Karl Čermak (26 May 1881 – 24 October 1924) was a German socialist politician. A skilled organizer, Čermak emerged as a key leader of the labour movement in German Bohemia in the years preceding

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He went on to become a parliamentarian in the First Czechoslovak Republic.

Early life and work

Čermak was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

on 26 May 1881. He was the son of a shoemaker. Čermak worked as a clerk. In 1905, he became a member of the board of the SDAPÖ organization in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. Between 1907 and 1911 he served as editor of the newspaper ''Freiheit'' in

Teplitz-Schönau Teplice (, until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; , ''Teplitz-Schönau'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 51,000 inhabitants. It is the most populous Czech spa town, followed by Karlovy Vary. The historic city cen ...

. He headed the regional secretariat of the Social Democracy in German Bohemia 1911–1919. During

he served as general manager of the Nutritional Association based in Aussig. In 1918 he was appointed director of the Press Bureau of the regional government of German Bohemia.

DSAP leader and parliamentarian

After the creation of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, he became a key leader of the German Social Democratic Workers Party in the Czechoslovak Republic (DSAP). He was noted for his strong organizational skills. In contrast to his peers, Čermak was the sole member of the 1920s DSAP leadership that hailed from a major city (having been born in Vienna). In September 1919 he was named Central Secretary of the party. He was opposed to cooperation with the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers Party, which he saw as 'national chauvinists'.Duin, P.C. van.
Central European Cross-roads: Social Democracy and National Revolution in Bratislava (Pressburg), 1867-1921
'' After Josef Seliger's death, Čermak was named Vice Chairman of DSAP. He represented DSAP in the Czechoslovak National Assembly 1920–1924, having been elected from the 5th constituency (Česká Lípa) in the April 1920 election. He was a member of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

Death

Cermak died in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

on 24 October 1924 at the age of 43. He was replaced by Siegfried Taub as new Central Secretary of DSAP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cermak, Karl 1881 births 1924 deaths Politicians from Vienna Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians German Social Democratic Workers' Party in the Czechoslovak Republic politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1920–1925)