Hans Nätscher (13 November 1896 – 28 February 1980) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

trade unionist. Born in

Lohr am Main Lohr am Main (, ; officially: ''Lohr a.Main'') or Loa () is a town in the Main-Spessart district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and the seat (but not a member) of the ''Verwaltungsgemeins ...

, Nätscher completed an apprenticeship as a butcher in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

, which was interrupted by serving in the military from 1915 to 1918. He joined the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

(SPD) and the Central Union of Butchers in 1914, and in 1920 was elected as chair of the union branch. He rose quickly in the union, becoming the secretary for its Northern Bavaria region, then moved to

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

to work full-time for the union at its headquarters. When the union merged into the Union of Food and Drink Workers, he retained his position. The Nazi government banned trade unions in May 1933, and Nätscher was arrested, and was in custody for most of the next three years. In 1939, he was drafted into the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

, but managed to get himself released the following year, and found work as a gravedigger. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Nätscher was involved in reconstructing the unions. In 1946, he became chair of a

consumer co-operative A consumer cooperative is an business, enterprise owned by consumers and managed democracy, democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such cooperatives operate within the market economy independently of t ...

in Nuremberg-Fürth, then in 1947 he became the first chair of the executive of the Bavarian Food, Beverages and Catering Union. In 1949, this merged with other regional unions to become the national Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG), and Nätscher served as the chair of its executive. In this post, he was highly critical of president Ferdinand Warnecke, who wished to centralise the union. In 1951, Nätscher was elected as president of the NGG, in which role he campaigned for the union to be politically active, and in particular to oppose right-wing extremism. In 1958, he was also elected as president of the International Union of Food, Drinks and Tobacco Workers' Associations (IUF), the first German to hold the post. He retired from the NGG in 1962, and the IUF in 1964, although he was then made honorary president of the IUF, and continued voluntary work for the NGG.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nätscher, Hans 1896 births 1980 deaths German military personnel of World War I German people of World War II German trade unionists People from Lohr am Main