Else Mayer

{{Short description|German nun and feminist (1891–1962)}} {{Infobox person | image = Else Mathilde Mayer-c.1960-in-habit.jpg | alt = Black-and-white head shot of Mayer wearing the internal habit of the Order of the Redeemer, with a veil covering her hair and a cross on her chest. She is shown in a formal, composed pose. | name = Else Mayer | birth_date = {{Birth date text|1891}} | death_date = {{Death year and age|1962|1891}} | occupation = Nun }} '''Else Mayer''' (1891–1962) was a German nun and a women's liberation activist during the period of first-wave feminism. She was one of the pioneers of the German Women's Liberation Movement. Together with Alexandra Bischoff she founded the Erlöserbund.

==Biography== Else Mayer was the daughter of the German jeweler Victor Mayer. She spent her childhood and youth in the family business before she became a religious sister. After she visited several convents, she decided to found a new institute, the Erlöserbund, in 1916. With the support of her family, she bought buildings in Bonn and started to support young female students who received housing from her.

The Erlöserbund was closed in 2005 and turned into a charitable foundation. The Else Mayer Foundation presents an annual award, the '''Else Mayer Award''', to applicants who are deemed to qualify as ideological successors to Else Mayer. The award is for 4000 euros. German Education Minister Annette Schavan was the inaugural recipient of this award in 2006.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.general-anzeiger-bonn.de/bonn/Annette-Schavan-erste-Preistr%C3%A4gerin-article117055.html|title=Annette Schavan erste Preisträgerin|date=2006-12-20|work=General-Anzeiger Bonn|access-date=2017-05-22|language=de|trans-title=Annette Schavan first prize winner}}</ref> The German feminist Alice Schwarzer received the award in 2007.

== Legacy == In her hometown of Pforzheim, Germany, the '''Else-Mayer-School''' (''Else-Mayer-Schule'') is named in honour of Else Mayer. The school was founded in 2012 as a private, state-recognised vocational school and offers training programmes in social care, including qualifications in social-pedagogical assistance and everyday support services. Its educational focus lies on inclusion, social participation, and facilitating access to the labour market, particularly for learners with non-linear educational backgrounds or special support needs.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-01 |title=Schule - E,m.s! – Else-Mayer Schule, Pforzheim |url=https://www.ems-pforzheim.de/ueber-uns/schule/ |access-date=2026-02-06 |language=de}}</ref>

== Publications ==

*The Donation Else Mayer {{ISBN|3-00-020628-0}}/{{ISBN|978-3-00-020628-3}} *Mohr-Mayer, Herbert; Mohr, Victor: ''Die Stiftung Else Mayer''. Bonn: Stiftung Else Mayer (Selbstverlag), 2006. *Else Mayer Award [https://web.archive.org/web/20120406061956/http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pz-news.de%2Fpforzheim%2F87667%2Findex.html&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=4&ct=result&prev=%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Delse+mayer&hl=en&lr=&sa=G] *Bonn Newspaper [https://web.archive.org/web/20120406062004/http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.general-anzeiger-bonn.de%2Findex.php%3Fk%3Dnews&itemid=10490&detailid=257179&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=5&ct=result&prev=%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Delse+mayer%2C+bonn&hl=en&lr=&sa=G]

== References == {{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Else}} Category:1891 births Category:1962 deaths Category:20th-century German Roman Catholic nuns Category:Catholic feminists Category:First-wave feminism in Germany Category:German feminists Category:German women activists Category:German women's rights activists