The German Labour Front was established in 1933. Under the leadership of Robert Ley, it replaced all Free Trade Unions. All workers organisations were subsequently state controlled. The following circular outlines the way in which the Free Trade Unions would be taken over.
German Labour Front
Circular No. 6/33
The action to coordinate the Free Trade Unions will begin on Tuesday, May 2, 1933, at 10:00 am.
The direction of the entire operation lies in the hands of the Action Committee.
The Action Committee is composed as follows:
Dr. Robert Ley, Chairman.
Rudolf Schmeer, Deputy.
Schuhmann, Commissioner of the General German Trade Union Federation [ADGB].
Peppler, Commissioner of the General Independent Employees’ Federation [AFA].
Muchow, Organization.
Bank Director Muller, Commissioner, Director of the Bank for Workers, Employees, and Officials.
Brinckmann, Commissioner, Chief Cashier.
Biallas, Propaganda and Press.
All the provisional leaders of the unions belong to the extended Action Committee.
The essential part of the operation is to be directed against the General German Trade Union Federation [ADGB] and the General Independent Employees’ Federation [AFA]. Anything beyond that which concerns the Free Trade Unions is left to the discretion of the Gauleiters.
The Gauleiters are responsible for executing the coordination action in the individual areas. Those involved in the action should be members of the National Socialist Factory Cell Organization [NSBO or National-Sozialistische Betriebszellen-Organisation].
SA as well as SS are to be employed for the occupation of trade union properties and for taking the relevant persons into protective custody.
The Gauleiter is to proceed with his measures on the basis of the closest understanding with the appropriate regional factory cell leader [Gaubetriebszellenleiter].
The action in Berlin will be conducted by the Action Committee itself.
In the Reich the following will be occupied:
The headquarters of the unions;
The trade union buildings and offices of the Free Trade Unions; the party buildings of the Social Democratic
Party of Germany insofar as trade unions are housed there;
The branches and pay offices of the Bank for Workers, Employees, and Officials, Inc.;
The district committees of the General German Trade Union Federation and of the General Independent
Federation;
The local committees of the General German Trade Union Federation and of the General Independent
Employees Federation.
The following are to be taken into protective custody:
All trade union chairmen [Verbandsvorsitzende];
The district secretaries and the branch directors of the Bank for Workers, Employees, and Officials, Inc.
The chairmen of local committees and the employees of unions are not to be taken into protective custody but are to be urged to continue their work.
Exceptions are granted only with the permission of the Gauleiters.
The taking over of the independent trade unions must proceed in such a fashion that the workers and employees will not be given the feeling that this action is directed against them, but, on the contrary, against a superannuated system that does not conform to the interests of the German nation.
The provisional local leadership of the General German Trade Union and of the General Independent Employees’ Federation is to be taken over by a commissioner of the National Socialist Factory Cell Organization [NSBO].
Dealings with the authorities and other organizations are to be immediately handed over to the newly installed commissioners.
All funds and accounts of the independent trade unions are to be blocked immediately and are to remain so until Thursday afternoon at 18:00 hours. Insofar as incumbent cashiers are permitted to remain in office they will be subject to the authority of the commissioner. All payment receipts must be countersigned by the commissioner.
After the block on funds is lifted, the usual payments for the support of persons, etc., must be unconditionally assured, so as not to create a feeling of uneasiness among the members of the trade unions.
Mass meetings are to be arranged as soon as possible; all trade union members will be free to attend them. In these meetings, the importance of this action must be put forth, and it must be explained that the rights of the workers and employees are being unequivocally guaranteed.
The following unions belong to the General German Trade Union Federation [Here follows an enumeration of 28 unions].
The following unions belong to the General Independent Employees’ Federation [Here follows an enumeration of 13 unions].
Up to the present time, the following have been proposed for commissioners: [Here follows an enumeration of 17 names as commissioners for the most important institutions of the General German Trade Union Federation].
For the rest, the newly installed commissioners will be nominated by the Gauleiters in close cooperation with the Regional Factory Cell Office [Gaubetriebszellenamt].
It must be understood that this action is to proceed in a highly disciplined fashion. The Gauleiters are responsible for this; they are to keep the direction of this operation firmly in hand.
Heil Hitler!
[signed] Dr. Robert Ley
Related Links
Source Material for Classroom Use – see all of our Source Banks here – Germany 1919-39 Source Material
Sources: The Weimar Republic 1918–29 – Sources: Hitler’s rise to power, 1919–33 – Sources: Nazi control and dictatorship, 1933–39 – Sources: Life in Nazi Germany, 1933–39
[products tag=”germany 1919-39″]
Weimar and Nazi Germany – Rise of the Nazi Party – Appeasement: Source Material – Source Analysis Lesson: Nazi Methods of Control – Revision Guide, Weimar and Nazi Germany
