Agnes Neuhaus (24 March 1854 – 20 November 1944) was a German social worker and politician. In 1919 she was one of the 36 women elected to the

Weimar National Assembly The Weimar National Assembly (German: ), officially the German National Constitutional Assembly (), was the popularly elected constitutional convention and de facto parliament of Germany from 6 February 1919 to 21 May 1920. As part of it ...

, the first female parliamentarians in Germany. She remained a member of parliament until 1930.

Biography

Neuhaus was born Agnes Morsbach in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

in 1854,Neuhaus, Agnes
Verhandlungen des Deutschen Reichstags the daughter of the physician Franz Morsbach and his wife Florentine (née Riesberg). Her father later became a city councillor in Dortmund and chaired the local physician's association and the Arnsberg district medical association. Her mother was a well-known French teacher, but stopped teaching after the birth of her third child. She headed a Catholic women's organisation, chaired the municipal childcare association and organised Sunday classes to train kindergarten teachers. Agnes attended

Volksschule The German term ''Volksschule'' () generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, ''Volk'') is required to attend. In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primar ...

and Lyceum in Dortmund, before becoming a pupil at a boarding school in

Haselünne Haselünne () is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, in the district of Emsland. It is situated on the river Hase, approx. 15 km east of Meppen, Germany, Meppen. Notable people Notable people born in the city * Anton C. R. Dreesmann (1854–19 ...

between 1866 and 1869 and then in

Carignan Carignan (; also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Medite ...

in France from 1869 to 1870. However, her studies were interrupted by the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. She studied music in Berlin in 1877–1878, but married court assessor Adolf Neuhaus before completing her exams. The couple had three children and Adolf became a district judge in Dortmund in 1890; he died in 1905. From 1899 Neuhaus was involved in

poor relief In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

in Dortmund, founding the 'Good Shepherd' organisation, which helped free girls and young women from prostitution. In 1903 she brought together twelve organisations founded across

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

to form the 'Association of the Good Shepherd'. In the same year the association established the 'Vincenzheim', a refuge for women in Dortmund. The association later became the 'Catholic Welfare Association for Girls, Women and Children' and then the . She became head of the Central Association of Catholic Welfare Associations, which she led until 1944. She was also a member of the central committee of the Catholic German Women's Association and a member of the Reich Commission of the General Welfare Education Day. In 1916 she founded a welfare school. In 1919 she was elected to the

from the Arnsberg constituency as a representative of the Centre Party. She became a board member of the Westphalian branch of the party the same year and was re-elected from the Westphalia South constituency in 1920 Reichstag elections, remaining a member of parliament until 1930.Die ersten Politikerinnen der Weimarer Nationalversammlung
Frauenwahllokal From 1925 onwards she was also a member of the party's national board. In 1943 she moved from Dortmund to Cappenberg and later to Soest, where she died the following year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neuhaus, Agnes 1854 births Politicians from Dortmund German social workers German Roman Catholics Centre Party (Germany) politicians Members of the Weimar National Assembly Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic 1944 deaths 20th-century German women politicians 19th-century Prussian people 19th-century Prussian women