Abstract
Martha Arendsee (Berlin, 1885–Berlin, 1953) was a German politician, women’s rights activist, and antifascist. Born to a working-class family in Wedding—a traditionally blue-collar district of Berlin—she joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD) in 1906 at the age of 21 before women were allowed to officially join political parties in Germany (this was legalized in 1908). She became active in its “Women’s Work” section under the guidance of Clara Zetkin (1857-1933), a leader of the Social Democratic women’s movement and editor of the socialist women’s newsletter Gleichheit (Equality). Arendsee led the “Women’s Work”