U.S Specialist Reports

mnsss31 High Commissioner for Germany. Women's Affairs Branch Records, 1949-1985 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by mnsss. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College

Northampton, MA

2003

Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Brook Hopkins. 2003-06-05 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 mnsss31 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Sophia Smith CollectionSmith College High Commissioner for Germany. Women's Affairs Branch Records, 1949-1985 Finding Aid MS 368 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Collection Overview United States. Office of High Commissioner for Germany. Women's Affairs Branch High Commissioner for Germany. Women's Affairs Branch Records1949-1985 MS 368 2 boxes (1.6 linear ft.) Sophia Smith Collection

Smith College Northampton, MA

International organization. In 1949, the Office of the United States sent a Women's Affairs Specialist to Germany to assist in organizing associations for German women. The records document efforts to promote women's participation in the public sphere of postwar Germany. The papers include official correspondence of the National Office, the Women's Affairs Branch, the Council of Hessian Women's Organizations, and the Buero fuer Staatsbuergerliche Frauenarbeit of the Regional Branch in Hessen. English. Historical Note

In 1949, the H.I.C.O.G. sent Betsy Knapp of the League of Women Voters as their Women's Affairs Specialist to Germany to assist in organizing travel to the U.S. for German women. In addition, her responsibility included targeting women's organizations for Marshall Plan funding. With Knapp as their American consultant, the Buero fuer Frauenfragen was created in 1949-50 under the directorship of Antje Lemke-Bultmann. The funding for the first year (1951) came predominantly from the U.S. By the end of 1952, the U.S. was pressing the organization to seek its funding in Germany. Ursula Gaertner, a delegate from the German government, was able to secure resources for that year. At the end of 1952, the organization realized that in order to increase their constituency, they needed to broaden their platform, and the Buero fuer Staatsbuergerliche Frauenarbeit was created in early 1953. Furthermore, they combined their efforts with the Council of Hessian Women's Organizations to counsel approximately 16 women's organizations. Their purpose was to span from voter registration to foreign affairs, to the promotion of women in politics and public affairs. Erna Schlepper replaced Antje Lemke-Bultmann as the director of the Buero in 1954.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

These are records of the Women's Affairs Specialist of the H.I.C.O.G. and affiliated women's organizations in the Federal Republic of Germany. The collection has printed materials and official correspondence of the H.I.C.O.G.'s National Office, the Women's Affairs Branch, the Council of Hessian Women's Organizations, and the Buero fuer Staatsbuergerliche Frauenarbeit of the Regional Branch in Hessen. The records document these organizations' efforts to promote women's participation in the public sphere of postwar Germany. There are scattered reports for each of the organizations from 1949 to 1985.

Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into two series:

I. National Office II. Regional Branch (Hessen) Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

The records are open to research according to the rules and regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection without any additional restrictions.

The copyright owner of unpublished works in this collection is unknown. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

High Commissioner for Germany--Women's Affairs Branch Records, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, MA

History of the Collection

These records were received from Betsy Knapp in three installments between 1985 and 1987. An earlier group of records was consolidated with this gift.

Processed by Anke Voss, 1995.

Search Terms Women--Germany (West)--History--Sources Women--International cooperation--History--20th century--Sources United States. Office of High Commissioner for Germany. Women's Affairs Branch SERIES I NATIONAL OFFICE 1 1 U.S Specialist Reports, 1950-52 1 2 Visiting Experts Series Reports, 1951-52 1 3 International Women's Conference, Bad Reichenall, F.R.G., 1950 1 4 International Young Women's Conference, Hindelang, F.R.G., 1951 1 5 Women in West Germany, 1952 SERIES II REGIONAL BRANCH (HESSEN) Women's Affairs Branch (Hessen) 2 6 Monthly Reports, 1949-52 2 7 Summaries and evaluations, 1951-72 2 8-9 "Frau in der Gemeinde," Haus Schwalbach (course material), 1951-58 2 10 Domestic law in the F.R.G.: publications, 1952 2 11 Betsy Knapp: correspondence, 1952 2 11a Betsy Knapp: correspondence about her visit to the Federal Republic of Germany, 1956 2 12 Hetty Schmitt-Maas: clippings, obituary, 1982-83 Council of Hessian Women's Organizations 2 13 Reports, pamphlets, 1951-56 Buero fuer Staatsbuergerliche Frauenarbeit 2 14 Reports: agendas, budget, summaries, 1950-75 2 15 Thirty-year anniversary, 1982 2 16 Erna Schlepper: clippings, obituary, 1982-85 2 17 Clippings, 1951-54 Publications 2 18-19 Information fuer die Frau, 1951-73 2 20 Newsletter by Erna Schlepper, 1957-62 2 21 Information bulletins, 1951, n.d. 2 22 Lecture series: schedule, 1951 2 23 National election material, 1952-60 2 24 Booklets, 1951-56 2 25 Posters, 1952