Franz Seldte Franz Seldte ( 29 June 18821 April 1947 ) was cofounder of the German " Stahlhelm " paramilitary organization , a Nazi politician , and Minister for Labour of the German Reich from 1933 to 1945 . Life . Born in Magdeburg in the Prussian province of Saxony , Seldte was the son of an owner of a factory producing chemical products and soda water . He attended the Wilhelm - Raabe - Gymnasium in Magdeburg and , after an apprenticeship as a salesman , he studied chemistry at the universities of Braunschweig and Greifswald . In 1908 he took over the business of his early deceased father . As an officer of the German Army he was wounded in World War I and lost his left arm . He then became a front reporter . Awarded with the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st class , he also was promoted to the rank of a " Hauptmann " ( captain ) in the 7th Reserve Division . " Stahlhelm " . As a reaction to the German Revolution of 1918 – 1919 , Seldte founded the " Stahlhelm " organization of World War I veterans on 25 December 1918 , agitating against the Treaty of Versailles and German war reparations . He took over the leadership , however , from 1923 onwards he had to cope with the constant rivalry of his deputy leader , the militant Theodor Duesterberg . Seldte became a member of the national conservative German National People ' s Party ( DNVP ) and was a member of the Magdeburg city council ( " Stadtrat " ) . During the later years of the Weimar Republic the " Stahlhelm " became increasingly anti - democratic and anti - republican . However , Seldte hoped that the organization could become a leading organ of a united right - wing movement . In 1929 it united its forces with the DNVP under Alfred Hugenberg , the Pan - German League and the Nazi Party to initiate a German referendum against the Young Plan on World War I reparations . The common goal was to denounce the Chancellor Hermann Müller and his ministers as traitors to their country , nevertheless the plebiscite failed to reach the quorum . In 1931 Seldte helped create the short - lived Harzburg Front , a right - wing alliance against the government of Müller ' s successor Heinrich Brüning . Hitler Cabinet . Seldte had intended to lead the Nazis into a government led by him , but had to realize that Hitler would not come into this picture . On the day of the " Machtergreifung " on 30 January 1933 , Seldte joined the Hitler Cabinet as Reich Minister for Labour , once again outdoing his long - time rival Duesterberg . In the run - up to the elections of March 1933 the " Stahlhelm " together with Hugenberg ' s national conservative German National People ' s Party ( DNVP ) attempted to make the " Kampffront Schwarz - Weiß - Rot " ( " Black White Red Combat Front " ) into the dominant political camp on the right , but ultimately failed as it only gained 8 . 0 % of the votes cast . Nevertheless Seldte obtained a seat in the " Reichstag " parliament as a DNVP " guest " . On 27 April 1933 Seldte finally joined the Nazi Party and merged the " Stahlhelm " into Ernst Röhm ' s " Sturmabteilung ( SA ) " militia . In August 1933 , he was awarded the rank of " SA - Obergruppenführer " and later was appointed Reichskommissar for the " Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst " employment program , but was soon superseded by his state secretary Konstantin Hierl as leader of the " Reichsarbeitsdienst " organization . In March 1934 Seldte was made the leader of the German League of Front Fighters , a successor organization of the " Stahlhem " , which however was soon disbanded . In 1935 he requested to be released from official responsibilities , but Hitler refused . Seldte , without substantial power , remained Reich Minister for Labour until the end of World War II and was also a member of the Prussian government under Minister president Hermann Göring as State Labour Minister . Seldte was captured and arrested in Mondorf - les - Bains at the end of the war and died in a US military hospital at Fürth , before being arraigned on charges . During the time of Nazi Germany , streets were named after him in several German cities , among them his hometown Magdeburg and Leverkusen .