Clara Bohm-Schuch (5 December 1879 – 6 May 1936) (surname sometimes written simply Schuch and first name sometimes Klara) was a German politician of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

Life and career

Clara Bohn was born in Stechow,

Havelland Geographically, the Havelland () is the region around which the River Havel flows in a U-shape between Oranienburg to the northeast and Rhinow to the northwest. The northern boundary of the Havelland is formed by the River Rhin and the Rhin Cana ...

. After attending the village school in Stechow, she graduated from a commercial school in Berlin. She then worked as a typist and secretary, later as head secretary and finally, until her marriage to Willy Schuch, as a business correspondent, in 1906. Active as a writer in the AWO (Workers' Welfare Association), she wrote poems and essays and spoke at conferences and meetings. One of her special concerns was the fight against the high

infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of an infant before the infant's first birthday. The occurrence of infant mortality in a population can be described by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age ...

in Germany; She called for the establishment of maternity counselling centers. She participated in committees for the protection of children and, together with Emil Wutzky, made possible the opening of the first Berlin home for working youth. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, her most important concern was again the social care of children. From 1919 to 1922 she was editor of the SPD women's magazine ''

Die Gleichheit ''Die Gleichheit'' (Equality) was a Social Democratic bimonthly magazine issued by the women's proletarian movement in Germany from 1890 to 1923. For many years it was the official organ of the international women's socialist movement. Foundation ...

'' ("Equality").

Parliamentary representative

From 1919 to 1920, Clara Bohm-Schuch was a member of 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 ...

and of the parliamentary Investigatory Committee for the Question of Responsibility for the World War (). She was subsequently a member of the Reichstag until 1933. In parliament she fought especially for the protection of mothers and children. During the last SPD caucus meeting before the passing of the

Enabling Act An enabling act is a piece of legislation by which a legislative body grants an entity which depends on it (for authorization or legitimacy) for the delegation of the legislative body's power to take certain actions. For example, enabling act ...

, the parliamentary representative and Reichsbanner chief Karl Höltermann argued against taking part in the vote because he had been warned by members of the Centre Party that in such a case, the SA would not permit SPD deputies to leave the

Kroll Opera House The Kroll Opera House () in Berlin, Germany, was in the Tiergarten district on the western edge of the '' Königsplatz'' square (today ''Platz der Republik''), facing the Reichstag building. It was built in 1844 as an entertainment venue for th ...

alive. Together with

Louise Schroeder Louise Dorothea Schroeder (2 April 1887 in Altona (Elbe) – 4 June 1957 in Berlin) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) party. She was among the 41 female members of the Weimar National Assembly, the Constitu ...

, Bohm-Schuch spoke vehemently against this proposed absenteeism.

Nazi era

Following the

Nazi seizure of power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...

, in August 1933 she was detained in the

Barnimstrasse women's prison Barnimstrasse women's prison was a women's prison that existed between 1868 and 1974 in Barnimstraße in the Friedrichshain district of Berlin, which belonged first to the Königsstadt and from 1920 to the Friedrichshain district. Building ...

. Although she was in prison only for 15 days, she was psychologically destroyed as a consequence of this imprisonment and after her release was required to report regularly to the police. Clara Bohm-Schuch died in Berlin on 6 May 1936 and was buried on 12 May 1936 on the Baumschulenweg Cemetery on Kiefholzstrasse in

Baumschulenweg Baumschulenweg () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Treptow-Köpenick. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Treptow. Its name means road (''weg'') of the plant nurseries (''Baumschulen''). It ...

. Five thousand people attended her funeral, an act which was regarded as a silent protest against the Nazi regime.

Memorials

In 1966, the street ''Bohm-Schuch-Weg'' in

Gropiusstadt Gropiusstadt () is a locality () within the Berlin borough () of Neukölln. It was named after the architect who projected the complex: Walter Gropius. History Building of the quarter, initially named Britz-Buckow-Rudow and projected in a modernis ...

Neukölln Neukölln (), officially abbreviated Neuk, is one of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is located south-east of Berlin's center and stretches from the inner city southward to the border with Brandenburg, encompassing the eponymous quarter of Neu ...

