Gertraud Winkelvoss (; 18 February 1917 – 5 March 1982) was a German politician who served in the

Landtag of Lower Saxony The Lower Saxon Landtag () or the Parliament of Lower Saxony is the state diet of the German state of Lower Saxony. It convenes in Hanover and currently consists of 146 members, consisting of four parties. Since 2022 the majority is a coalition ...

from 1967 until 1970, representing the

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

National Democratic Party. She was a leader in both the party and in the broader neo-Nazi movement in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Biography

Gertraud Winkelvoss was born on 18 February 1917 in the town of

Prettin Prettin () is a town and a former municipality in Wittenberg district in Saxony-Anhalt. Geography and transportation The town lies about 30 km southeast of Wittenberg and about 12 km north-northwest of Torgau in the lowland on the Elbe ...

. After receiving her

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

from a school in

Militsch Milicz () is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It is the seat of Milicz County and of Gmina Milicz, part of the larger Wrocław metropolitan area. Geography The town is situated in the historic Lower Silesia regio ...

in 1936, she moved to

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

and began training in

physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

. On 1 September 1938, at the age of 21, Winkelvoss joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

. After initially working at hospitals in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

, she became a camp leader in the

Reich Labour Service The Reich Labour Service (''Reichsarbeitsdienst''; RAD) was a major paramilitary organization established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarise the workforce and indoctrinate ...

during

World War II 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 ...

. After the war, she fled to the

Northeim district Northeim is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the northwest and clockwise) the districts of Holzminden, Hildesheim, Goslar and Göttingen, and the state of Hesse (district of Kassel). History In medieval times the area h ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

, where she and her husband opened a dairy wholesale store until 1954, when they moved to the city of

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places * Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony * Ol ...

. Around this period, she also joined the

German Reich Party The Free Conservative Party (, FKP) was a liberal-conservative political party in Prussia and the German Empire which ran as the German Reich Party (, DRP) in the federal elections to the Reichstag beginning in 1871. The party was formed when ...

(DRP), a

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

and

political party, becoming a party functionary. In the

1961 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 17 September 1961 to elect the members of the fourth Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction, winning 242 of the 499 seats. However, the loss of its majority and the All-German Party ...

, Winkelvoss ran for the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

as a member of the DRP, standing as a state list (') candidate in Lower Saxony, though she was defeated. In 1964, Winkelvoss moved to the city of

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

and joined the newly founded neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD). Despite being a

housewife A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which may include Parenting, caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; Sew ...

, she quickly rose to become a leader both in the party and in

's neo-Nazi movement. After unsuccessfully running for the Bundestag again in the 1965 election, she joined the party's executive committee the following year, becoming one of nine former Nazis in the fifteen-member committee. Winkelvoss was also the party's chairman in both Lüneburg city and

Lüneburg district Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic city, Hamburg, and belongs to that city's wider metr ...

. From 1965 until 1966, she studied economics at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

. Winkelvoss ran as an NPD candidate for the

in the . Campaigning on nationalist politics and for the "eventual reunification of greater Germany", she and nine other NPD members were elected. The party's success was due to its ability to siphon votes from the

Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism. Current parties with that name include: *Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...

, who lost all of their seats in the Landtag. At the time of her election, Winkelvoss was one of only two elected female NPD legislators in West Germany. In an interview given to the

Alicia Patterson Foundation The Alicia Patterson Foundation (APF) program was established in 1965 in memory of Alicia Patterson, who was the editor and publisher of ''Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk c ...

, Winkelvoss explained that the NPD strategy was to gain seats in the state Landtages in order to influence the Bundesrat, though she stated she was also interested in state affairs, primarily "family welfare". During the interview, she was also critical of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

for outlawing all political opposition to the Nazi Party. She again unsuccessfully ran for the Bundestag in the 1969 election, and left the Landtag at the end of her term the following year. Winkelvoss died in Lüneburg on 5 March 1982. Her husband, Dr. Reimer Winkelvoss, was a judge at the , and they had four children together.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkelvoss, Gertraud 1917 births 1981 deaths 20th-century German women politicians People from Annaburg Politicians from the Province of Saxony People from Lüneburg Deutsche Reichspartei politicians National Democratic Party of Germany politicians Nazi Party members Members of the Landtag of Lower Saxony Women members of state parliaments in Germany University of Hamburg alumni People from Oldenburg (city) People from Marburg German physiotherapists