The German Tobacco Workers' Union (german: Deutscher Tabakarbeiter-Verband) was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

representing people in the tobacco manufacturing industry in Germany. The German Cigar Workers' Union was founded in 1848, but was subsequently banned. Friedrich Wilhelm Fritzsche formed the General German Cigar Workers' Association in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

in 1865, and within two years it had 6,500 members, making it one of the largest unions of the day. It was linked closely with the

General German Workers' Association The General German Workers' Association (german: Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiter-Verein, ADAV) was a German political party founded on 23 May 1863 in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony by Ferdinand Lassalle. It was the first organized mass working-class ...

(ADAV), whose leader wished to establish dictatorial powers. Fritzsche and the majority of the union rejected this, but a minority split away, in order to remain with the ADAV.Graham Ford, "Friedrich Wilhelm Fritzsche," in A. Thomas Lane (ed.), ''Biographical Dictionary of European Labor Leaders: A-L.'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995; pp. 327-328. In 1872, the two unions merged, to form the "German Tobacco Workers' Union", again under the leadership of Fritzsche. It was banned by the

Anti-Socialist Laws The Anti-Socialist Laws or Socialist Laws (german: Sozialistengesetze; officially , approximately "Law against the public danger of Social Democratic endeavours") were a series of acts of the parliament of the German Empire, the first of which was ...

of 1878, but Fritzsche maintained an underground organisation through the magazine, ''Der Wanderer'', and its successor, ''Der Tabakarbeiter''. On 22 November 1882, the union was re-established, at a meeting in Bremen, as a "Travel Support Association". From 1889, it could operate legally once more, renaming itself again as the "German Tobacco Workers' Union", and it grew to have 14,538 members by 1890. In 1912, the small Union of Cigar Sorters and Box Gluers in Germany merged in. It affiliated to the

General German Trade Union Confederation 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 ...

and grew steadily. By 1928, its membership was 75,501, which meant it was no longer one of the larger German unions. The union was banned by the Nazis in 1933. After

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 ...

, tobacco workers were represented as part of the

Food, Beverages and Catering Union The Food, Beverages and Catering Union (german: Gewerkschaft Nahrung-Genuss-Gaststätten, NGG) is a trade union in Germany. It has a membership of 205,900 and is one of eight industrial affiliates of the German Confederation of Trade Unions. Mem ...

Presidents

:1882: Wilhelm Fuhse :1884: Hermann Junge :1900:

Karl Deichmann Karl Deichmann (5 October 1863 – 12 February 1940) was a German trade unionist and politician. Born in Uslar, Deichmann was orphaned at an early age and went to work in a cigar factory at the age of 11. He moved to Bremen in 1884, and soon j ...

:1928:

Ferdinand Husung Ferdinand Husung (18 October 1879 – 2 April 1962) was a German trade union leader. Born in Groß Wochsung, Husung moved to Bremen, and became the vice president of the German Tobacco Workers' Union in 1919. In 1928, he was elected as the u ...

References

{{Authority control Tobacco industry trade unions Trade unions in Germany Trade unions established in 1872 Trade unions disestablished in 1933