Trade union definition by authors anonymous
Adolf Hitler had been hostile towards trade unionism since his youth. Konrad Heidena journalist who investigated Hitler's time in Viennapointed out that as a young man he had come under the influence of Karl Lueger. Adler was Jewish and this had a major impact on the development of his political philosophy. And this opponent, trade union definition by authors anonymous he combated from the profound hatred of his soul, is and remains plain ordinary work.
Organized, it calls itself labour movement, trade union, Socialist Party. And, or so it seems to him, Jews are always the leaders. The intellectual of the bourgeois era had not yet discovered the workers, and if the workers wanted to have leaders with university education, often only the Jewish intellectual remained - the type which might have liked to become a judge or Government official, but in Germany, Austria, or Russia simply could not. Yet, though many Socialist leaders are Jews, only few Jews are Socialist leaders.
To call the mass of modern Jewry Socialist, let alone revolutionary, is a bad propaganda joke. To appeal to the working class and socialists, trade union definition by authors anonymous programme included several measures that would redistribute income and war profits, profit-sharing in large industries, nationalization of trusts, increases in old-age pensions and free education.
Hitler's reputation as an orator grew and it soon became clear that he was the main reason why people were joining the party. This gave Hitler tremendous power within the organization as they knew they could not afford to lose him.
One change suggested by Hitler concerned adding "Socialist" to the name of the party. Hitler had always been hostile to socialist ideas, especially those that involved racial or sexual equality.
However, socialism was a popular political philosophy in Germany after the First World War. Hitler, therefore redefined socialism by placing the word "National" before it. He claimed he was only in favour of equality for those who had "German blood". Jews and other "aliens" would lose their rights of citizenship, and immigration of non-Germans should be brought to an end. Hitler knew he was in a battle with Marxism, that was beginning to have a great trade union definition by authors anonymous over German trade unionists.
Marxism was depicted as an alien import, notwithstanding the German origins of its two founding fathers. In trade union definition by authors anonymous pamphlet produced by Anton Drexleron behalf of the National Socialist German Workers Party Nazi Partyargued that many leaders of trade unions were Jews who were involved in a joint conspiracy with capitalists. A number of workers' leaders belong to this group. The leaders are big capitalists.
They belong almost exclusively to the 'chosen people'. Trade union definition by authors anonymous are members of this same secret conspiracy, which organises world politics. Don't expect anything from Bolshevism. It doesn't bring the worker freedom In Russia the eight-hour day has been abolished.
There are no more worker's councils. All cower under the dictatorship of a hundred government commissars, who are nine-tenths Jewish. Bolshevism is a Jewish swindle. Trade union membership in Germany grew during the Weimar Republic. Between and the number of working days lost through industrial disputes annually was at 3. In Ruhr steel industrialists imposed a lock-out onworkers. Although unable to defeat the unions at the time, the employers' associations succeeded in blunting the government's power to make collective-bargaining mandatory on all firms within an industry.
Industry was opposed to state participation in the collective-bargaining process, because it considered that the government was unduly biased in favour of the workers. He also reduced government expenditure by lowering unemployment benefits.
The policies were not successful and by unemployment reached 4 million. Unemployment rose to more than 6 million, and he was attacked bitterly by the Communists on the left and the National Socialists on the right. Large-scale unemployment caused great changes in German society. Men tried to keep warm in waiting rooms and fed themselves by scavenging in dustbins Others held signs or carried placards advertising their desire to work. Many became apathetic and resigned to being unemployed. Bythe German suicide rate stood at per million as against 85 in Britain and in the United States.
Since women were paid less than men, they found it easier to get jobs and worked while their husbands and sons brooded at home, an inversion of the gender roles normal at the trade union definition by authors anonymous that made for domestic fractiousness There was a rise in juvenile crime, prostitution, vagrancy and vandalism, and also in the population in remand homes and the juvenile wings of prisons As the proportion of income spent on housing rose from 10 to 50 per cent, the number of evictions mounted, and many unemployed workers moved to squatter settlements in the suburbs.
