Democratic Women's League of Germany
Mass women's organisation in East Germany
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Democratic Women's League of Germany[1][2][3] (German: Demokratischer Frauenbund Deutschlands, or DFD) was the mass women's organisation in East Germany. It was one of the constituent members of the National Front and sent representatives to the Volkskammer. In 1988, membership was 1.5 million.[4][1]
Demokratischer Frauenbund Deutschlands | |
 Flag | |
 Logo | |
| Formation | March 1947 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | 1990 |
| Type | Mass organization |
| Purpose | Women's rights |
| Members | 1.5 million (1988) |
Parent organization | National Front |
The DFD did not have much independence from the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED). Käte Selbmann, a member of the DFD's executive board, complained that it was "a pre-school for women, neither as central as the FDGB nor even more important than any other mass organization to women's work, and absolutely subordinate to the SED",[5] while historian Valerie Dubslaff writes that "the role of the department was therefore neither to represent the interests of women nor to promote them within the party, but to execute the political will of its leaders".[6]
Organization
The DFD was established in March 1947 and had the following official aims:
- Removal of fascist ideas
- Education for women
- Equal rights
- Fair social living conditions
- Education of children in the spirit of humanism and peace
- Co-operation with the international women's movement
Chairwomen of the Democratic Women's Federation of Germany
| Name | Entered office | Left office |
|---|---|---|
| Anne-Marie Durand-Wever | 1947 | 1948 |
| Emmy Damerius-Koenen | 1948 | 1949 |
| Elli Schmidt | 1949 | September 1953 |
| Ilse Thiele | September 1953 | November 1989 |
| Eva Rohmann | 1989 | 1990 |
| Gisela Steineckert | 1990 | 1990 |
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