The right to vote: since when are women allowed to vote in Germany?

The first elections for the National Assembly of the Weimar Republic in the year 1919 It was a milestone in liberation. This was the first national election on German soil in which women were allowed to vote or be elected to the Reichstag.

But the story of women’s desire for political participation did not begin after World War II, but rather a few decades ago. The author was already publishing during the failed revolution in 1848 Louise Otto The “women’s magazine” in which she called for women to vote.

The desire for political participation grew in the German Empire

After the creation of the German Empire, the votes were so Political emancipation Demand louder. In 1876, the women’s rights activist, Hedwig Dom, published the book “Der Frauen Natur und Recht”, in which she demanded: “Women claim the right to vote. […] Society does not have the power to deprive me of my natural political right. “

Her book was widely discussed in society – and in the last years of the 19th century women began to organize. The first was established in 1902 The right of women to voteThose who demanded their rights in demonstrations and in magazines.

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Equal Rights: Since 1908 women have been allowed to participate in politics

In 1908 women’s associations saw a significant increase in membership due to the passage of a new law that allowed women throughout the empire to become politically active. Pioneers The women’s rights movementLike communist Clara Zetkin, she had already organized internationally in order to be able to exert pressure on governments in Europe and the United States.

During World War I, efforts by women’s organizations to achieve political participation almost stopped. That changed for Easter in 1917. Emperor Friedrich Wilhelm II. He gave a speech to the residents. In it he mentioned planned reforms to the electoral law, but did not mention the right to vote for women.

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The end of the monarchy sealed the right of women to vote

In the months that followed, a broad and nationally organized response was formed in response to the rhetoric Feminist AllianceWith great demonstrations, the desire for political participation took to the streets.

However, this movement was successful only after the war: after the Communist War Sailors’ Rebellion The monarchy was overthrown in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, and the Parliament of the People, made up of members of the Social Democratic Party and the USPD, took over political affairs.

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After a long struggle: in January 1919 women were allowed to vote for the first time

On November 12, 1918, the Council finally announced what tens of thousands of women had fought in Germany for decades: First Reichstag elections “All persons of at least 20 years of age, male and female,” should be allowed to participate.

The decree was legally tightened on November 30, 1918. Only a month and a half later, on January 19, 1919, women were allowed to vote for the first time in national elections. It was the result of a 70-year struggle.

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