Verena Rodewald

Verena Rodewald , also Henriette Marie Verena Rodewald , (born August 5, 1866 in Bremen , † December 4, 1937 in Bremen) was a German women's rights activist and politician (DVP).

biography

family

Rodewald was born as the daughter of a wealthy family belonging to the Bremen upper class. Her father Hermann Georg Rodewald (1814-1891) was a wealthy businessman and her mother was related to Otto Gildemeister , who later became mayor of the Hanseatic city four times . The family lived at Kohlkökerstraße 10, which is in the Ostertor district or in the Mitte district . Her brother was the merchant and senator Hermann Rodewald .

Verena Rodewald studied at the University of Kiel , among others

education and profession

After attending elementary school , Verena Rodewald switched to a high school for girls. Subsequently, she took part in high school courses in Berlin before taking her Abitur at the old grammar school in Bremen in 1901 . With the financial support of her family and renouncing a possible marriage, she began to study German , English , philosophy and philology in Berlin as well as at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel and the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg . In the latter subject , she received her doctorate in 1908 in Heidelberg. phil. with the theme Das "á part" in German drama; a contribution to the technique of drama . She was one of the first women in the German Empire to receive a doctorate. She did not take up a profession, but was publicly committed to women's and educational issues.

Fight for women's rights

After finishing her studies Rodewald returned to her hometown. There she was for two years one of the founding members of the bourgeois women's city federation, an association in which 15 different women's associations, such as the local branch of the German Federation for Maternity Protection and Sexual Reform and the Association for Women's Suffrage , were organized with a total of 600 members. The aim was to "promote the female sex in economic, social, legal and spiritual terms and thereby promote the common good". Rodewald was elected first chairman and held this office for a total of fifteen years in two periods (1910 to 1915 and 1917 to 1925). During her second term in 1923 it was renamed the Fraustadt Federal in Bremen Women's Association . During this time the number of women's associations organized in the Women's City Federation rose to 43. She was an important woman in the Bremen women's movement .

politician

In the course of the November Revolution of 1918 and the Bremen Council Republic , which lasted a little less than a month in January and February 1919, the so-called Citizens' Committee was formed in Bremen . In this the conservative and liberal bourgeoisie was organized, which demanded a military end to the uncertain political situation. Surprisingly and unexpectedly for many observers, Rodewald was immediately appointed to founding the committee in its executive board. She later said of her appointment:

"So in 1918 it was not the feeling of justice, but the hope of winning votes that brought women political equality."

After the Soviet republic was crushed, Rodewald joined the national liberal German People's Party (DVP). For this she moved into the Bremen National Assembly after the general election of March 2, 1919 . In parliament, in which she was represented for fourteen years, she campaigned particularly for women's rights and equality.

She advocated the preservation of women's bathing establishments on the Weser and fought for better educational opportunities for girls. On this subject, she warned the girls that working in the household gave them a one-sided orientation. Verena Rodewald advocated the admission of female emissaries to the school supervision and the payment of subsidies to the theater. In addition, she advocated adherence to religious education at schools in Bremen and the care of prostitutes who had become infected with sexually transmitted diseases . She said about the recognition and acceptance of politically active women:

“The men who reject political women can be grouped into different types. From the philistine to the knightly man who stands up for the woman and wants to see her protected, above all fighting. We can be certain that this strongest opponent will one day become our best friend. "

Her parliamentary activities focused on health, culture and education. She fought for better professional training for women.

Unlike many of her party members and deputies of the DVP, she moved in 1933 after the seizure of power of the NSDAP not in their camp over, but withdrew from politics.

literature

• Herbert Black Forest : The Great Bremen Lexicon . 2nd, updated, revised and expanded edition. Edition Temmen, Bremen 2003, ISBN 3-86108-693-X .
• Christine-Holzner-Rabe: Rodewald, Henriette Marie Verena . In: Frauen Geschichte (n) , Bremer Frauenmuseum (ed.). Edition Falkenberg, Bremen 2016, ISBN 978-3-95494-095-0 .

Web links

• https://bremer-frauenmuseum.de/2017/03/24/rodewald-henriette-marie-verena/