"Die christliche Seefahrt ist ein Männerberuf, daran wird sich nichts ändern!": der ungewöhnliche Lebenslauf der Annaliese Teetz

"The biography of the first German woman to receive a master's certificate can justifiably be referred to as unusual. Annaliese Teetz, nee Sparbier, a teacher's daughter born in Hamburg in 1910, discovered her love for seafaring while studying at university. She started out working in the fishing industry for several years, then finally managed to enter the world of commercial navigation. Despite extreme difficulties caused by the authorities, she succeeded in gaining admission to navigation school, where she obtained the mate's certificate for distant trade (A5) in 1943. She was employed in coastal shipping until the end of the war, her last position in that context being that of captain on the coastal motor vessel NORD 28. After World War II she served various small shipping companies as a nautical officer, accompanied by her husband, the ship's engineer Ernst Teetz. When Annaliese Teetz decided to train for the master's certificate for distant trade in 1954, she was once again confronted with major obstacles. She nevertheless achieved her aim and continued to work for various shipping companies until 1968. Yet her dream of serving as the captain of a large, internationally operating vessel was never fulfilled. The scepticism towards women in this profession was still too great. Following her period of active seafaring service, Teetz worked as an elementary school teacher until retirement. As a member of the seamen's section of the DAG (German Employee's Association) she continued to support the interests of seafaring, concentrating specifically on the improvement of opportunities for women in this field. The dedicated 'seawoman' died in 1992 at the age of 82. She had worked in the area of 'Christian navigation' for altogether 38 years and succeeded in asserting her self in what even today is a decidedly masculine domain, a feat which must have seemed impossible. This accomplishment was surely due in great part to her unwavering tenacity and willingness to serve. Not until the end of the 1950s did a number of other women manage to establish themselves professionally in the area of navigation, primarily as radio operators. And only very recently have German shipping companies begun to place women in captain's positions." (author's abstract