In May General Hans von Seeckt joined up with Alfred HugenbergHjalmar Schacht and several industrialists, to call for the uniting of the parties of the right. Germany's president, Paul von Hindenburgagreed and forced him to leave office and he was replaced as chancellor by Franz von Papen. The new chancellor was also a member of the Catholic Centre Party. In an attempt to gain support for his new government, Papen called another election.
Mass unemployment had resulted in a dramatic fall in trade union membership. Ian Kershaw has argued: Adolf Hitler had been trade union definition by authors anonymous building support from wealthy industrialists in Germany. In exchange for this money he promised to reduce the power of the trade unions. Rudolf Oldena journalist working for the newspaper, Berliner Tageblattcarried out an investigation into the funding of the Nazi Party. The money which supports him does not come from under the mattresses of the poor.
It is not a question of widows' mites. It came straight from the capitalists. James Poolthe author of Who Financed Hitler: The Secret Funding of Hitler's Rise to Power claims that the reason why these industrialists supported Hitler was because of his promise "to win the working-class away from the Marxist trade-union leaders".
In October a major transport strike erupted in Berlin as a result of von Papen's attempt to cut wages. In an attempt to get the support of the trade unions, the Nazi Party supported the strike. This was a tactical mistake as it upset some wealthy businessmen who had supported the party in the past.
Joseph Goebbels wrote in his diary: We lack enough to really carry out a big campaign. Many bourgeois circles have been frightened off by our participation in the strike. Even many of our party comrades are beginning to have their doubts. Mass unemployment resulted in more German people voting for right-wing parties.
Shirer has pointed out, politicians such as Hitler "thrive only The German National Party, won nearly a million additional votes.
However the German Social Democrat Party and the German Communist Party 89 still had the support of the urban working class and Hitler was deprived of an overall majority in parliament. In numerical terms, the socialist parties obtained 13, votes compared to the 14, votes recorded for the Nazis and the German Nationalists. Soon after Hitler became chancellor in January he announced new elections. Hermann Goering called a meeting of important industrialists where he told them that the election would be the last in Germany for a very long time.
He explained that Hitler "disapproved of trade unions and workers' interference in the freedom of owners and managers to run their concerns. Those present responded by donating 3 million Reichmarks.
As Trade union definition by authors anonymous Goebbels wrote in his diary after the meeting: Even money is not lacking this time. Behind the scenes Goering, who was minister of the interior in Hitler's government, was busily trade union definition by authors anonymous senior police officers and replacing them with Nazi supporters.
These men were later to become known as the Gestapo. Goering also recruited 50, members of the Sturm Abteilung SA to work as police auxiliaries. Goering then raided the headquarters of the German Communist Party KPD in Berlin and claimed that he had uncovered a plot to overthrow the government.
Leaders trade union definition by authors anonymous the KPD were arrested but no evidence was ever produced to support Goering's accusations. He also announced he had discovered a communist plot to poison German milk supplies.
Thousands of members of the Social Democrat Party and trade union activists were arrested and sent to recently opened concentration camp s.
Left-wing election meetings were broken up by the Sturm Abteilung SA and several candidates were murdered. Newspapers that supported these political parties were closed down during the election. Although it was extremely difficult for the opposition parties to campaign properly, Hitler and the Nazi party still failed to win an overall victory in the election on 5th March, The Nazi Party received The increase in the Nazi vote had mainly come from the Catholic rural areas who feared the possibility of an atheistic Communist government.
Hitler proclaimed May Day,as a national holiday and arranged to celebrate it as it had never been celebrated before. Trade union leaders were flown to Berlin from all parts of Germany. Joseph Goebbels staged the greatest mass demonstration Germany had ever seen. Hitler told the workers' delegates: Their headquarters throughout the country were occupied, union funds confiscated, the unions dissolved and the leaders arrested.
Large numbers were sent to concentration camps. Within a few days different trade unions were under Nazi trade union definition by authors anonymous. Ley, in his first proclamation, stated: