Charlotte Landau (Hebrew: שרלוטה לנדאו-מיזאם; September 20, 1881 - 1972) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

and a member of the Lübeck city council prior to her emigration to

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

in 1933.

Biography

Charlotte was the daughter of Siegfried Mühsam, a pharmacist and member of the Lübeck city council. She had two brothers, Hans and

Erich Mühsam Erich Mühsam (6 April 1878 – 10 July 1934) was a German Antimilitarism, antimilitarist anarchism, anarchist essayist, poet and playwright. He emerged at the end of World War I as one of the leading agitators for a Federalism, federated Bavari ...

. In 1903, she met lawyer Leo Landau, whom she married in December 1908. They had three children: Gustav (1909–2004), a civil engineer; Hans Theodor (1912–2005), a classical philologist and archaeologist; and Eva (1914–2009), a teacher who married Joel. Shortly after its establishment, Landau joined the

German Democratic Party The German Democratic Party (, DDP) was a liberal political party in the Weimar Republic, considered centrist or centre-left. Along with the right-liberal German People's Party (, DVP), it represented political liberalism in Germany between 19 ...

and served as a member of the Lübeck city council from 1919 to 1921. She was one of the first female representatives and the only Jewish member of the council during that election period. She remained a member of the health department committee until 1933. As an active member of the League of Jewish Women in Germany (Jüdischer Frauenbund, JFB), she was instrumental in establishing one of the association's homes in

Wyk auf Föhr Wyk auf Föhr () (Fering, ''Fering'' North Frisian: ''Wik'', ''a Wik'', or ''Bi a Wik''; ) is the only town on Föhr, the second largest of the North Frisian Islands on the Germany, German coast of the North Sea. Like the entire island it belongs ...

. Following

March 1933 German federal election March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 ...

, Charlotte's family found the political situation increasingly intolerable. Charlotte began preparations for her emigration, including paying the

Reich Flight Tax The ''Reich'' Flight Tax () was a German capital control law implemented in 1931 to stem capital flight from the German Reich. After seizing power, the Nazis used the law to prevent emigrants from moving money out of the country. The law was cre ...

. From April 4 to 17, 1933, Charlotte, her husband, their children Hans and Eva, and Leo Landau's mother traveled to Haifa. They were active

Zionists Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the Jewish people, pursued through the colonization of Palestine, a region roughly cor ...

. Landau wrote 1 book named "Meine Erinnerungen".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landau, Charlotte German feminists German Democratic Party politicians Emigrants from Nazi Germany People from Haifa 1881 births 1972 deaths