Thanks, Masha. Actually, Penny was able to go in and can probably post more details. I can't actually tell you what the definition of a "feminist archive" is in this case-only that this is how they were described and that regardless of credentials, they would not let any man in!
Greg King
It's the FFBIZ Archive in Berlin. Here's what I wrote for Atlantis in the fall of 2000 (bear in mind that this is almost four-years-old information):
"We were fortunate to find some rather obscure and interesting information on Princess Henry of Prussia and Crown Princess Cecile at FFBIZ Archive, which is the acronym for Frauenforschungs-, Bildungs- und Informationszentrum. This is a tiny specialist archive with holdings mainly concerning contemporary women’s issues, although for us, our interest lay in the large collection of material on the early women’s movement. This contained some unpublished information on the marital and family relations of the two Princesses, although it would probably be important to recognize the agenda of this archive when interpreting its value. Probably the most important information this archive gave us was a clearer picture of the function of a wife in a princely house at this time, and what life in general was like for a female member of the German Imperial Family.
"The archive is located at Danckelmannstrasse 15 und 47. Contact information is as follows: Dr. Ursula Nienhaus, FFBIZ Archiv, Danckelmannstrasse 15,14059 Berlin,
Germany. Archival visits are by appointment only, and usually some notice is required before visiting. We took a chance by just knocking on the door, as suggested by a research assistant at the Landesarchiv, as we were already in Berlin and were leaving the following morning. It is important to note that no men are admitted to the building. This is a strictly, and even militantly, women only zone."
I have no idea if Dr Nienhaus is still the director, and I can't recall the name of the woman who helped me, though she obviously worked there either as a docent or in some research capacity. There's definitely a screening process, but as a Californian, I had no trouble in convincing her that my politics were liberal enough!
She let me in, after directing Greg to a cafe down the street --
he had an easy morning with Kaffee und Kuchen, while I ran back and forth to him with information and was quizzed on my feelings about the feminist movement, spousal abuse and the "glass ceiling." It actually wasn't all that bad, and my German had a work out!
There was quite a bit there on Cecile, a little less on Irene, and it seemed to have been collected for someone who was writing, or had written, a paper on marital relations in the German Imperial Family.
The archive did have a bit of an agenda, but at least they are up-front about it. Most archives do try to protect themselves (or their "family" if it's a family archive) and so it's not unusual in research to find yourself dealing with an archive's agenda. This place was no worse than most. Unless you're a man, of course!
