FUW convention, Paris 1922. Courtesy IFUW, Geneva.

This database contains biograpical information on female academics which either belonged to, or were closedly affiliated with, the International Federation of University Women (IFUW). British and American women professors established the IFUW at the end of the First World War. Their goal was to forge a cosmopolitan elite commited to two main goals: promoting both international undertanding in the aftermath of the world’s first global conflict and the professional advancement of its diverse members. During the 1920s the IFUW created new structures for intellectual exchange, including but not limited to an international fellowship program for female academics. By 1930 thirty national associations across Europe and the British Commonwealth had joined the IFUW, boosting membership to over 24,000 individual members. Between 1933 and 1945 the international association made aid to women scholars escaping Germany, later German-dominated Europe, a top priority.
 
This database showcases the history of the IFUW network, covering the period 1917 to 1955. The database offers a window on the contributions of the IFUW’s founding generation, as well as the women who came to the organization in the course of the 1920s, such as the Germans. A particular focus of the database is biographical information about those members forced to escape Germany and Nazi-dominated Europe during the period 1933 to 1945.
 
The English version of the database is currently under construction. For the full record please turn to the German version.