Johannes Jahn (29 August 1885 – 10 July 1960) 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, politician and anti-Nazi activist. Jahn became a smelter, and then in 1909 began working for a trade union. By 1930, he was serving on the national executive of the

United Union of German Railway Workers The United Union of German Railway Workers (german: Einheitsverband der Eisenbahner Deutschlands, EdED) was a trade union representing railway workers in Germany. The union was founded on 27 June 1925, when the German Railway Union merged with the ...

, and was an outspoken opponent of the Nazis. He opposed the dissolution of the unions in 1933, and managed to salvage a list of former union members in the Ruhr. This enabled him to set up a labour resistance group in the area, working closely with the

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership ...

(ITF). Jahn was arrested three times by the Nazis, the last being in 1935, after they discovered his resistance group. He fled to Prague, then on to Amsterdam, where from 1936 to 1938, he published a journal for German railway workers in opposition to the Nazis. In 1940, he escaped to London, travelling via Spain and Portugal, where he set up a group of German trade unionists which later affiliated to the National Group of German Labor Unionists in Britain, and also served on the council of the ITF. 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 opposin ...

, Jahn returned to Germany, and was a leading figure in reconstructing the trade unions. In 1949, he was elected as the first president of the new German Railwaymen's Federation, serving until 1958. From 1956, he was president of the ITF, while from 1949 he served in the Bundestag, representing

Hannover-Land II Hannover-Land II is an electoral constituency (German: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 47. It is lo ...

for 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jahn, Hans 1885 births 1960 deaths German resistance members German trade unionists Members of the Bundestag for Lower Saxony Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany German expatriates in the United Kingdom