Erwin Ferlemann (16 March 1930 – 24 September 2000) 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 unionist. Born in

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and to ...

, Ferlemann's father was interned by the Nazi government for several years in the 1930s. Ferlemann attended school during

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 opposin ...

, then completed two apprenticeships: one as an export clerk, and one as a

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

. He joined the Printing and Paper Union (IG Druck), and became more active in it after moving to

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. He also joined the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

. In 1969, Ferlemann wrote the book ''Druckindustrie und Elektronik''. That year, he began working full time for IG Druck, as head of its economics and technology department. He was elected as vice president of the union in 1976, then as president in 1983. He was also elected president of the International Graphical Federation. As leader of IG Druck, Ferlemann courted controversy for describing East German writers who had defected to West German as a "

fifth column A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...

". In 1989, he took IG Druck into a merger with the small Arts Union, forming the

Media Union The Media Union (german: IG Medien – Druck und Papier, Publizistik und Kunst) was a trade union representing German workers in the printing, paper, journalism and arts. The union was founded on 15 April 1989 at a meeting in Hamburg, with the me ...

, and he became its first president. He retired in October 1992, and died in 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferlemann, Erwin 1930 births 2000 deaths German trade union leaders People from Wuppertal