Marie Munk, who lived from July 4, 1885, to January 17, 1978, was a German lawyer and judge who became the first female judge in Germany. Born in Berlin, she earned a Doctor of Laws degree from Heidelberg University in 1911 and was admitted to the German bar in 1924, among the first women permitted to practice law in the country; in 1914 she had co-founded the German Women Lawyers Association, later serving as its second chairwoman from 1919 to 1933. In 1930 she was appointed a district court councilor in Berlin, and throughout her career she pressed for family law reforms including equal spousal responsibilities, simplified divorce procedures, equal division of marital property, and equal citizenship rights for women. She was dismissed from her judicial post in 1933 under Nazi laws targeting people of Jewish descent, later emigrated to the United States, was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1943, and worked as a marriage counselor for a court in Toledo, Ohio, before settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Facts
Nationality / Jurisdiction Place of Death Classification
Field of Law Role
Role (category) FAQs
Was Marie Munk really the first woman judge in Germany?
Probably not. Others were appointed before her, so she is better described as one of the first women judges in Germany.
She is often described that way, but the record is less clear. An encyclopedia article on lawyers in Germany and Austria from the Jewish Women's Archive lists Munk among several women, many of them lawyers of Jewish origin, appointed as judges before the Nazi era. It names Hedwig Brann-Frank in Frankfurt in 1928, Gertud Else Rahel Samulon-Guttmann in 1929, and Erna Haslacher and Marie Munk in 1930 in Prussia. The safest description is that Munk was one of the very few women appointed as judges in Germany before the Nazi era, and that she received her appointment in 1930.
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Source Marie Munk (Wikipedia)tier 2
Sources
1. Marie Munk (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIntroduction, gender
She was the first female judge in Germany.
Introduction
Marie Munk (July 4, 1885, in Berlin - January 17, 1978, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States) was a German-American lawyer. She was the first female judge in Germany.
Introduction
Marie Munk (July 4, 1885, in Berlin - January 17, 1978, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States) was a German-American lawyer.
Introduction, field of law
She made efforts to obtain reforms in the family law, concerning equal spousal responsibilities, trouble-free divorce procedures, equal division of property in case of divorce, equal citizenship rights for women.
In Legal System: German Legal System, Lead
Marie Munk (July 4, 1885, in Berlin, January 17, 1978, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States) was a German-American lawyer.
View the Source 2. Wikidata: Marie Munk
Wikidata Q98126, P569 date of birth claim (year)
P569 (date of birth): 1885
Wikidata Q98126, P569 date of birth claim (full date)
P569 (date of birth): 1885-07-04
Wikidata Q98126, P570 date of death claim (year)
P570 (date of death): 1978
Wikidata Q98126, P570 date of death claim (full date)
P570 (date of death): 1978-01-17
Wikidata Q98126, P19 place of birth claim
P19 (place of birth): Berlin
Wikidata Q98126, P20 place of death claim
P20 (place of death): Cambridge
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