Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund
Encyclopedia
The Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (ADGB) was a confederation of German trade unions in Germany founded during the Weimar Republic
. It was founded in 1919 and was initially powerful enough to organize a general strike
in 1920 against a right-wing coup d'état. After the 1929 Wall Street crash, the ensuing global financial crisis caused widespread unemployment. The ADGB suffered a dramatic loss of membership, both from unemployment and political squabbles. By the time the Nazis seized control
of the government, ADGB's leadership had distanced itself from the Social Democratic Party of Germany
(SPD) and was openly cooperating with Nazis in an attempt to keep the organization alive. Nonetheless, on May 2, 1933, the SA
and SS
stormed the offices of the ADGB and its member trade unions, seized their assets and arrested their leaders, crushing the organization.
after the first postwar congress of free trade unions
. The ADGB was founded as the new umbrella organization to succeed the Generalkommission der Gewerkschaften Deutschlands (General Commission of German Trade Unions). Carl Legien
was elected as the first chairman.
It was an amalgamation of 52 German trade unions and was affiliated with the Allgemeiner freier Angestelltenbund (Federation of General Unaffiliated Employees) and the Allgemeiner Deutscher Beamtenbund (Federation of General German Civil Servants). The adjective "Allgemeiner" ("general")The adjective "allgemeiner" is sometimes awkward to translate. In this case, it has the sense of "across-the-board". was added to the name because in March 1919, the Christian and liberal trade unions had already founded umbrella organizations called the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund.
An influential mass organization under Legien's leadership, it organized a general strike
in 1920 to counter the right-wing Kapp Putsch
. Roughly 12 million workers took part, halting all production, transportation, mining and public services and, as The New York Times
wrote, "giving the Kapp régime its death blow".
The free trade unions were not politically neutral; rather, they saw themselves as the economic arm of the socialist labor movement. Next to the free trade unions, were the Christian trade unions and the liberal unions. Neither were ever able to reach the membership numbers of the free trade unions. In 1920, the unions of the ADGB had over 8 million members, but the international financial crisis
at the end of the decade caused high unemployment, leading to a substantial drop in the membership of member unions. By the end of 1932, there were an estimated 3.5 million members.
Despite the split in the SPD during World War I
, the free trade unions continued to remain close to the SPD, the largest working class political party. Together, the SPD and the ADGB fought for the introduction unemployment benefits and a legally mandated eight-hour workday, which was gutted by regulations established in 1923. At the end of 1931, they united with the Reichsbanner
and workers' sport clubs to form the Iron Front
against the growing threat of the Nazi Party.
At first, ADGB unions were open to members of other working class political parties including the Communist Party of Germany
(KPD). This changed in 1929, when the KPD, under pressure from the Soviet Union
, began to run competing candidates at factory works council
elections. The Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition
(RGO), was founded in December 1929 as a communist opposition labor organization, hoping to draw left-wing unionists away from the ADGB., which led to the expulsion of many communists from the ADGB. By March 1932, the RGO had about 200,000 members.
After the Nazis seized power in March 1933, the trade union leadership tried to save their organizations by pandering to the Nazi Party and in April 1933, offered "to put themselves in service to the new state". At the same time, ADGB chairman Theodor Leipart, began to distance himself from the SPD and declared the ADGB to be politically neutral. This policy resulted in the call by the national board to partake in "National Labor Day", the Nazi version of International Workers' Day
, (also called "May Day"), a left-wing celebration of labor, and led to a break with the International Federation of Trade Unions
. Even as the Nazis were planning to storm union offices, ADGB leaders met with leaders of the Christian and liberal labor organization for talks about a merger in the hopes of forestalling a prohibition of organized labor.
These efforts failed to prevent the free trade unions from a nation-wide surprise attack the day after May Day, just two months later. On May 2, 1933, all ADGB member union were stormed, their offices occupied and assets seized by the SA
, SS
and the National Socialist Factory Cell Organization. Officials were put in "protective custody
" and many trade unionists were maltreated. In Duisburg
, four trade union officials were brutally murdered.
was laid for the Bundesschule des Allgemeinen Deutschen Gewerkschaftsbundes in Bernau bei Berlin
, Brandenburg. The school only operated for three years, until the Nazis gained power, after which, the Nazis used part of the school to train the SS.
