Hans Böckler (26 February 1875 – 16 February 1951) was a German politician and

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 ( ...

leader. He was the most influential re-founder of the unions in

post-war Germany In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

and became the first president 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 ...

.Rosenburger, Ruth (2014)
"The History of HRM in Germany"
in ''The Development of Human Resource Management Across Nations: Unity and Diversity'', p. 170. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Biography

Böckler was born in Trautskirchen near Neustadt an der Aisch and grew up in a family with limited means. When his father died in 1888, he quit school and worked as an apprentice

goldbeater Goldbeating is the process of hammering gold into an extremely thin unbroken sheet for use in gilding. History 5,000 years ago, Egyptian artisans recognized the extraordinary durability and malleability of gold and became the first goldbeat ...

to support his family. In 1894 he 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 ...

(SPD) and the German Metal Workers' Union.Borsdorf, Ulrich (1982). ''Hans Böckler. Arbeit und Leben eines Gewerkschafters von 1875 bis 1945]''. Köln Bund-Verlag, 1982.
Online version
retrieved from the library of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung 22 May 2018 . From 1914 to 1915 Böckler fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was badly injured and relieved from military service. He worked for the unions in Danzig, Kattowitz und Siegen until the end the war. From 1924 to 1926 he was an SPD city councilor in

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 ...

. In 1928 he was elected to the Reichstag where he remained until 1933. In 1945 Böckler was instrumental in the reorganisation of the unions in the

British Zone of Occupation Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...

. In April 1947 several unions joined to form the ''Gewerkschaftsbund in der britischen Besatzungszone'' and elected him as the president. In 1949 he became the first president of the

. On 25 January 1951, three weeks before his death, Böckler signed an agreement with German Chancellor

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a Germany, German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the fir ...

to establish full

co-determination In corporate governance, codetermination (also "copartnership" or "worker participation") is a practice where workers of an enterprise have the right to vote for representatives on the board of directors in a company. It also refers to staff having ...

in the coal and steel industries. Böckler died of a heart attack in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

and was buried in the

Melaten-Friedhof Melaten is the central cemetery of Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, which was first mentioned in 1243. It was developed to a large park, holding the graves of notable residents. Name The name "Melaten" refers to a hospital for the sick and l ...

in Cologne.

Works

* 1906: ''Es werde Licht! In ernster Zeit - Ein ernstes Wort an die Hüttenleute und Metallarbeiter im Saargebiet'' - Verlag von J. Böckler, Saarbrücken

Hans-Böckler-Stiftung

The (Hans Böckler Foundation) is named in Böckler's honour. It was established by the

German Confederation of Trade Unions 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 ...

in 1977 with the merger of the Hans-Böckler-Gesellschaft (Hans Böckler Society) and the Stiftung Mitbestimmung (

Co-determination In corporate governance, codetermination (also "copartnership" or "worker participation") is a practice where workers of an enterprise have the right to vote for representatives on the board of directors in a company. It also refers to staff having ...

Foundation). In 1995 the (Institute of Economics and Social Sciences) was integrated into the foundation. Based in

, the foundation has several research institutes and publishes a variety of books, journals and

working paper A working paper or work paper may be: *A working paper or technical paper. Often, authors will release working papers to share ideas about a topic or to elicit feedback before submitting to a peer reviewed conference or academic journal. Worki ...

s. It also provides scholarships and student work placements with funding by the German government. From 1980 until 2001, the foundation jointly awarded the ''Hans Böckler Prize'' with the German Confederation of Trade Unions. The prize was given annually to individuals or organizations for their achievements in improving the working and living conditions of workers and their families and promoting social cohesion and solidarity. The first recipient was

Oswald von Nell-Breuning Oswald von Nell-Breuning (8 March 1890 – 21 August 1991) was a Roman Catholic theologian and sociologist. Born in Trier, Germany into an aristocratic family, Nell-Breuning was ordained in 1921 and appointed Professor of Ethics at the Sa ...

.Hans-Böckler-Stiftung (2014)
"Engagement für bessere Lebens- und Arbeitsbedingungen"
Archived version at

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

retrieved 21 May 2018 .

Notes

References

External links