Women - men - gender. - Bibliothek der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

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AREAS OF ACTIVITY
The collection FEM Archives has materials on the
regional and national women’s movement. The
various collections comprising the Archives of
Social Democracy are also of interest from a gender
perspective. There is the newspaper cuttings collection,
the “Collection Personalia” with biographical
details of well-known and lesser known public
fi gures, the pamphlet and poster collection with
materials from the 19th century up to the present
day. The fi lm, audio and video archive includes
rare historical documents on women’s history. The
photo archive of the AdsD comprises approximately
two million pictures and negatives, about 20 per
cent of which are of women, and depict women’s
work and the stories of their daily lives. The archive
is therefore truly a treasure trove for (and not only
of) a history of gender issues.
Women of the Workers’ Welfare Association
The “Workers’ Welfare Association (AWO) within
the SPD”, founded by Marie Juchacz in 1919, was
headed and moulded by many social democratic
women. In 2004, the AWO handed over its collection
to the library and the Archives of Social
Democracy. In 2008, the library created its internet
presence “Arbeiterwohlfahrt” (“Workers’ Welfare Association”):
http://library.fes.de/awo/awo-start.
html. Here, it is possible not only to access and research
the AWO library, but also the journal “Arbeiterwohlfahrt”
(Jahrgänge 1926–1933) [“Workers’
Welfare Association” (issues from 1926 to 1933)]
in digitalized form. In addition, the “FES Network
Source” located there, provides an overview of the
history of the Association together with 180 of the
most important documents.
The records of the AWO Federal Executive and the
state Association of North Rhine-Westphalia, dating
back to 1945 are available in the Archives of
Social Democracy and are readily accessible for
academic research.
Some examples from the new collections
In 2008 also, the Archives of Social Democracy
received important new collections of politically
active women. Of particular interest is the collection
of the unpublished material of Clara Bohm-
Schuch (1879-1936). She was a member of the
Reichstag from 1920 until 1933. Given the meager
quantity of inherited unpublished documents
from the period of the Weimar Republic, the acquisition
of this small but substantive collection is a
welcome addition. Important aspects of local developments
after 1945 are highlighted in the collection
of Beate Weber (Member of the European
Parliament and subsequently the Mayor of Heidelberg)
from 1973-2006. The new collection of the
former Chief Minister of the state of Schleswig-
Holstein, Heidi Simonis, and of the Deputy Chief
Minister, Uta Erdsiek-Rave, contain important
documents on the struggle for women’s equality
since the 1970s. The documents of Renate Schmidt,
FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG