Florence Hervé

Florence Hervé (born 17 April 1944) is a Franco-German journalist, historian and feminist activist. In the words of one commentator, she "moves in a space between scholarship and journalism". Since 1993 she has also appeared regularly on broadcast media.

In 2014, the German government wanted to award her the "Bundesverdienstkreuz". She rejected the state decoration, explaining in an open letter to the then President of Germany Joachim Gauck that although the honour came in recognition of her many years of unpaid work on women's issues and policies, along with Franco-German co-operation and international co-operation more generally, her work had frequently placed her in direct opposition to whichever one of a succession of German governments was in power at the time.

Biography

A short extract from Hervé's lengthy explanation for her rejection of a Bundesverdienstkreuz (government honour) in 2014: "The policy and historical understanding of the German Federal government continue to be characterised by an insufficient appraisal and appreciation of the Nazi past, an inconsistent fight against latent and open neonazism and racism, and an inadequate recognition of the antifascist resistance - with the exceptions of the 20 July plot and the White Rose group. If I were to accept the honour I would fnd myself lined up with former Nazis and people who carried out Nazi policies. As far as I know, with just one exception, no one has ever had a Bundesverdienstkreuz revoked. That, incidentally, would be an easy thing to do, and something which would contribute to a [necessary] historical re-evaluation." "Eine unzureichende Aufarbeitung der Nazivergangenheit, eine nicht konsequente Bekämpfung des offenen und latenten Neonazismus und Rassismus und eine unzureichende Anerkennung des antifaschistischen Widerstands – über den 20. Juli 1944 und die Weiße Rose hinaus – kennzeichnen leider weiterhin die Politik und das Geschichtsverständnis der Bundesrepublik. Würde ich die Auszeichnung annehmen, befände ich mich zudem in einer Reihe mit solchen früheren Preisträgern, die Nazis bzw. Nazitäter waren. Soweit mir bekannt ist, wurde bis auf eine Ausnahme keinem von ihnen nachträglich das Verdienstkreuz aberkannt. Das wäre im übrigen ein leicht machbares Unterfangen, das zudem der Geschichtsaufarbeitung diente." She grew up in a conservative but relatively open-minded family Passing her Abitur (school final exams) in 1961 opened the way to university-level education. She studied Germanistics at Bonn, Heidelberg and Paris, where she received her doctorate. Along the way, she had also, in 1963, received a degree as a translator from the Dolmetsch Institute (specialising in simultaneous translation) at the University of Heidelberg. Frankfurter Rundschau, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger and Junge Welt. She also became involved in various feminist organisations and initiatives. In the mid-1970s she was a co-founder with Alma Kettig of the Democratic Women's Initiative ("Demokratische Fraueninitiative"). She is a co-producer of the feminist quarterly journal Wir Frauen and of the publication's calendar, produced since 1979.

In 2014, in her very public rejection of a government proposal to award he the government wanted to award her the "Bundesverdienstkreuz", she stated that she had no wish to give the impression that she had made her political peace with the ruling establishment.

Personal Florence Hervé has two grown-up daughters as a result of her brief marriage.

Publications (selection)