Robert Dißmann (8 August 1878 – 30 October 1926) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

trade unionist and politician. Born in Hülsenbusch, Dißmann became a machinist and joined the

German Metal Workers' Union The German Metal Workers' Union (german: Deutscher Metallarbeiter-Verband, abbreviated DMV) was a German industrial union for metalworkers formed in 1891 and dissolved after the Nazis' accession to power in 1933. History German metalworkers st ...

(DMV) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In 1900, he began working on a full-time basis for the union in

Barmen Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which merged with four other towns in 1929 to form the city of Wuppertal. Barmen, together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the first elect ...

. He later moved to

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

. In 1908, he became a full-time local party secretary for the Social Democratic Party in

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its station is a major railway junction and it has a port on the rive ...

. He then became district secretary in Frankfurt. He stood for the party's national executive in 1913 and was narrowly defeated. Dißmann opposed

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. In 1917, he left the SPD and joined the new

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 establis ...

(USPD). In 1919, he was elected as joint president of the DMV, and in 1920, he was also elected to the Reichstag. He rejoined the SPD with the majority of the USPD in 1922, and remained prominent in its left-wing faction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dißmann, Robert 1878 births 1926 deaths German trade unionists Independent Social Democratic Party politicians Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians