Kelber, Magda

Economist, educator

Born: 07.06.1908 in Aufsess (Upper Franconia)

died: 07.08.1987 in Wiesbaden

Kelber, the daughter of a pastor and his wife, studied economics and completed her studies in 1932 with a doctorate in Erlangen. In 1933, she received a one-year scholarship at the Quaker Woodbrooke College in Birmingham (England).

She then remained in England, professed Quakerism and became a member of the "Religious Society of Friends". She founded a private evening school for adults in the north of England, the "International House". During the Second World War in 1940, she was interned on the Isle of Man. In the women's camp, she and others organized a work exchange among themselves in accordance with Quaker principles, e.g. "hairdressing for English lessons".

After her release in 1941, she was a member of the "German Educational Reconstruction" (G.E.R) and campaigned for a democratic reorganization of the German education and welfare system. She returned to Germany in 1946 and worked in adult education in Wiesbaden and the surrounding area from 1949. She took over the management of "Haus Schwalbach", the former "Arbeitsstätte für Gruppenpädagogik" near Bad Schwalbach, and developed it into a training center for leaders from all walks of life. The foundations for this were provided by the group education principles and methods developed in American social work in the 1930s. In 1957, she had to give up the house for financial reasons.

In 1961, she co-founded the neighborhood house in Biebrich and was chairwoman of the founding board from 1967-73. In 1976, she was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class for her services.