Amalie Raiffeisen

Amalie Raiffeisen (2 August 1846 - 11 January 1897) was a German social reformer.

By the 1860s her father, Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, was almost blind. By handling his correspondence with him she was indispensable in his creation of the Cooperative movement in Germany.

She grew up in a religious family and was educated according to the social precepts of the time, accepting that even after reaching adulthood it was her duty to respect her father's wishes. These involved shunning marriage in order to stay by her father's side and help him in his work. After Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen eventually died, in 1888, she continued to work for the Cooperative movement. From 1892 till her own death she was the only surviving family member with shares in the undertaking.

Amalie Justine Caroline Raiffeisen was born early in the morning at the family home in Weyerbusch, a small town near Altenkirchen, roughly 50 km/30 miles to the north of Koblenz. She was the eldest of her parents' seven recorded children. Her father, Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, was the mayor of the little town. Almost thirty years after Amalie's birth her father recalled the day in a letter, describing hos during the birth he had sat in the garden thanking God for this gift and at the same time asking for His blessings on the child's behalf. When the children were small their education was entrusted to their mother, Emilie. It was only when they were a little older that their father, who already had a busy work schedule, joined in the task. For the parents it was important that their children led a well ordered and properly scheduled day-to-day life. As soon as she was old enough, Amalie was required to submit, each evening, a work plan for the following day, with "Free hours" to be determined by her father. If she was staying away from home with relatives or friends, she was required to produce similar daily agendas for days away. Her father then insisted that tasks should be carried out as planned, including jobs which in other families of equivalent class and background would be the exclusive preserve of the household servants.

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