Gertrud David, née Swiderski, (25 December 1872 – 21 June 1936) was a German

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, film producer, director, and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

Biography

Gertrud Swiderski was born on 25 December 1872 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

to Helene (née Schlenk) and Philipp Swiderski. She was the oldest of four siblings born into a wealthy family. In April 1896, she married the Eduard David, a newspaper editor and

Social Democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

, who would become involved in politics and a proponent of Socialist reform. After her marriage, David studied

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

Women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male st ...

() of Leipzig. As early as 1896, she had begun publishing about women's issues and from 1899 she wrote about the consumer cooperative movement. Between 1900 and 1917 she served as editor of the "Cooperative Society" () section of the Socialist Monthly Lectures and wrote widely in the Social Democratic press. David and her husband relocated to

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 1905, but separated in 1908, finally divorcing in 1911, though they continued to work closely together. Women's issues of maternity protection and sexual reformation were important topics she addressed. In the early 1910s, David discovered the new medium of film and recognized its usefulness to publicize social issues. At the end of

World War I 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 produced a film, ''Die Geächten'', which dealt with the issue of

illegitimacy Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

and the stigma it caused for children. This was followed by several films which brought commentary on social and economic conditions after the war. Between 1922 and 1941, David and the company she founded, Gervid Film GmbH Berlin, produced social and industrial films, like those for the medical conglomerate Bethel. The films made for Bethel's hospitals, care facilities and research centers were both a historic record and a type of propaganda to boast of their own achievements brought about by their concept of Christian welfare and caring. David died in Berlin on 21 June 1936, but her company continued to operate under the direction of her daughter, Sonja, until operations were ceased by the

Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda The Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (, RMVP), also known simply as the Ministry of Propaganda (), controlled the content of the press, literature, visual arts, film, theater, music and radio in Nazi Germany. The ministr ...

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filmography
{{DEFAULTSORT:David Gertrud 1872 births 1936 deaths German journalists Film people from Leipzig German women journalists German suffragists German documentary film directors

Biography

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Further reading

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