator Laura Thoma when she founded the lesbian "Ladies Club Amiticia" in Zurich . While she was becoming president of the new club, Vock acted as secretary. Her transcripts, which have been kept in detail over many years, are today important sources on the first lesbian movement in Switzerland.

From January 1932 onwards, Thoma and Bambula published the magazine Das Freundsbanner ( The Friendship Banner), when it was renamed "Swiss Friendship Banner" in 1933 as the editor and publisher. When the magazine clearly got involved in the struggle for the impunity of homosexuality under a new penal code, it was outed by contemporary tabloids ("Guggu", "searchlights"), repeatedly lost her job and was arrested several times.

Regardless of this, Vock filled this position until 1942, when the magazine gradually lost all female subscribers. Karl Meier , known as "Rolf", used the accompanying financial crisis to take over the magazine and turn it into a dedicated gay magazine. Under the new name Der Kreis , it was the leading international gay magazine until 1967.

Vock found it difficult to leave the activist role, but remained closely connected to the movement and the circle . Under her former pseudonym "Mammina" she was a popular lesbian figure in the homophile movement, although she was no longer active as an activist. She died on December 14, 1962 in Zurich.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ schwulengeschichte.ch: Friendship Association , accessed April 12, 2020
  2. ↑ glbtq.com: Hubert Kennedy: "Vock, Anna (1885-1962)" , accessed on April 11, 2020
  3. ↑ schwulengeschichte.ch: "Switzerland is becoming an island" , accessed on April 8, 2020
  4. ^ Rolf (d. I. Karl Meier): "Farewell to Mammina" , in: Der Kreis, 31: 1, 1963, pp. 6-7
personal data
SURNAME Vock, Anna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mammina
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss activist of the lesbian movement
DATE OF BIRTH January 13, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Anglicon
DATE OF DEATH December 14, 1962
Place of death Zurich