Hans Gottfurcht (7 February 1896 – 18 September 1982) 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 **Ger ...

trade unionist and resistance member. Born to a Jewish family in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Gottfurcht worked in the textile industry, joining a trade union when he was 17. In 1919, he began working full-time for the Central Association of Employees. In 1933, the Nazis closed the unions, and Gottfurcht became an insurance agent. This enabled him to create an illegal trade union organisation in Saxony, Thuringia and Silesia. He was arrested in 1937 and charged with treason, but was released due to a lack of evidence, and in 1938, he was able to emigrate to the United Kingdom. In the UK, Gottfurcht joined the Labour Party and tried unsuccessfully to influence British government policy on Germany after the war. He also joined the

Union of German Socialist Organisations in Great Britain The Union of German Socialist Organisations in Great Britain (German: ''Union deutscher sozialistischer Organisation in Großbritannien'') was the amalgamation of German socialist and social democratic oriented organisations of exiled Germans during ...

. He was briefly interned in 1941, but on release set up an organisation of German trade unionists, and broadcast on the German language programmes of the BBC. He was able to help plan the future structure of German trade unions.Review of Eiber's work
(PDF) ''Utopie kreativ'', Issue 109/110 (1999), pp. 189-191 When the war ended, Gottfurcht returned to Germany, where he acted as a liaison officer for the British

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

. In 1949, the

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when ...

(ICFTU) was established, and he was appointed to its secretariat, with responsibility for education. In 1952, he was elected as assistant general secretary of the ICFTU, serving until 1960, when he retired, due to poor health. In retirement, Gottfurcht wrote a history of the international trade union movement. He died in 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottfurcht, Hans 1896 births 1982 deaths German resistance members German trade unionists People from Berlin