Oskar Müller (25 June 1896 – 14 January 1970) was a German politician who was the first employment minister in

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

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 ...

Early career

Müller was born in Wohlau in

Prussian Silesia The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a provinces of Prussia, province of Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part ...

as the son of a farmer. He fought in

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 ...

and became an officer. After the war, he joined the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (, ; KPD ) was a major Far-left politics, far-left political party in the Weimar Republic during the interwar period, German resistance to Nazism, underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and minor party ...

(KPD). Later, he was selected into the Prussian federal state parliament, to which he belonged until 1933. Beginning in 1928 Müller worked several years as an organization leader of the KPD in Hesse.

World War II

When the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

came to power, Müller was declared one of their enemies. On 22 November 1933 the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

arrested him. He spent three years in a penitentiary and was held until 1939 at Sachsenhausen. From June 1939 by August 1944 he found accommodation in the Offenbacher leather industry as an employee. In August 1944, he was again arrested for resisting the Nazis and imprisoned at Dachau.Oskar Müller
DKP official website. Retrieved 20 March 2010

Post-war years

Although detention in the concentration camps had weakened Müller's health, he eagerly assisted in the

reconstruction of Germany The reconstruction of Germany was the process of rebuilding Germany after the destruction endured during World War II. Germany suffered heavy losses during the war, both in lives and industrial power. Approximately 6.9 to 7.5 million Germans died, ...

. In October 1945 he became a minister for work and welfare under Prime Minister Karl Geiler, but was replaced in 1947. Müller concentrated on party work. In 1948, he again became a regional chairman of the KPD. In 1949 he was laid off, but remained part of the party executive committee of the KPD. From 1949–1953 Müller belonged to the German

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

. He was briefly arrested in 1953. Since that time he worked as one of the presidents and as a Secretary-General of the anti-fascist ''Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes'' ( VVN). Müller was a developer of the Hesse constitution, which carries his signature. Articles 41 and 42 plan the transfer of the large-scale industry in common property. Lockout was forbidden by the constitution. In agreement and in constant consultation with the trade unions by the Ministry of Labour, an exemplary works council law was created, in which participation in equal numbers was fully embodied. The Hessian constitution was well-admired and used as a model by other states.

References

1896 births 1970 deaths People from Wołów Politicians from the Province of Silesia Communist Party of Germany politicians Members of the Bundestag for Hesse Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime members Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors German Army personnel of World War I Dachau concentration camp survivors Members of the Landtag of Hesse {{Germany-politician-stub

Early career

World War II

Post-war years

See also

References