Alice Schwarzer
A polarizing and fearless German feminist who built a media empire to give women an unapologetic voice.
Born 1942 (age 84)·German journalist, publisher and feminist·Birthday: December 3·The Silent Generation
Biography
Alice Schwarzer did not set out to be polite. After working as a journalist in France and witnessing the ferment of the women's movement there, she returned to a still-conservative West Germany with a mission to shake its foundations. In 1977, she launched EMMA, a magazine that was brash, political, and entirely controlled by women, becoming a tangible symbol of female self-determination. Schwarzer herself became the face of German feminism, orchestrating the famous 1971 'Wir haben abgetrieben!' (We had abortions!) campaign, where women publicly confessed to illegal procedures. Her positions were consistently provocative, from early battles for reproductive rights and against pornography to later, contentious critiques of Islamic veiling and the sex industry. Love her or loathe her, Schwarzer forced conversations into the mainstream, ensuring that for decades, no issue concerning women's lives could be discussed without reckoning with her formidable presence.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Alice was born in 1942, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alice Was Born
The biggest hits of 1942
#1 Movie
Bambi
Best Picture
Mrs. Miniver
Alice's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1942Born
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1947Started school
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1955Became a teenager
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1958Could drive
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1960Could vote
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Turned 21
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1972Turned 30
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1982Turned 40
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1992Turned 50
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 60
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 70
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 80
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 84 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Founded and has published the influential feminist magazine EMMA continuously since 1977.
- Organized the groundbreaking 1971 campaign where 374 women publicly admitted to having illegal abortions.
- Authored the bestselling book 'Der kleine Unterschied und seine großen Folgen' (The Small Difference and Its Large Consequences) in 1975.
- Successfully led a legal campaign in the 1990s to have marital rape recognized as a crime in Germany.
- Has written numerous biographies and polemical works that have shaped public discourse in Germany.
Did You Know?
She worked as a secretary in Düsseldorf before moving to Paris to become a reporter.
She conducted a famous and tense televised debate with conservative philosopher Edith Stein in 1975.
Her magazine, EMMA, has always been financed solely through subscriptions and sales, refusing advertising.
She is a trained judoka.
“The personal is political.”