, the school was used by the East German Trade Union Federation. Its existence was forgotten and the 12-acre site was not open to the public. Only after the fall of the Berlin Wall, was it rediscovered. The East Germans had made significant renovations to the building to the extent that it was not recognized by architects looking for it after 1989.
The complex, designed by Bauhaus
architect Hannes Meyer
and his colleague, Hans Wittwer, was restored following a Europe-wide competition for the contract. The Berlin Chamber of Crafts paid a portion of the costs and has used it as a trade school and hotel for journeymen
since 2008. The restoration project won the architects, Brenne Gesellschaft von Architekten, the first "Modernism
Prize" ever awarded by the World Monuments Fund
.
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
. It was founded in 1919 and was initially powerful enough to organize a general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
in 1920 against a right-wing coup d'état. After the 1929 Wall Street crash, the ensuing global financial crisis caused widespread unemployment. The ADGB suffered a dramatic loss of membership, both from unemployment and political squabbles. By the time the Nazis seized control
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
of the government, ADGB's leadership had distanced itself from the Social Democratic Party of Germany
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
(SPD) and was openly cooperating with Nazis in an attempt to keep the organization alive. Nonetheless, on May 2, 1933, the SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
and SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
stormed the offices of the ADGB and its member trade unions, seized their assets and arrested their leaders, crushing the organization.
History
The ADGB was founded on July 5, 1919 in NurembergNuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
after the first postwar congress of free trade unions
Free Trade Unions (Germany)
The Free Trade Unions comprised the socialist trade union movement in Germany from 1890 to 1933. The term distinguished them from the liberal and Christian labor unions in Germany...
. The ADGB was founded as the new umbrella organization to succeed the Generalkommission der Gewerkschaften Deutschlands (General Commission of German Trade Unions). Carl Legien
Carl Legien
Carl Legien was a German unionist, moderate Social Democratic politician and first President of the International Federation of Trade Unions.- Biography :...
was elected as the first chairman.
It was an amalgamation of 52 German trade unions and was affiliated with the Allgemeiner freier Angestelltenbund (Federation of General Unaffiliated Employees) and the Allgemeiner Deutscher Beamtenbund (Federation of General German Civil Servants). The adjective "Allgemeiner" ("general")The adjective "allgemeiner" is sometimes awkward to translate. In this case, it has the sense of "across-the-board". was added to the name because in March 1919, the Christian and liberal trade unions had already founded umbrella organizations called the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund.
An influential mass organization under Legien's leadership, it organized a general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
in 1920 to counter the right-wing Kapp Putsch
Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch — or more accurately the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch — was a 1920 coup attempt during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 aimed at overthrowing the Weimar Republic...
. Roughly 12 million workers took part, halting all production, transportation, mining and public services and, as The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote, "giving the Kapp régime its death blow".
The free trade unions were not politically neutral; rather, they saw themselves as the economic arm of the socialist labor movement. Next to the free trade unions, were the Christian trade unions and the liberal unions. Neither were ever able to reach the membership numbers of the free trade unions. In 1920, the unions of the ADGB had over 8 million members, but the international financial crisis
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
at the end of the decade caused high unemployment, leading to a substantial drop in the membership of member unions. By the end of 1932, there were an estimated 3.5 million members.
Despite the split in the SPD during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the free trade unions continued to remain close to the SPD, the largest working class political party. Together, the SPD and the ADGB fought for the introduction unemployment benefits and a legally mandated eight-hour workday, which was gutted by regulations established in 1923. At the end of 1931, they united with the Reichsbanner
Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold
The Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold was a Social Democratic paramilitary force formed during the Weimar Republic in 1924....
and workers' sport clubs to form the Iron Front
Iron Front
The Iron Front was an anti-Nazi, anti-monarchist, and anti-Stalinist paramilitary organization formed in Germany on 16 December 1931 by the Social Democratic Party with the Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, the Reichsbanner and workers' sport clubs originally to counter the right-wing...
against the growing threat of the Nazi Party.
At first, ADGB unions were open to members of other working class political parties including the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
(KPD). This changed in 1929, when the KPD, under pressure from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, began to run competing candidates at factory works council
Works council
A works council is a "shop-floor" organization representing workers, which functions as local/firm-level complement to national labour negotiations...
elections. The Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition
Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition
The Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition was the communist union in Germany during the Weimar Republic. It went underground after the Nazi Party seized control of the government and continued operating until it was crushed by the Nazis in 1935.- Weimar era :The Communist International, and the...