, was named for her. Since 1992, Bohm-Schuch's name appears on one of the 96 plaques in the

Memorial to the Murdered Members of the Reichstag The Memorial to the Murdered Members of the Reichstag is a memorial in Berlin, Germany. The memorial is located in front of the Reichstag building and commemorates the 96 members of the parliament who died unnaturally between 1933 and 1945 (1948) ...

, on the corner of Scheidemannstraße / Republic Square in Berlin near the

Reichstag building The Reichstag (; ) is a historic legislative government building on Platz der Republik in Berlin that is the seat of the German Bundestag. It is also the meeting place of the Federal Convention, which elects the President of Germany. The Ne ...

Publications

* ''Die Kinder im Weltkriege''. Internaternationale Korrespondenz, Berlin-Karlshorst 1916. * Alfred Mansfeld (Hrsg.): ''Sozialdemokratie und Kolonieen''. With contributions from Eduard Bernstein, Clara Bohm-Schuch. et al. and a foreword by Julius Kaliski. Verlag der Sozialistischen Monatshefte, Berlin 1919. * Clara Müller-Jahnke: ''Ich bekenne. Die Geschichte einer Frau''. Foreword by Clara Bohm-Schuch. J. H. W. Dietz Nachf., Berlin 1920. * "An die Mädchen!" In: ''Arbeiter-Jugend''. 1921
Digitalisat
* ''Willst Du mich hören? Weckruf an unsere Mädel''. Verband der Arbeiterjugend-Vereine Deutschlands, Berlin 1922. * "Warum die Mitarbeit der Frau in der Partei-Organisation?" In: ''Die Frau in der Politik, Parteiarbeit, Arbeiterwohlfahrt, Erziehungsarbeit! Bericht von der Frauenkonferenz des Bezirks Hamburg-Nordwest der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Deutschlands am 4. und 5. Oktober 1924 in Bremerhaven''. Schmalfeldt, Bremen 1924. * ''Einführung in die Ideenwelt des Sozialismus''. 1928. * "Der Weg des Schankstättengesetzes". In: ''Arbeiterwohlfahrt''. 3(1928), pp. 69–74. * ''Gedichte''. Verlagsanstalt Victor Otto Stomps, Berlin 1932. *

Oliver Igel Oliver Igel (born 9 April 1978) is a German politician for the SPD and since 2011 'Bezirksbürgermeister' (district mayor) of the Berlin borough of Treptow-Köpenick. Life and politics Igel was born 1978 in the eastern part of Berlin and studi ...

(Hrsg): ''Clara Bohm-Schuch. "Der Menschheit Sehnsucht". Gedichte und kurze Prosa aus der Geschichte der Sozialdemokratie''. trafo Literaturverlag, Berlin 2013 (= ''Spurensuche'' 9)

Literature

* "Klara Bohm-Schuch". In: Franz Osterroth and Dieter Schuster: ''Chronik der deutschen Sozialdemokratie.'' Vol 1: ''Bis zum Ende des Ersten Weltkrieges.'' J. H. W. Dietz Verlag Nachf., Bonn and Berlin 1975, p. 32. * Antonius Lux (Hrsg.): ''Große Frauen der Weltgeschichte. 1000 Biographien in Wort und Bild''.

Sebastian Lux Verlag Sebastian may refer to: People and fictional characters * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Saint Sebastian, a Christian saint martyred in the 3rd century * Sebastian of Portugal (1554–1578 ...

, Munich 1963, pp. 71. * Claudia von Gélieu: ''Wegweisende Neuköllnerinnen. Von der Britzer Prinzessin zur ersten Stadträtin''. trafo verlag, Berlin 1998, , pp. 120 ff, 141 ff, 236 f.

Links

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"Komm, goldner Freiheitstag, ich warte dein" – Clara Bohm-Schuch zum 75. Todestag von Oliver Igel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bohm-Schuch, Clara Members of the Weimar National Assembly Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Prisoners and detainees of Germany 1879 births 1936 deaths 20th-century German women politicians