Gerda Fredrika Marcus (1880–1952) was a Swedish journalist and philanthropist who was deeply concerned with social issues. After contributing to Swedish newspapers from Berlin in 1907, she worked for ''

Svenska Dagbladet (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily List of Swedish newspapers, newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the 1900s the pap ...

'' first in Sweden and later as a

foreign correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

where she lived from 1923 to 1933. 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 ...

, she proved to be an effective fundraiser for assisting needy families. Marcus was a key figure in the Swedish branch of

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

which she helped to establish in 1919, continuing her support during and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

on 21 February 1880, Gerda Fredrika Marcus was the daughter of the wholesaler Jacob Axel Marcus and his wife Emma Henriette née Eliasson. She was one of five children in a Jewish family with ancestors who had emigrated from

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

in the late 18th century. After attending the Åhlin Girls' School (1889–1897), she worked for Thecla Tjäder's employment agency. While working in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1907, she began to send news reports to Swedish newspapers such as ''

Dagens Nyheter (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major nationa ...

'', almost accidentally becoming a foreign correspondent. On returning to Sweden, she spent a couple of years as assistant editor for a newly established theatre journal, '' Thalia''. After it closed in 1913, she joined the editorial staff at ''Svenska Dagbladet'', eventually working in Vienna as the paper's foreign correspondent. Her efforts, however, were not restricted to writing. She proved to be a highly effective fundraiser, using to paper's resources to raise capital for funding needy families. During the difficult years of the

, thanks to her writings and support from the newspaper, she was able to raise substantial funding for the elderly to enjoy holidays and for children to take part in games and other organized activities. In 1919, she was one of those who established the Swedish branch of Save the Children, becoming its first Secretary General. From 1923 to 1933, Marcus lived in Vienna where in December 1923, she married the Jewish lawyer and theatre publisher Ernst Fall. The marriage was dissolved in 1933. From the mid-1930s, she assisted the Jewish congregation in Stockholm to save Jewish children from persecution in Germany. After the end of the Second World War, she visited refugee camps in Austria and Hungary, providing support for children. She was also active in assisting development of the Palestine question. Gerda Marcus died in Stockholm on 28 January 1952.

Biography

References

Further reading