Ernst Breit (20 August 1924 – 22 February 2013) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

trade union leader. Born in Rickelshof, Breit joined the

Reichspost ''Reichspost'' (; "Imperial Mail") was the name of the postal service of Germany from 1866 to 1945. ''Deutsche Reichspost'' Upon the out break of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the break-up of the German Confederation in the Peace of ...

as a trainee inspector in 1941, but the following year was conscripted into the army. He later became a prisoner of war, but at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

was released and returned to the post office, working in

Heide Heide (; Holsatian: ''Heid'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Dithmarschen. Population: 21,000. The German word ''Heide'' means "heath". In the 15th century four adjoining villages decided ...

. He joined the

German Postal Union The German Postal Union (german: Deutsche Postgewerkschaft, DPG) was a trade union representing postal workers in Germany. The union was founded at a conference held on 29 and 30 June 1949, in Stuttgart. It initially had 140,000 members, the v ...

(DPG), becoming part of his local

works council A works council is a shop-floor organization representing workers that functions as a local/firm-level complement to trade unions but is independent of these at least in some countries. Works councils exist with different names in a variety of re ...

. In 1952, he joined the executive committee of the

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

district of the DPG, and from 1953 to 1959 served as its chair, while also serving on the union's national executive committee. In 1956, Breit was promoted to run the post office in Neustadt, then from 1959 he ran the personnel department at the Federal Post Office. In 1971 he became the national chair of the DPG, and the following year was also elected to the executive of the

Postal, Telegraph and Telephone International The Postal, Telegraph and Telephone International (PTTI) was a global union federation bringing together unions of communications workers worldwide. History While a meeting of unions of communication workers was held in Paris in 1911, no lasting ...

(PTTI), and as deputy chair of the Board of the Federal Post. In 1978, Breit was elected as the president of the PTTI, then in 1982 he became the chair of the

German Trade Union Confederation The German Trade Union Confederation (german: Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund; DGB) is an umbrella organisation (sometimes known as a national trade union center) for eight German trade unions, in total representing more than 6 million people ...

. His time in office was difficult, working with the conservative government of

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...

, but he was well regarded, and in 1985 also became the president of the

European Trade Union Confederation The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and ...

. Breit retired in 1990, and died in 2013. His daughter Ursula is married to SPD politician

Thilo Sarrazin Thilo Sarrazin (born 12 February 1945) is a German politician and former member of the SPD, writer, senator of finance for the State of Berlin from January 2002 until April 2009, former member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank u ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breit, Ernst 1924 births 2013 deaths German Army personnel of World War II German trade union leaders Works councillors German prisoners of war in World War II