Maria Fierz

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maria Fierz (born March 27, 1878 in Richterswil , † September 13, 1956 in Oberrieden ) was an early supporter and specialist in social work . She headed the Zurich women's headquarters for decades and advocated women's rights as well as liberal and social politics.

Career

Fierz grew up in a middle-class family in the canton of Zurich . She was the granddaughter of the textile manufacturer, financier and liberal Federal Councilor Heinrich Fierz (1813–1877). Her parents refused to allow her to study, so Maria Fierz went to London on the advice of Mentona Moser . There she trained as a social worker from 1901 to 1903 at the Women's University Settlement.

Together with Moser, Fierz worked in the non-profit women's association after completing their training in Zurich. At the same time, they looked for ways to spread the welfare methods they had learned in Great Britain in Switzerland. They initiated and led the «Courses for the introduction to female auxiliary work for social tasks» in Zurich. These so-called welfare courses were intended to awaken a sense of responsibility towards those in need in young women and encourage them to volunteer. The courses were expanded in the years that followed and from 1920 onwards they were offered as part of the “Zurich Social School for Women”. In Zurich, open care was only poorly developed, so social care had to take place primarily in homes and institutions. In addition to her work in welfare training, Maria Fierz completed an internship at the “Volunteer and Resident Poor Care Zurich”, where she also got to know the administrative part of welfare.

From 1910, Fierz continued the women's welfare courses with Moser's successor Marta von Meyenburg. Together they expanded the educational offer for social work and founded the Zurich Social School for Women in 1920. Until 1948 Fierz was a board member of the women's school. The welfare courses were initially attended by women who volunteered and volunteered in welfare. This first group of female pupils was increasingly joined by participants who used the courses as preparation for social work. The welfare courses and the school thus contributed to the professionalization of welfare as “social work” and to the development of qualified, specifically female occupations.

In addition to social work, Maria Fierz was involved in numerous socio-political issues. In 1908 she was elected as the first and only woman to both the central and the supervisory committee of the “Volunteer and Resident Poor Care of the City of Zurich”. In 1913 she left the organization because of differences of opinion, but from 1928 she served in its successor organization, the Commission for Poor Care of the City of Zurich. From 1917 to 1944 she headed the Zurich women's headquarters, which was housed in the same building as the social women's school and had set itself the goal of making a contribution to the common good and opening up new professional fields for middle-class women. The women's center coordinated the activities of women's welfare organizations, offered counseling for women and ran a mothers' school (1942–1977). From 1935 to 1940 Fierz was also a member of the board of directors of the Federation of Swiss Women's Associations. Through her longstanding commitment to women's professions and equal rights for women, she became an important exponent of the Swiss women's movement. She founded what is now the “Social Work” department of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

The initiation of “women's groups for social understanding” after the national strike of 1918, in which women from the bourgeoisie and working class gathered in Zurich's quarters and strived for cross-class understanding, was more politically oriented. When the front-line movement grew stronger in the 1930s, Fierz became involved in the Swiss-wide «Working Group on Women and Democracy», which campaigned against anti-democratic and fascist trends. Fierz was a staunch pacifist and was close to religious socialism.

Honor

Memorial plaque from Maria Fierz at Schanzengraben 29, Zurich
Memorial plaque from Maria Fierz at Schanzengraben 29, Zurich

Maria Fierz was honored by the Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster on the occasion of the annual women's honor at Sechseläuten in 2016 . Your memorial plaque is located at Schanzengraben 29 in Zurich.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Zurich Women's Headquarters - Milestones. Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
  2. ^ History of social security-Fierz, Maria. Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
  3. ^ History of the Social Security Home. Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
  4. ^ History of social security-Fierz, Maria. Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Milestones in History | ZHAW social work. Accessed November 15, 2018 (German).
  6. ^ History of social security-Fierz, Maria. Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
  7. ^ A b Regula Ludi: Fierz, Maria. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . January 12, 2005 , accessed February 25, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Maria Fierz (approx. 1940), founder of the social women's school in Zurich. Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
  9. ^ History of social security-Fierz, Maria. Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
  10. ^ History of social security-Fierz, Maria. Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Zurich Women's Guild honors Maria Fierz . In: az Limmattaler Zeitung . ( limmattalerzeitung.ch [accessed on November 15, 2018]).
  12. ^ History of social security-Fierz, Maria. Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Fierz, Maria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss specialist in social work
DATE OF BIRTH March 27, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Richterswil
DATE OF DEATH September 13, 1956
Place of death Oberrieden