Organist as a profession. Women in church music positions in the Protestant Church in Berlin in the first half of the 20th century

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Christoph Henzel
• Subject Area: Musicology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 560571299

First, the positions filled by women from 1914 onwards will be identified. It is assumed that the First World War - as later the Second World War - increased the chances of women on the church music job market, as many job holders and potential applicants were drafted. It is to be determined how many replacements were taken on by women and how many new appointments were made by women. Furthermore, the development of job filling practices in the interwar and post-war period (from 1945) is to be presented. The end of the investigation period is the 1960s, when the reconstruction phase was completed and women were officially admitted to the parish office and were present at all levels of parish work. Then, the reflection on applications, suitability and office performance by women, as reflected in parish, church district and consistory records, will be examined. Specifically, this involves effective gender-specific assumptions and thought patterns and their contextualization. It remains to be investigated whether statements by professional interest groups, the "Verein Berliner Organisten und Kantoren" and the "Evangelisch-kirchlicher Chorgesangsverband", had any influence on this.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants