Reluctant Feminists in German Social Democracy, 1885-1917

327 Pages·1979·4.569 MB·English

by  Jean H. Quataert

RELUCTANT FEMINISTS
IN GERMAN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY

JEAN H. QUATAERT
RELUCTANT FEMINISTS
In German Social Democracy,
1885-1917
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Copyright (g) 1979 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton Univiersity Press, Princeton, New Jersey
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
Guildford, Surrey
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data will be
found on the last printed page of this book
Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Clothbound editions of Princeton University Press books
are printed on acid-free paper, and binding materials are
chosen for strength and durability
Printed in the United States of America by Princeton
University Press, Princeton, New Jersey
Designed by Laury A. Egan
TO MY PARENTS
LEO AND ANNE MARIE GREBLER

CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND LIST OF TABLES ix
PREFACE Xi
ABBREVIATIONS XV
PART a INTRODUCTION
I Feminist Awakening 3
The Historic Connection of Class and Sex in Germany 4
The Women’s Movement of Social Democracy:
Historiographical Issues 14
II “Work Horse, Baby Machine, Cultural Drudge” 18
The Social Bases of the Women’s Movement 19
Women’s Position in the Society of Imperial Germany 22
Economics and Emancipation: Women in the
German Labor Force 27
PART B SOCIALIST FEMINISM
IN GERMAN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY:
PERSONALITIES AND PERSPECTIVES 53
III Eight Socialist Feminists: Diversity within Unity 55
Tentative Beginnings and Divergent Paths: Emma Ihrer and
Ottilie Baader, and the Younger Trade Unionists, Helene
Grünberg and Gertrud Hanna 56
Radical Formulations: Clara Zetkin and Luise Zietz 65
Political Challenges: Lily Braun and Marie Juchacz 76
IV The New Woman: A Socialist Vision 84
Political Mobilization as an Expression of Feminist Concerns 85
Restructuring Women’s Lives: The Socialist Feminist
Platform 90
Work, Marriage, and Motherhood: A Response to
Edmund Fischer, 1905 100
V Class versus Sex Identity: Clara Zetkin and
Lily Braun 107
Braun Questions the Marxist Concept of Class Struggle 107
Continuing Controversy in the Women’s Movement over
Braun’s Revisionist Feminism, 1897-1901 113
An Assessment of the Zetkin-Braüh Clash 127
PARTC FEMINIST TACTICS IN
GERMAN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY 137
VI Party Politics: Institutional Autonomy and
Division of Labor 139
Erecting the Women’s Organization Prior to 1908 140
Incorporation into the SPD: Feminist Losses 146
The Extent of Women’s Equality in German
Social Democracy 153
VII Party and Unions: Compatible and
Conflicting Loyalties 161
Collaborative Efforts to Reach Working-Class Women by
Party and Union Members 162
Friction over Feminist Tactics 174
Social Democracy’s Performance in the Unionization of
Female Workers, 1897-1914 184
VIII The Unsolved Problem of Women’s
Socialist Education 189
Women’s Education Prior to 1908 190
The Leseabende : A Case Study of Greater Berlin, 1904-1914 193
Socialist versus Traditionalist Views: Shortcomings of the
Educational Coal 200
part D THE END OF AN ERA
IX Wartime Divisions: From Socialist
to Social Feminism 209
Socialist Feminists Respond to the Hardships of War 210
Disintegration of the Women’s Movement in 1917:
An Evaluation of the Split 214
Marie Juchacz and the Second-Generation Female
Leadership 220
X Conclusion 228
APPENDIX 242
NOTES 247
BIBLIOGRAPHY 289
INDEX 303
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
figure 1 Emma Ihrer 49
figure 2 Ottilie Baader 49
figure 3 SPD Women in Parliament, 1920, with
Helene Grünberg 50
FIGURE 4 Gertrud Hanna 50
figure 5 Clara Zetkin 51
figure 6 Luise Zietz 52
FIGURE 7 Lily Braun 53
FIGURE 8 Marie Juchacz 53
All illustrations are from the Archiv der sozialen Demokratie
(Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung), Bonn.
LIST OF TABLES
1 Expenditures for Food and Housing by Lower- and
Middle-Income Families, 1907-1908 31
2 Changes in Male and Female Employment in
Imperial Germany, 1882-1907 32
3 Changes in Male and Female Employment in the
Working Class, 1882-1907 33
4 Supplemental Income of Lower- and Middle-Class
Families, 1907-1908 38
5 Women’s Participation in German Trade Unions
in 1912 184
6 Berlin Women s Educational Sessions in 1910 195