Social scientist Cora Berliner (born September 1, 1923, in Hanover) was the first female state councilor in German history. She completed her studies in mathematics and political science and law in Berlin and Heidelberg in 1916 with a doctorate.
She then worked for many years in the Schöneberg city administration and was even elected to the city council. She worked as an economic advisor to the German embassy in London, later returning to Berlin to become a professor of economics.
After the Nazis came to power, she was dismissed from public service because she was Jewish. From then on, she worked with social worker Hannah Karminski in the Jewish Women’s Association and in the welfare system of the Reich Representation of Jews in Germany. In this context, she particularly supported girls and women in emigrating.
On June 26, 1942, she was deported to Minsk, together with other employees of the Reich Association. Shortly afterwards, she was most likely murdered in the Maly Trostinez extermination camp.
Sources/Literature:
- BArch, R 4901/16529, Akten betreffend Frau Professor Dr. Cora Berliner.
- Sibylle Quack: Cora Berliner, Gertrud Kolmar, Hannah Arendt. Straßen am “Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas” ehren ihr Andenken (Jüdische Miniaturen, Band 33), Hentrich & Hentrich, Berlin 2005.