(RGO), was founded in December 1929 as a communist opposition labor organization, hoping to draw left-wing unionists away from the ADGB., which led to the expulsion of many communists from the ADGB. By March 1932, the RGO had about 200,000 members.
After the Nazis seized power in March 1933, the trade union leadership tried to save their organizations by pandering to the Nazi Party and in April 1933, offered "to put themselves in service to the new state". At the same time, ADGB chairman Theodor Leipart, began to distance himself from the SPD and declared the ADGB to be politically neutral. This policy resulted in the call by the national board to partake in "National Labor Day", the Nazi version of International Workers' Day
International Workers' Day
International Workers' Day is a celebration of the international labour movement and left-wing movements. It commonly sees organized street demonstrations and marches by working people and their labour unions throughout most of the world. May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries...
, (also called "May Day"), a left-wing celebration of labor, and led to a break with the International Federation of Trade Unions
International Federation of Trade Unions
The International Federation of Trade Unions was an international organization of trade unions, existing between 1919 and 1945. IFTU had its roots in the pre-war IFTU....
. Even as the Nazis were planning to storm union offices, ADGB leaders met with leaders of the Christian and liberal labor organization for talks about a merger in the hopes of forestalling a prohibition of organized labor.
These efforts failed to prevent the free trade unions from a nation-wide surprise attack the day after May Day, just two months later. On May 2, 1933, all ADGB member union were stormed, their offices occupied and assets seized by the SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
, SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
and the National Socialist Factory Cell Organization. Officials were put in "protective custody
Protective custody
Protective custody is a type of imprisonment to protect a prisoner from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within prisoners, is a chief factor causing the need for PC units...
" and many trade unionists were maltreated. In Duisburg
Duisburg
- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
, four trade union officials were brutally murdered.
Non-profit entities
The ADGB operated several non-profit companies. In 1924, a workers' bank was founded, the Bank der Deutschen Arbeit. On July 29, 1928, the cornerstoneCornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
was laid for the Bundesschule des Allgemeinen Deutschen Gewerkschaftsbundes in Bernau bei Berlin
Bernau bei Berlin
Bernau bei Berlin is a German town in the Barnim district. The town is located about northeast of Berlin.-History:...
, Brandenburg. The school only operated for three years, until the Nazis gained power, after which, the Nazis used part of the school to train the SS.
ADGB school after the war
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the school was used by the East German Trade Union Federation. Its existence was forgotten and the 12-acre site was not open to the public. Only after the fall of the Berlin Wall, was it rediscovered. The East Germans had made significant renovations to the building to the extent that it was not recognized by architects looking for it after 1989.
The complex, designed by Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
architect Hannes Meyer
Hannes Meyer
Hans Emil "Hannes" Meyer was a Swiss architect and second director of the Bauhaus in Dessau from 1928 to 1930.-Early work:...
and his colleague, Hans Wittwer, was restored following a Europe-wide competition for the contract. The Berlin Chamber of Crafts paid a portion of the costs and has used it as a trade school and hotel for journeymen
Journeyman
A journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....
since 2008. The restoration project won the architects, Brenne Gesellschaft von Architekten, the first "Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
Prize" ever awarded by the World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training....
.
See also
- Cuno strikesCuno strikesThe Cuno strikes were nation-wide strikes in Germany against the government of Reich chancellor Wilhelm Cuno in August 1923. The wave of strikes demanded and helped bring about the resignation of the Cuno government on August 12, 1923, just nine months after it began...
- Gewerkschaftsbund des MemelgebietesGewerkschaftsbund des MemelgebietesGewerkschaftsbund des Memelgebietes was a trade union centre in the Memel Territory. It was an affiliate of the International Federation of Trade Unions 1923-1937. The centre had five branches and was linked to the German ADGB....
- Verband der Fabrikarbeiter DeutschlandsVerband der Fabrikarbeiter DeutschlandsVerband der Fabrikarbeiter Deutschlands was a trade union in Germany. The union was founded in early July 1890. The gathered unskilled workers from many different industrial sectors. The key sector of FAV eventually became the chemical industry...
External links
- Die Arbeit (1924–1933) Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Retrieved August 6, 2011
- Photo of SA troops going to occupy the ADGB building in Berlin on May 2, 1933 Retrieved August 7, 2011
- Photos of ADGB badge and publication German Historical Museum. Retrieved August 8, 2011