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Marie Munk was born in Berlin (then Prussia) on July 4, 1885. She graduated from Kaiserin Augusta Gymnasium and received her Doctor of Laws degree from Heidelberg University in 1911. Having passed the two necessary bar exams in 1920 and 1924, Munk began work with the Prussian Ministry of Justice. In 1925 she became the first woman admitted to practice law in Berlin and was appointed District Court Judge in 1929. Because she was of Jewish descent, by Nazi law she was dismissed in 1933. Munk first visited the United States in 1933 at the invitation of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women as a delegate to the International Congress of Women in Chicago. She returned in 1934, having secured a position at the New York School for Delinquent Girls. In 1943 Munk was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar. She went on to work as a marriage counselor for the Court of Common Pleas in Toledo, Ohio, then settled permanently in Cambridge, Massachusetts i
The Marie Munk papers consist 4 linear feet of correspondence, writings, printed material and memorabilia. There is documentation of Munk's early career in articles from the U.S. and Germany, and in personal and business correspondence. Although there are some letters from her brother (1914-1915), most correspondence dates from 1934. Of particular interest are letters from musicologist Sophie Drinker (1952-66). There are numerous publications by Munk, as well as manuscripts in both German and English, including material on domestic relations, marriage and marriage counseling, juvenile delinquency, and women's rights. Of special interest are manuscripts on the position of women before and after World War I, written for the International Federation of Business and Professional Women; Munk's reminiscences of her experiences as a judge in pre-Hitler Germany (1945); and a proposal by Munk to reunify East and West Berlin (1948).
This collection is organized into five series:
The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.
The copyright owner of this collection is unknown. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
Marie Munk Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
The Marie Munk Papers were originally bequeathed to the Sophia Smith Collection and the Schlesinger Library. It was determined that the entire collection was more appropriate to the Sophia Smith Collection due to the substantial content on Germany, and the Schlesinger Library transferred their portion of the papers to the SSC in 1979.
Processed by Burd Schlessinger, 2000.
This series contains poetry, photographs, scrapbooks, clippings, and official documents. In addition, there is documentation of Munk's early career in articles from the U. S. and Germany, autobiographical sketches, and an oral history conducted at Smith College in 1971.
This series is organized into to subseries: Personal and Business. The bulk of the material is post-1934, following Munk's arrival in the United States. It includes six letters from mucsicologist Sophie Drinker (1952, 1965-66). The only personal correspondence remaining from her life in Germany are World War I letters from her brother, Ernest Munk, to his family (1914-15).
This series consists of numerous publications and manuscripts in both German and English. Topics include domestic relations, marriage and marriage counseling, juvenile delinquency, and women's rights. There is also a manuscript of an unpublished book, "Elements of Love and Marriage" (1950). Of special interest are the manuscripts on the position of women during and after World War I (1940), written for the International Federation of Business and Professional Women, her reminiscences of her experiences as a judge in pre-Hitler Germany (1945), and a proposal for the reunification of Berlin.
The series contains printed material and manuscripts pertaining to several subject areas, particularly domestic relations, illegitimacy, juvenile delinquency, psychology, Germany, and Women. Also of interest is a manuscript by Kate Lindenau about women during World War I and the postwar period.
This series has in it membership records and printed material related to Munk's organizational affiliations.