Schoenewald, Ottilie, 1883-1961

Born in Bochum on December 21, 1883, Ottilie Schoenewald was a social worker and feminist, and last president of the Juedischer Frauenbund, 1934-1939. She was also a member of the Preussischer Landesverband der juedischen Gemeinden. In 1926 she founded the Bochum branch of the "Juedischer Frauenbund". During the Weimar period she was a member of the Bochum magistrate for the liberal "Deutsche Demokratische Partei". In 1934 she was elected chairperson of the "Juedischer Frauenbund" in Germany. She was also a member of the board of the "Centralverein" and of the "Preussischer Landesverband juedischer Gemeinden". She emigrated to the United States via the Netherlands and Great Britain in 1939 and died in New York City on May 18, 1961.

From the guide to the Ottilie Schoenewald Collection, 1905-1983, (Leo Baeck Institute Archives)