The Union of German Professional Firefighters (german: Verband Deutscher Berufsfeuerwehrmänner) 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 firefighters in Germany. The union was founded on 1 October 1908, at a meeting in

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

. It published the journal ''Der Berufsfeuerwehrmann''. While the union was not affiliated to the

General Commission of German Trade Unions The General Commission of German Trade Unions (german: Generalkommission der Gewerkschaften Deutschlands) was an umbrella body for German trade unions during the German Empire, from the end of the Anti-Socialist Laws in 1890 up to 1919. In 1919, a ...

or any other federation, most of its officials were members of 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 ...

, while the Berlin region became increasingly dominated by members of the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...

(KPD) and

Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was establish ...

. By 1920, the union had 9,470 members, which represented more than 90% of eligible workers. In 1921, the union affiliated to the

General German Trade Union Federation 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 ...

. In 1922, it also affiliated to the related

General German Civil Service Federation The General German Civil Service Federation (german: Allgemeiner Deutscher Beamtenbund, ADB) was a trade union representing civil servants in Germany. In 1922, the German Civil Service Federation (DBB) opposed a strike by railway workers. In prote ...

. By 1924, the union's leadership was concerned that it was too small to survive in the long-term. It proposed a merger into the

Union of Municipal and State Workers The Union of Municipal and State Workers (german: Verband der Gemeinde- und Staatsarbeiter, VGS) was a trade union representing public sector workers in Germany. History In September 1896, gas workers in Berlin went on strike in opposition to hav ...

(VGS), but this was rejected on a split 22-22 delegate vote. This led the opposition, led by the KPD but also including German nationalists, to propose a 1925 vote of no confidence in the union's leadership, but this too was lost. In 1929, the VGS was finalising a merger which was to form the

General Union of Public Sector and Transport Workers The General Union of Public Sector and Transport Workers (german: Gesamtverband der Arbeitnehmer der öffentlichen Betriebe und des Personen- und Warenverkehrs, GV) was a trade union representing workers in various industries in Germany. History F ...

. The firefighters voted in favour of joining the new union, completing the merger on 1 January 1930. However, much of the KPD opposition refused to join the new union, instead transferring to the

German Civil Service Federation The German Civil Service Association (dbb beamtenbund und tarifunion) is a national trade union center in Germany. It has a membership of 1,250,000, and is affiliated with the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions The European C ...

Presidents

:1908: Max Laaser :1919: Max Neumann :1922: Hans Weilmaier :1926: Erich Grollmus

References

{{Authority control Firefighters associations Trade unions established in 1908 Trade unions disestablished in 1929 Trade unions in Germany