Helen Sommers: An Oral History

Text of a speech Helen Sommers
delivered in January, 1976 about
her 1975 visit to Germany
Last fall I was the surprised but fortunate recipient
of an invitation to visit West Germany on an
informational tour as a guest of the German government.
I learned that the German Foreign Office
hosts many such trips each year on a wide range of
subjects. Our topic was “Women in Public Life.”
Our group was made up of six women. Besides
myself, it included the Dean of the Law Center
from the University of Southern California; the
Secretary of State of Wyoming; the Director of the
Dept. of Cultural Resources from North Carolina;
a Director of the Office of Public Instruction in
Indiana, and a cattle rancher and member of the
National Endowment for the Arts from Santa Fe,
New Mexico.
In a busy two-week period we visited Bonn,
Cologne, Berlin, Wiesbaden, Frankfort, Heidelberg
and Munich.
Learning about government and politics was
especially interesting for me. Three political parties
are represented in the Parliament at Bonn. I was
very impressed by the strength of the parties. The
German government subsidized party organizations.
After the parliamentary elections (held every four
years) which take place next year, each party will
receive $1.40 from general tax money for every vote
cast for that party. And, about 90-percent of the
electorate turned out to vote! The money is used
to finance the running of the party and to help in
political campaigns.
The parties are also strengthened by the German
method of electing the 518 representatives
to Parliament. One-half are elected directly. The
other 259 members are drawn from names placed
on party lists according to the proportion of total
votes received by each party. The names are recommended
by political leaders and approved at a
party convention.
Belonging to a party in Germany requires commitment.
Members pay dues based on income level.
The amount can range from $1 to $100 per month.
pg. 203
I was also impressed with the number of people
who live downtown in large cities. In Bonn, for
example, there were living quarters over all the
shops. Many of the cities have closed off their older
winding streets for pedestrian use only – making
downtown a more quiet and pleasant place to live.
This downtown living kept the streets busy in the
evening and gave the inner-city great vitality. What
a sharp contrast to our own practice! (Can you
imagine living over the Sea-First Building?)
The women in Germany are struggling for the
same opportunities we are here. I was delighted
to meet representatives of a league of 26 women’s
organizations and learn of their unanimous plan for
1976 – to increase the number of women in elective
office at all levels of government.
One of the most moving experiences occurred
during our visit to Berlin. West Berlin is a beautiful
and bustling city. We also visited East Berlin
and were struck by its comparative austerity – and
especially the few people on its streets compared to
the throngs window shopping, and visiting coffee
houses and beer parlors in the West. Looking at
the wall and its wire, sentinels and tank traps, we
were reminded that Berlin still lives a ‘Cold War’
every day!