# General German Trade Union Federation

The General German Trade Union Federation (German: 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, the 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 2 May 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.

## History

The ADGB was founded on 5 July 1919 in Nuremberg after the first postwar congress of free trade unions. The ADGB was founded as the new umbrella organization to succeed the General Commission of Germany's Trade Unions (Generalkommission der Gewerkschaften Deutschlands). Carl Legien was elected as the first chairman.
It was an amalgamation of 52 German trade unions and was affiliated with the General Federation of Free Employees (AfA-Bund) and the General German Civil Service Federation (Allgemeiner Deutscher Beamtenbund). The adjective "Allgemeiner" ("general") 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.
The evening of the day Hitler was declared to be the new chancellor by president Hindenburg, January 30, Walter Ulbricht of the communist party delivered a renewed proposal for a joint call for a general strike, similar to the successful strike against the Kapp Putsch of 1920, to the ADGB general union. The trade unions and SPD declined the offer and issued, opposing it, leaflets, posters and articles calling workers to ignore all calls for a strike issued solely by the communist party during February and March 1933.
After the Nazis seized power in the election of 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 nationwide surprise attack the day after May Day, just two months later. On 2 May 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.

## Non-profit entities

The ADGB operated several non-profit companies. In 1924, a workers' bank was founded, the Bank der Deutschen Arbeit. On 29 July 1928 the cornerstone was laid for the Bundesschule des Allgemeinen Deutschen Gewerkschaftsbundes (ADGB Trade Union School) in Bernau bei Berlin, Brandenburg. The school operated for only 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 II, the school was used by occupying Russian military forces and from 1946 by the Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB), an East German organisation. 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 original complex was designed by the newly appointed director of the Bauhaus School, Hannes Meyer and his colleague Hans Wittwer. The design followed its architects' . The complex needed to house facilities to train and educate 120 people. The result was a Z-Shaped series of buildings that housed class-rooms, library, gymnasium and dining hall along with the insertion of a glass-blocked ceiling. Despite the extremely functional approach, materials were used in an expressive way including concrete, glass blocks and steel encasement windows.
The complex was restored to its former glory 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 training school since 2007. In 2008 the restoration project won the architects, Brenne Gesellschaft von Architekten, the World Monuments Fund / Knoll Modernism Prize. In July 2017 the former ADGB Trade Union School was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site the Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau.

