Wessel, Helene (1898–1969)
Wessel, Helene (1898–1969)
German politician. Name variations: Helen Wessel. Born July 6, 1898, in Dortmund, Germany; died Oct 1969 in Bonn, Germany.
Political leader, was co-founder of the All-German People's Party (Gesamtdeutschen Volkspartei, GVP), which from 1950 through 1957 criticized the Cold War assumptions of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and advocated an early version of detente and relaxation of East-West tensions; began career as a social worker; before and during WWII, worked for Catholic Social Work Associations; after the war, published the newspaper Neuer Westfȧlischer Kurier; became a member of the Bundestag (1949) and 1st chair of Zentrumspartei, the 1st woman in Germany's history to head a party; co-founded GVP (1952); when the party split up (1957), joined the SPD and was a member of the Bundestag until 1969.