Women's Portraits

Roswitha Kögel

“ Was that all?“ This question has never bothered Roswitha Kögel.

“My life is good and completely satisfying”, she says.

Family

Sternly religious parents and  cramped living conditions had  a determing influence on Roswitha’s childhood and youth. Born in Ulm in 1940, she grew up with two elder sisters and a younger brother. She was a dutiful daughter who supported her mother in the family’s daily routine.

As a  little girl she shared her room with her brother for a long time. This turned out to be a lucky and comforting circumstance. The siblings discussed important literature such as Nietzsche and Huxley, thus counterbalancing her rigid education in the Catholic middle school for girls in  St. Hildegard’s. In 1956 the 15year old girl left school with the O-level certificate.

Professional Education.

The following year Roswitha attended the one-year housekeeping class of the business school in Söflingen , as she was yet too young to be trained as a kindergarten teacher. Later on during her time of training at a kindergarten teacher’s seminar, she worked in a day nursery, a job she liked very much.

It is likely that at that time Roswitha already wished to be a teacher and had felt a yearning for more independence and self-determination in some professional life.

After having finished her training in 1960 she left Ulm immediately and got employed in  various institutions: in Paderborn the kindergarten teacher worked with girls resettled from Poland, on the island of Langeoog she looked after children in a recreational holiday camp. In Köln she then attended a training college to become a subject teacher for handicraft. Having finished that training Mrs Kögel again found employment in Niedersachsen. In a protestant, quite progressive center school (Mittelpunktschule) she went to teach boys handicraft, using wooden or metal materials, in addition she taught art classes at a conservative Catholic elementary school.

A school inspector, who was well-disposed towards her and had recognized her pedagogical talent, advised and supported the young teacher. This greatly helped the young woman’s self-confidence.

At last, in 1966 she was admitted to the teacher’s training college in Freiburg after a three-day aptitude test in five subjects. Only twelve applicants out of 120 were accepted. This was a real success, as it had been Roswitha’s long-cherished dream to be a teacher.

At her first job in 1969,  in a small town near Ulm, the young teacher was initially not treated well. She found herself confronted with harrassment, slander and discrimination.                       In this difficult situation Roswitha Kögel for the first time began to fight for socially just treatment and a fair judgement. This commitment to tolerance has continued throughout her further life.

Roswitha’s interest in children and young people is still obvious. She is permanently asked to baby-sit and attentively watches her five godchildren grow up.

Retirement

The beginning of her retirement was overshadowed by the fact that she had to take care of  her critically ill sister who lived in a home for old people. After her sister had passed away  Roswitha Kögel looked after three other old age pensioners until they died. Roswitha’s self-determined life as a senior citizen began in 2006. She enjoyed her new freedom and attended the Women’s Acadamy in Ulm. After two terms she joined the Grundvic project: “European Women between Tradition and Tansition”.

The trip to Sibiu in Transylvania (Siebenbürgen) and a visit there in an asylum for alcohol- addicted women was a crucial experience for her. Since that trip to Romania Roswitha Kögel has been involved in the project “Island of  Hope”, the only institution of its kind in all Romania.

Seven to ten women can live at that asylum, psychological and sociological support is provided. There is hardly any financial help from public authorities. The Women’s Acadamy collects money for the ”Island of Hope”. Mrs Kögel feels responsible for the continued existence of the institution. She is very busy raising the money needed for that purpose. It is not documented how many Cantuccini she has already baked, how many cards with photographed impressions she has designed and how much time she has put into producing Christmas decoration.

Wool was collected and sent to the “Island of Hope”, where the women knitted chair pads to be sold in Ulm.

The next project is a bazaar in November 2011. Donated fashionable scarfs and up-to-date jewellery will be on sale at the big Women’s Acadamy party.

The Campaign

In 2009 there was a financial crisis affecting the Volkshochschule (vh, adult education centre) and the Frauenakademie (FA, Women’s Academy). Lecturers, who were important for the teaching programmes were to be dismissed. Even though Roswitha Kögel is usually quite shy, she wrote a bellicose letter to the editor of the important local paper. She stood up for the teaching staff and the unique importance of the Women’s Academy.

In addition she organized a provoking postcard campaign - one side of the cards read: “vh, that’s us. You have to count on us”, the other side read: ”Because we, we are the capital”. More than 300 people signed these petition cards, on which the slogans were printed in red and black. It turned up to be a most successful campaign.

Roswitha Kögel is the soul of the FA. She keeps contact with the teaching staff, helps prepare seminar-related trips, discusses new projects as well as problems that may arise and shares suggestions and ideas.

Roswitha Kögel’s commitment to the “Island of Hope”, long walks in her beloved forests in the neighbourhood, experimental cooking, friends, invitations, dinners with friends and theme-oriented travels show that she has a fulfilled life. She is not afraid of  the future and  everything is all right in the present.

Her advice  for the younger generations: “Open your eyes! Open your hearts!”

Monika van Koolwijk