Partner s cooperation- Room 5 THE SEVEN ROOMS IN THE SPIRAL OF TIME IN THE CONCEPT OF THE HOUSE OF

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1 Partner s cooperation- Room 5 THE SEVEN ROOMS IN THE SPIRAL OF TIME IN THE CONCEPT OF THE HOUSE OF WOMEN S HISTORY 32

2 Denmark s contribution to Room 5 Natalie Zahle , Denmark In the centre of Copenhagen lies the N. Zahle School. Originaly, this was a girls school and a women s colege of education, founded by educational pioneer Natalie Zahle. In the centre of Århus lies the N. Koch School, founded by a pupil of Zahle. Natalie Zahle was of the utmost importance to the development of women s education. She was the daughter of a priest, eager to read and write, envious of her older brother s schooling, an orphan at the age of 10 and self-supporting as a private teacher at the age of 14. She had a dream about creating better educational opportunities for girls, who were excluded from all academic educations above the level of basic general education. She completed the only qualifying education available to women at the time, that of principal. Then in 1851, she opened a private teachers colege. Shortly after this, she had the opportunity to take over a girls school and it did not take her many years to extend it from the basic general education to include a superstructure in the shape of a grammar school, allowing the girls access to proper educations such as universities. She was not a feminist herself, but a practical-minded organizer basing her work on an idea of justice that would give girls the same opportunities as their brothers had. She united the demanding job as school principal and motherhood in the way that the entire structure of the school and its educational principles were metaphors for the home with her in the role of the great mother. Furthermore, she took in three foster daughters who grew up with her. For her life companions she chose women. She was ahead of her time and developed school and education offers for girls and young women a couple of decades before the government took the same initiatives. And as a result, many of Natalie Zahle s pupils could be found among the women pioneers at universities and in the feminist movement that grew strong towards the end of the 19 th century and lead to Danish women s right to vote in 1915, two years after her death. 33

3 Greece s contribution to Room 5 Eleni Skoura ( ), Greece She was the first woman member of the Hellenic Parliament. Most of all, she was a woman who gave everything to help refugees, children, young women, poor and socially excluded people, the army, the National Resistance and mainly the feminist movement that set the foundations for gender equality. Born in Volos (2 Febr.1896), she grew up in a very united family. She was an excellent student. After finishing the primary school, she wanted to continue her studies, but girls were not allowed in the high school. Her father asked the Minister of Education to alow her daughter to study. She was the first girl who studied in boy s high school and the reason for the establishment of mixed high schools. In 1915, Eleni s family moved to Thessaloniki. She studied piano in the National Conservatory. In 1919, she married Dimitris Skouras who was procurator. After the Asia Minor Catastrophe (1922) and the violent expatriation, many refugees arrived in Thessaloniki. Eleni as the vice-president of the Agios Stylainos foundling hospital took care of the children. She was very worried about refugees especially of those who were homeless and unemployed. She activated her friends to help them. In 1930, Eleni heads the Shelter for Working Girls, where orphans and working girls could find shelter, food and love. She wanted a child, but despite her efforts she couldn t have. During the Second World War, she helped soldiers and visited several hospitals. In 1942, she entered the Law School of the University of Thessaloniki. Eleni helped in the establishment of the National Association of Greek Women.She said: we are the only country in which women have not the right to vote, even though Greece signed al the conventions about women s rights to elect and to be elected. She was also leading the women s organization of the liberal party National Raly. In the elections of the 1954, Eleni was in the ballot list of the National Rally. As she was well known for her deeds, she won the elections. Her election was regarded a win for the feminist movement. All women from each party saluted her election. Her battle, her efforts, and her calls for the advancement of women were fruitful. After her husband s death, she shareda house with her friend Maria Makri. Even when she was too old, she remained active. She died after health problems in the age of 95 (2 February 1991). 34

