»Wer hat das letzte Wort?« Erna Scheffler und der Stichentscheid von 1957. Ein Vortrag von Dr. Marion Röwekamp

Who makes the decisions in a marriage—and who has the final say under the law? Well into the 1950s, decision-making authority in German family law rested with the husband. It wasn’t until 1957 that this principle was overturned by a landmark decision of the Federal Constitutional Court—the so-called “tie-breaking vote.” At the center of this was Erna Scheffler (1893–1983), the court’s first female judge.

Scheffler was not only a legal pioneer but also knew from personal experience what exclusion and upheaval entail. As a lawyer who faced racial persecution under National Socialism, she was subjected to severe restrictions. These experiences had a lasting impact on her understanding of law, equality, and the state’s responsibility.

The lecture traces Scheffler’s journey—from the hurdles she faced as a woman in the field of law, through her persecution during the “Third Reich,” to her central role in the fight for legal equality for women in the Federal Republic of Germany. The focus is on the 1957 tie-breaking decision, in which the Federal Constitutional Court declared the patriarchal right of men to make the final decision to be unconstitutional.

This case illustrates how closely legal argumentation, social change, and personal experience are intertwined. Erna Scheffler exemplifies a generation of female lawyers who, against considerable resistance, enforced the promise of equality enshrined in the Basic Law.

Dr. Marion Röwekampis a historian and legal scholar with proven expertise in 20th-century German and European legal history. Her research focuses in particular on the role of women in law, the development of the principle of equality, and the biographical and social conditions under which female lawyers worked. She has taught and conducted research at various universities in Germany and abroad, published numerous works on legal and contemporary history, and is considered one of the most profound experts on the life and significance of Erna Scheffler.

A joint event organized by the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Haus Foundation, the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation Düsseldorf e.V., and the Düsseldorf Contributions “Respect and Courage” as part of the “100 Leaders of Democracy” project of the Federal President Theodor Heuss House Foundation