| Democratic Women's Federation of Germany | |
| Native Name: | Demokratischer Frauenbund Deutschlands |
| Native Name Lang: | de |
| Dissolved: | 1990 |
| Type: | Mass organization |
| Purpose: | Women's rights |
| Membership: | 1.5 million |
| Membership Year: | 1988 |
| Parent Organization: | National Front |
The Democratic Women's League of Germany[1] [2] [3] (German: italic=no|'''Demokratischer Frauenbund Deutschlands''', or DFD) was the mass women's organisation in East Germany. It was one of the constituent members of the National Front and sent representatives to the Volkskammer. In 1988, membership was 1.5 million.[4] [1]
The DFD did not have much independence from the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED). Käte Selbmann, a member of the DFD's executive board, complained that it was "a pre-school for women, neither as central as the FDGB nor even more important than any other mass organization to women's work, and absolutely subordinate to the SED",[5] while historian Valerie Dubslaff writes that "the role of the department was therefore neither to represent the interests of women nor to promote them within the party, but to execute the political will of its leaders".[6]
The DFD was established in March 1947 and had the following official aims:
| Name | Entered Office | Left Office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anne-Marie Durand-Wever | 1947 | 1948 | |
| Emmy Damerius-Koenen | 1948 | 1949 | |
| Elli Schmidt | 1949 | September 1953 | |
| Ilse Thiele | September 1953 | November 1989 | |
| Eva Rohmann | 1989 | 1990 | |
| Gisela Steineckert | 1990 | 1990 |