4 Austria s contribution to Room 5 Eugenie Schwarzwald ( ), Austria Eugenie Nußbaum, born in Plupanovka in former Austria- Hungary, present Ukraine, was an Austrian philanthropist, writer and pedagogue developing and supporting Austrian girl education. She belonged to the most lettered women of her time, was one of the first academic women in Austria, a progressive pedagogue and social engaged. Eugenie Nußbaum left her country in 1895 when she started to study German and English literature, philosophy and pedagogy at the University of Zurich (the only University at this time in German speaking area, which allowed women regularly studying). She received doctoral degree in Women were not allowed to study at Austrian high schools and universities and Eugenie was one of the first academically educated women in Austria-Hungary. In 1900 she married Dr. Hermann Schwarzwald ( ). Since 1901 she was head of Girl Secondary School and since 1911 of the Girl College. Her wish and aim was to offer an adequate and motivating secondary education to girls, comparable to that which was accessible to boys. For reaching her goal she engaged contemporary, prominent artists and scientists, e.g. Oskar Kokoschka gave lessons of drawing, Arnold Schönberg taught music and compositions or Adolf Loos lectured on architecture. These schools became a prototype of so called Schwarzwald schools (Schwarzwaldschulen), modern schools for girls. She often spoke on female equality to men in Wiener Frauen Club. During the World War I she took care of ill and old people as well as of deprived children. She wrote newspaper articles, feuilletons and short essays. Genia Schwarzwald was an important person of Viennese culture life and social events. As many of her contemporaries she organised a literary salon where she invited Kokoschka, Loos or Schönberg as well as novelists Elias Canetti and Robert Musil whom she inspired with her brightness and liking in Ancient Greek fashion to a character of Ermelinda Tuzzi or Diotima in his novel The Man Without Qualities. Eugenie was the most important but not the only model for Emelinda; another one was dancer Isadora Duncan. In 1938 Eugenie Schwarzwald was due to her Jewish ancestors forced to leave Austria and emigrated to Switzerland; the Schwarzwald schools were closed. She died in Zurich in

5 Spain s contribution to Room 5 Johanna Concepción Arenal ( ) Concepción Arenal was concerned with social problems, and dedicated her life to humanitarian and welfare work. As a social lawyer and reformist she tackled numerous initiatives and put forward various laws. The posts of Visitor of Women s Prisons and, later, that of Inspector of Reformatory Houses for Women were created for her. Her concern with the situation of women led her to write several articles and books, such as La mujer del porvenir (Woman of the future), in 1861, where she makes a critique of civil law, that defines women as inferior beings, and also of criminal law, that, in spite of it, does not consider any differences when administering correctives. In La mujer de su casa (The housewife, 1881) she attacks the ideal of housewife current in her times, and demands more education for women, as the only path to social equity. Furthermore, she defends women s moral superiority and their incorporation to all kinds of labour and professions, exception made of politics, the judiciary career and the army. 36

6 Germany s contribution to Room 5 Johanna Löwenherz ( ) Her well to do parents belonged to the Jewish community of Rheinbrohl, a small village near Bonn. Her brothers and sister dies when Johanna was still young. Thereby she inherited the family property and became one of the wealthiest persons in this little village on the banks of the Rhine. She refused to marry and kept the name of the father of her son Fritz born 1900, a secret. Johanna Löwenherz was highly talented and educated in an informal and scholarly manner, speaking French fluently, playing piano and singing publicly, composing. She did a lot of travelling, visiting women of the women s movement.she made use of a pseudonym, when writing her plays. Hiding herself and revealing only parts of her self belonged to her lifestyle self imposed and imposed on by the police state of imperial Germany. Her intellectual qualities are most clearly revealed in her book: Prostitution or Production, Property or Marriage, a basic work on feminist theory, developing a political view of society, based on and superior to the male theories of her time Johanna Löwenherz became an active member of the Social Democratic Party, propagating her feminist policy, which was not accepted by the majority of the party member of the communist party and founder of the housewife organisation 1933 imprisoned. In this year her son died under unknown circumstances 1937 sudden death In her testimony she dedicated her property to the benefit of women, engaged in promoting women s position in society beyond party limits. This testimony was ignored in post war Germany. Today women are beginning to realize the value of her testimony. 37