Margarete Behm

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Margarete Behm (before 1920)
Margarete Behm with assistant Therese de la Croix as chairwoman of the trade union (before 1909)
At a DNVP party conference in Königsberg, from left: Elsa Hielscher-Panten , Else von Sperber , Annagrete Lehmann , behind them Magdalene von Tiling , Margarete Behm, behind them Therese Deutsch , Helene Freifrau von Watter , Paula Müller-Otfried , behind them Ulrike Scheidel
Muttel Behm (1930)

Margarete Behm (born May 3, 1860 in Lehndorf , Liebenwerda district , † July 28, 1929 in Berlin ) was a German politician of the DNVP .

Life and work

The father of Margarete Behm, born in 1860, was a poor tenant farmer. She lost her mother early. After attending the village school in Koßdorf in the province of Saxony , Behm, who was Protestant , went to the Heinemannsche Höhere Töchterschule in Stolp ( Pomerania ) until 1876 . Subsequently, she completed the Proß teacher seminar in Berlin and from 1879 worked as a teacher at the Proß secondary school for girls . After switching to civil service in 1884, she taught first at the 22nd and later at the 143rd community school in Berlin (until 1905).

In 1897, Behm began her life's work: organizing homeworkers who had previously been defenselessly exposed to wage pressure. Through an endless number of home visits, she organized the trade union for homeworkers in Germany and published the magazine Die Heimarbeitin from 1900 onwards . She says: “ The work with one another is still primarily aimed at the upward striving of the workforce. Ultimately, however, we are all supported by love for the fatherland and trust in God. “The union belonged to the Christian unions .

From 1905 Behm was chairwoman of the union of homeworkers in Germany for Zehlendorf . She organized legal protection , unemployment benefits , sick pay allowance , maternity allowance , further training courses , insurance , purchasing cooperatives, rest homes and, above all, led wage negotiations with employers. She also gained influence through her election as a member of the Reichstag. So she became the leader of thousands of women. She said: “ The strong roots of our strength lie in Christianity. "In 1925 she received from the University of Greifswald the honorary doctorate in medicine .

She lived with her closest colleague Margarete Wolff in a Berlin suburb in a house of her own, where she received frequent visitors. At events she appeared as a warm-hearted and engaging speaker. After her death, her coffin was accompanied by a great funeral procession.

Political party

In 1918 Behm participated in the founding of the DNVP , of which she headed the Reich Women's Committee until 1923. She confronted male members of the parliamentary group confidently and did not allow herself to be influenced.

MPs

Behm was a member of the Weimar National Assembly in 1919/20 . Then she was a member of the Reichstag until 1928 . In 1922, in the Reichstag, she pushed through the introduction of insurance cover for homeworkers . The corresponding law was named after her "Lex Behm".

literature

Web links

Commons : Margarete Behm  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Antonius Lux (ed.): Great women of world history. 1000 biographies in words and pictures . Sebastian Lux Verlag , Munich 1963, p. 54.
personal data
SURNAME Behm, Margarete
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician (DNVP), MdR
DATE OF BIRTH May 3, 1860
PLACE OF BIRTH Lehndorf , Liebenwerda district
DATE OF DEATH July 28, 1929
Place of death Berlin