Josephine Erkens

Josephine Erkens (* 20th July 1889 in Dusseldorf , † 6. May 1974 ) led the 1927 under its aegis Founded Female Criminal Investigation (WKP) in Hamburg . The main focus of the WKP was the care of morally endangered women. The female criminal police were based in the town hall .

Life

Erken's professional career began in 1915 in Düsseldorf. This was followed by activities in Cologne and Frankfurt am Main in the 1920s . Josephine Erken's career came to an end in Hamburg in the early 1930s when she and two policewomen were the focus of a scandal .

Dusseldorf

Erkens gained his first professional experience at the steelworks association . She worked as an accountant for this from 1915 to 1918 .

Between 1918 and 1920 she completed an apprenticeship at the Niederrheinische Frauenakademie. This was followed by an internship at the Düsseldorf nursing office.

Cologne

In 1921, Erkens became a police officer in Cologne . In 1924 she took over the management of the Cologne women's welfare organization.

Frankfurt am Main

In 1925, Erkens moved to Frankfurt . In 1926 she passed the detective inspector's examination there. Furthermore, she took over the management of the Frankfurt women's welfare police.

Hamburg

Erkens came to Hamburg in 1927 to set up the female criminal police. In the same year she was promoted to chief inspector . Josephine Erkens was accompanied by two colleagues from Cologne, Therese Dopfer and Maria Fischer, who also started their service in Hamburg. In 1928, Erkens was promoted to government councilor . In the early 1930s, Josephine Erken's professional career ended in Hamburg: In 1931, Erken's colleagues Dopfer and Fischer (presumably) committed suicide together. Her (alleged) suicide made headlines . It was assumed that an unhappy love formed the background, at the center of which Josephine Erkens should have been. The case was not cleared up. As a result, Erkens was made publicly responsible for the deaths of the two women. At the beginning of 1932 she was dishonorably dismissed from service with ongoing payments. In 1933 these were canceled. Erkens moved back to Düsseldorf. The female criminal police she set up in Hamburg was closed.

In 1951 Josephine Erkens sought redress . A comparison was made with the city of Hamburg.

literature

• Robert Brack : Speaking Documents. Research in the State Archives while working on the novel "And the sea gave back its dead" . In: From the first source. Contributions to the 300th anniversary of the State Archives of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg , edited by Joachim W. Frank and Thomas Brakmann (publications from the State Archives of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, 22), Hamburg University Press, Hamburg 2013, pages 191-200.
• Ursula Nienhaus: Not suitable for a management position. Josefine Erkens and the beginnings of the female police force in Germany 1923–1933 , Westfälisches Dampfboot, Münster 1999.

Web links

• Rita Bake: Josephine Erkens , accessed March 8, 2020.
• Christa Schikorra: The professional career of a woman in the criminal police in the twenties and thirties , accessed on March 9, 2020.