## Affiliates

The following unions held membership of the federation:
| Union | Abbreviation | Affiliated | Left | Reason for leaving | Membership (1920) | Membership (1928) |
| Central Union of Asphalters and Roof Felters of Germany | | 1919 | 1924 | Merged into DBB | 2,093 | N/A |
| Central Union of Bakers and Confectioners | | 1919 | 1927 | Merged into VNG | 65,077 | N/A |
| Central Union of Butchers | | 1919 | 1927 | Merged into VNG | 24,473 | N/A |
| Central Union of Carpenters and Kindred Trades of Germany | | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 87,024 | 107,354 |
| Central Union of Chimney Sweeps | | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 3,380 | 2,980 |
| Central Union of Employees | ZdA | 1919 | 1921 | Transferred to AfA-Bund | 363,521 | N/A |
| Central Union of Glassworkers | | 1919 | 1926 | Merged into VFD | 62,245 | N/A |
| Central Union of Glaziers and Related Professionals | | 1919 | 1922 | Merged into DBB | 4,185 | N/A |
| Central Union of Hotel, Restaurant and Cafe Employees | ZVHRC | 1920 | 1933 | Banned | N/A | 27,153 |
| Central Union of Machinists and Stokers | VMH | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 100,287 | 48,568 |
| Central Union of Potters | | 1919 | 1922 | Merged into DBB | 11,391 | N/A |
| Central Union of Roofers | | 1919 | 1931 | Merged into DBB | 10,970 | 10,843 |
| Central Union of Ship Builders of Germany | | 1919 | 1924 | Merged into DMV | 4,966 | N/A |
| Central Union of Shoemakers of Germany | ZVdSch | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 90,008 | 78,834 |
| Central Union of Stone Workers of Germany | | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 45,476 | 68,033 |
| Factory Workers Union of Germany | VFD | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 646,931 | 457,657 |
| Film Union | | 1919 | 1930 | Merged into GV | 9,923 | 1,300 |
| General Union of Public Sector and Transport Workers | GV | 1930 | 1933 | Banned | N/A | N/A |
| General Milking Union of Germany | | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 10,000 | 11,456 |
| German Agricultural Workers' Union | DLV | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 624,935 | 151,273 |
| German Clothing Workers' Union | DBAV | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 133,470 | 77,884 |
| German Construction Workers' Union | DBV | 1919 | 1922 | Merged into DBB | 465,744 | N/A |
| German Furriers' Union | | 1919 | 1923 | Merged into DBAV | 9,977 | N/A |
| German Hat Workers' Union | DHAV | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 23,132 | 18,509 |
| German Leather Workers' Union | | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 35,339 | 37,855 |
| German Metal Workers' Union | DMV | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 1,632,670 | 884,027 |
| German Musicians' Union | DeMuV | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 47,199 | 23,055 |
| German Painters' Union | | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 54,278 | 58,775 |
| German Polishers' Union | | 1919 | 1922 | Transferred to AfA-Bund | 10,210 | N/A |
| German Railway Union | DEV | 1919 | 1925 | Merged into EdED | 503,125 | N/A |
| German Textile Workers' Union | DTAV | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 535,369 | 306,137 |
| German Tobacco Workers' Union | | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 110,964 | 75,501 |
| German Transport Workers' Union | DTV | 1919 | 1929 | Merged into GV | 585,942 | 368,052 |
| German Union of Building Trades | DBB | 1923 | 1933 | Banned | N/A | 435,156 |
| German Union of Saddlers, Upholsterers and Portfolio Makers | STP | 1920 | 1933 | Banned | 38,153 | 30,614 |
| German Wood Workers' Union | DHV | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 378,957 | 306,660 |
| German Xylographers' Union | | 1919 | 1921 | Merged into VDLS | N/A | N/A |
| International Artists' Lodge | IAL | 1920 | 1921 | Transferred to AfA-Bund | 7,531 | N/A |
| Music Engravers' Assistants' Union | | 1919 | 1920 | Merged into VDLS | N/A | N/A |
| Union of Bookbinders and Paper Workers of Germany | VBPD | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 81,557 | 55,128 |
| Union of Brewery and Mill Workers | | 1919 | 1927 | Merged into VNG | 73,286 | N/A |
| Union of Cooks | | 1920 | 1920 | Merged into ZVHRC | 6,200 | N/A |
| Union of Coopers, Cellar Managers, and Helpers in Germany | | 1919 | 1927 | Merged into VNG | 12,955 | N/A |
| Union of Coppersmiths of Germany | | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 6,877 | 7,024 |
| Union of Upholsterers of Germany | | 1919 | 1920 | Merged into STP | N/A | N/A |
| Union of Domestic Workers of Germany | | 1919 | 1923 | Merged into DTV | 20,014 | N/A |
| Union of Food and Drink Workers | VNG | 1927 | 1933 | Banned | N/A | 159,636 |
| Union of Gardeners and Nursery Workers | | 1919 | 1929 | Merged into GV | 23,143 | 10,518 |
| Union of German Book Printers | VDDB | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 74,000 | 82,767 |
| Union of German Professional Firefighters | VDB | 1921 | 1929 | Merged into GV | N/A | 7,740 |
| Union of German Restaurant Workers | | 1919 | 1920 | Merged into ZVHRC | 63,243 | N/A |
| Union of Graphic Assistants of Germany | VGHA | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 39,505 | 40,691 |
| Union of Hairdressers and Assistants | | 1919 | 1931 | Merged into GV | 10,049 | 4,057 |
| Union of Hotel, Restaurant and Cafe Employees | | 1919 | 1920 | Merged into ZVHRC | 18,000 | N/A |
| Union of Lithographers and Lithographic Printers | VDLS | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 19,110 | 23,719 |
| Union of Miners of Germany | | 1919 | 1933 | Banned | 467,339 | 196,049 |
| Union of Municipal and State Workers | VGS | 1919 | 1929 | Merged into GV | 297,950 | 243,968 |
| Union of Porcelain and Related Workers of Germany | | 1919 | 1926 | Merged into VFD | 55,547 | N/A |
| Union of Saddlers and Portfolio Makers | | 1919 | 1920 | Merged into STP | N/A | N/A |
| Union of Stone Setters, Pavers and Kindred Trades | | 1919 | 1924 | Merged into Stone Workers | 11,194 | N/A |
| United Union of German Railway Workers | EdED | 1925 | 1933 | Banned | N/A | 240,913 |