Elly Heuss-Knapp, born in 1881, was already committed to women and their rights at the age of 19: in 1900, she opened the first ‘advanced training school for girls’, where she herself continued to teach. During her studies and also after her wedding and the birth of her son in 1910, she wrote for newspapers and magazines and gave lectures on topics such as working from home, domestic management, the role of women in the economy and the women's movement. Her first book ‘Bürgerkunde und Volkswirtschaftslehre für Frauen’ (Civics and Economics for Women) is published in eight editions. As one of the few women who were politically active at this time, she stood as a candidate for the Reichstag in 1918 and 1920 for the German Democratic Party (DDP). She drafts leaflets and propaganda verses, gives many election speeches and encourages women to use their vote after the introduction of women's suffrage: ‘Women, advertise and vote. Every vote counts! Every vote counts, women's will wins!’ After the National Socialists seize power, she is not allowed to continue her work at the radio station and her husband, who later becomes the first German President Theodor Heuss, has to give up his teaching position at the German School of Politics. In order to secure the household income, she works in the advertising industry and invents the radio jingle, with which she revolutionises advertising. Elly Heuss-Knapp did not conform to the (domestic) image of women at the time. Even as a wife and mother, she remained employed and socially active. She and her husband supported and respected each other. As the ‘crowning glory of her life’, she founded the Mothers' Convalescent Home together with Dr Antonie Nopitsch in 1950. She knows from her own experience the challenge of combining family, career and household. The aim of the charitable foundation is to maintain and strengthen the health of mothers - and now also fathers and carers. Five charitable organisations work together under the umbrella of the Müttergenesungswerk. The focus is on holistic cure measures and the concept of the therapeutic chain: from the initial consultation to the cure measures in recognised clinics and aftercare, those affected are supported throughout the entire recovery process. Elly Heuss-Knapp died on 19 July 1952, and her role model function and her commitment to the Mothers' Convalescence Fund continue to have an impact to this day.
