Christine Teusch was a German politician of the Zentrumspartei ("Centre Party") and the Christian Democratic Union

Christian Democratic Union (Germany)

The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...

, and Minister of Culture

Minister of culture

A culture minister is a Cabinet position in some governments responsible for protecting the national heritage of a country and promoting cultural expression....

 in Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...

).

Biography

Teusch qualified as a teacher in 1910 and a rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 in 1913. In 1915 she became Chairwoman of the Katholischen Lehrerinnenverein ("Catholic Women Teacher's Association") in Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

. By 1918 she was head of the Women Workers' Secretariat at the Generalsekretariat der Christlichen Gewerkschaften ("General Secretariat of Christian Trade Unions") in Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

. After the Nazi takeover in 1933 she returned to school, but retired on health grounds in 1936.

She joined the Catholic resistance group Kölner Kreis ("Cologne Cross"). Under the Nazis, she found refuge in the Olper Franziskanerinnen Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

 Hospital in Arnsberg-Hüsten and lived there incognito.

From 1923 to 1965 she was Chairman of the German National Association of Catholic Girls' Protection Societies in Freiburg im Breisgau. Her grave is in the Melaten Cemetery in Köln-Lindenthal.

Offices

Teusch was a member of the Zentrumspartei from Imperial times until 1945. In 1945 she joined the Christian Democratic Union

Christian Democratic Union (Germany)

The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...

, and was elected party leader for the British occupation zone after the Second World War.

In 1919 she became the youngest member of the Nationalversammlung ("National Assembly") and from 1920 to 1933 had a seat in the Reichstag

Reichstag (Weimar Republic)

The Reichstag was the parliament of Weimar Republic .German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ deals with legislation too: in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat...

. She was also in parliament after the war, from 1947 to 1966. She was appointed Minister of Culture on 19 December 1947, which post she retained until she retired from it in 1954.

Honours

On 7 September 1956 she was the first woman to receive the Große Verdienstkreuz mit Stern und Schulterband des Bundesverdienstkreuzes (literally, "Great Cross of Merit with Star and Sash of the Federal Cross of Merit"). The University of Cologne

University of Cologne

The University of Cologne is one of the oldest universities in Europe and, with over 44,000 students, one of the largest universities in Germany. The university is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, an association of Germany's leading research universities...

made her an honorary fellow. Several streets and squares, especially in North Rhine - Westphalia, are named after her.

Selected publications

Translator's note: These are in German.

• Fürsorge des Zentrums für Schwache und Hilfsbedürftige ("Welfare from the Centre for the Weak and Needy"), Berlin 1924.
• Die christliche Frau im politischen Zeitgeschehen ("The Christian Woman in Current Affairs"), Dortmund 1946.
• Das christliche Bildungsideal ("The Christian Ideal of Education"), in: Politisches Jahrbuch der CDU/CSU, hrsg. vom Generalsekretariat der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der CDU/CSU für Deutschland, 1. Jahrgang, Frankfurt 1950.

Sources

Translator's note: These are in German.

• Gabriele Kranstedt: Katholische Mädchensozialarbeit. In: Köln seit über 100 Jahren. Gründungsgeschichte. Mit einem Vorwort von Anni Jülich. Hrsg. von IN VIA Verband Katholischer Mädchensozialarbeit Köln e.V. Köln 2001, 24 S.
• Gerold Schmidt: 100 Jahre IN VIA Verband Katholischer Mädchensozialarbeit in Köln. In: not-wendig. Katholische Mädchensozialarbeit Köln 1898 -1998. Mit einem Vorwort von Anni Jülich und Sibylle Klings. Hrsg. von IN VIA Verband Katholischer Mädchensozialarbeit e.V. Köln. Köln 1998, 35 S.

External links

Translator's note: These are in German.