Suffrage: Germany and the US
Exhibit Description
Suffrage was one of the main points of difference between Germany's
women's rights movement and that in America.
Germany gave women the right to vote
as a result of political upheaval following World War I, when its end
saw the collapse of German monarchy and establishment of democratic
government. Women participated in war efforts as well as labor
movements during this time, which contributed to them eventually
attaining voting rights; although, due to division, all women did not
gain voting rights until postwar division of Germany;
East German women received full voting rights in 1949, shortly after the establishment of the German Democratic Republic
(GDR). However, in West Germany,
women did not gain full voting rights until 1953, when the
government passed a law granting them the same voting rights as men
in all elections. Before this, women in West Germany were only allowed to vote in
local elections.
American women's suffrage movement began in the mid-19th century and
culminated with passage of the
19th Amendment in 1920. Women in the US faced
significant opposition from conservative groups and lawmakers who
claimed giving women voting rights would disrupt family structures
and lead to social disorder;
additionally, this movement was closely connected to wider women's
rights movements that sought to address workplace discrimination,
reproductive rights issues, and gender-based violence issues.
Overall, women in both Germany and the US eventually obtained the
right to vote; however, their paths differed greatly due to unique
political and social situations in both countries. Germany saw women's
suffrage tied directly to its political turmoil while in America
women's rights activists battled hard for it over many decades before
eventually winning out in court and winning it for themselves.
