Asta Hampe

Professor Asta Hampe (24 May 1907 – 22 October 2003) was a German electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, economist and statistician. She was born in Helmstedt to parents Hans Hampe and Emmy Busch.[5] According to The Woman Engineer, Hampe was the first German member of the Women's Engineering Society, which she joined in 1929.[6]

Prof. Dr. rer.pol. und Dipl.-Ing. Asta Hampe [1]
Aste Hampe in 1935[2][3][4]
Born	Asta Hampe 24 May 1907[1] Helmstedt[1]
Died	22 October 2003 (aged 96)[1] Hamburg (presumably)[1]
Nationality	Weimar Republic,[1] Nazi Germany,[1] West Germany,[1] Federal Republic of Germany[1]
Education	Klosterschule (the first female high school in Hamburg),[1] Technischen Hochschule München,[1] Technische Universität Berlin,[1] Universität Hamburg[1]
Occupation	Electrical engineer,[1] mechanical engineer,[1] physicist,[1] statistician,[1] economist[1]
Employer	Barmbek Hospital (Krankenhaus Barmbek),[1] Philips-Valvo,[1] Nachrichtenmittel-Versuchskommando der Kriegsmarine,[1] Universität Hamburg,[1] Exportfirma Kunst & Albers [1]
Partner(s)	Andy Röper (librarian)[1]
Parent(s)	Emmy Busch, Hans Hampe

Education and Career

Asta Hampe was educated at the Klosterschule, Hamburg and the Technische Hochschule, Munich, where she was one of five women among 500 men.[7] Her further studies were financially supported by her grandfather and uncle.[7] In 1931, she received her diploma in engineering[2] and she went on to work as an assistant at the Research Laboratory at Friedrich Krupp AG, Essen.[5] In 1933, she was fired from her job at Barmbek Hospital for being a woman, with the dismissal saying that Physics is no profession for a woman, therefore, Hampe must be dismissed.[7] In 1938, she wrote to the Women's Engineering Society about her position at Philips' radio.[8] During the Second World War, Hampe was recruited to work as a physicist for the German Marines.[7] From 1968-69, she held a professor position at the Philips University in Marburg.[2]

Membership of the Women's Engineering Society

Records from the Women's Engineering Society (WES) show that professor Hampe was an active member. She provided a listing for herself in the 1935 Register of Women Engineers[5] and, in the same year, attended the thirteenth annual conference for the society speaking to delegates about her experiences as an engineer in Germany.[8] In response to the toast by Amy Johnson (under her married name Mrs J Mollison) to women engineers across the world, Hampe is reported to have outlined some of the changes for women in engineering in Germany following the election of the National Socialist party, though mostly there were training opportunities for women and some employment options.[9] In The Woman Engineer in 1986, there is a listing for Professor Dr Asta Hampe as a full member.[10]

Further reading

• Maul, Bärbel (2002): Akademikerinnen in der Nachkriegszeit. Ein Vergleich zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der DDR. Frankfurt, p. 422
• Von der Lippe, Peter (1977): Asta Hampe 70 Jahre. In: Allgemeines Statistisches Archiv 61, p. 211–212.

See also

• Ilse Knott-ter Meer, the first German female mechanical engineer

References

1. "Hamburger Frauenbiografien: Asta Hampe". Offizielles Stadtportal für Hamburg. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
2. "Dipl.-Ing., Dr. Asta Hampe | University Women's International Networks Database". uwind.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
3. "Frauen in der Geschichte der UHH". Retrieved 2020-07-08.
4. "Deutscher Akademikerinnenbund e.V." Retrieved 2020-07-08.
5. 1935 Register of Women Engineers. Women's Engineering Society. 1935.
6. "New Members". The Woman Engineer. 3: 4. December 1929 – via The Institution of Engineering and Technology.
7. "Asta Hampe". Hamburg.de.
8. "Notes and News". The Woman Engineer. 4: 265. March 1938 – via The Institution of Engineering and Technology.
9. "Thirteenth Annual Conference". The Woman Engineer. 4: 64. 1935 – via Institution of Engineering and Technology.
10. "Membership elections and transfer". The Woman Engineer. 13: 370. 1986 – via Institution of Engineering and Technology.