Theodor Leipart

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Theodor Leipart (born May 17, 1867 in Neubrandenburg , † March 23, 1947 in Berlin ) was a leading German trade unionist .

Berlin memorial plaque Inselstraße 6 ( Berlin-Mitte )
Memorial plaque for Theodor Leipart
The grave of Theodor Leipart in the memorial of the socialists , Berlin-Lichtenberg

Life

Theodor Leipart was born as the son of Auerbach / Vogtl. Master tailor and ladies' tailor (Ernst) Alexander Leipart (1831–1885), who had traveled with a "bed spring cleaning establishment" in the 1860s until his death, and the Neubrandenburg turner's daughter Wilhelmine (Charlotte Friederike), née Schmidt. Because of his father's travel trade, Leipart grew up with his maternal grandparents in Neubrandenburg. He attended middle school in his hometown and was confirmed in Neubrandenburg in 1881. After learning the wood turner's trade in Hamburg , he joined the social democratic union movement in 1886. In 1908 he became chairman of the Stuttgart woodworkers' association. From 1893 to 1919 he was chairman of the German Woodworkers Association . In the middle of 1919 he joined the Württemberg government as labor minister . He only held this office for a little more than a year. From June 1920 to February 1921 he had a mandate in the Württemberg state parliament , which he resigned prematurely because of his professional change to Berlin. In 1921 he was elected chairman of the General German Trade Union Federation (ADGB) and shortly afterwards in 1922 also deputy chairman of the International Trade Union Federation . From 1923 to 1933 Leipart was a member of the Senate of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science .

In a keynote address on October 14, 1932, at the ADGB federal school in Bernau near Berlin , Leipart stated that the unions were no longer inclined to “wear party shackles”. With this extremely cautious formulation he distanced himself from the National Socialists' point of view from the SPD , to which the ADGB unions were traditionally close. Leipart tried, together with Wilhelm Leuschner , to achieve a merger of the two largest free German trade unions in order to consolidate the position of the trade unions and thus of the workers in the German Reich. After the National Socialists came to power , as chairman of the ADGB, he first tried to reach an agreement with the new government under Adolf Hitler , which contributed to the fact that there was no resolute resistance from the ranks of the unions against the National Socialists . On May 2, 1933, Leipart and Leuschner were placed in so-called protective custody as part of the smashing of the trade union movement and were ill-treated. A little later, at the instigation of his wife and due to his poor health, he was released from prison after a hospital stay.

In 1936 Leipart was tried for alleged embezzlement of union funds to aid the SPD in the election campaign. In his new place of residence, Berlin, he kept in close contact with his friends and former colleagues, some of whom were actively involved in the resistance . Despite his old age, he continued to be traded as a potential leading member of the planned unified union.

In 1946 Leipart joined the SED and campaigned for the formation of a unified trade union.

Honors

literature

Web links

Commons : Theodor Leipart  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Numerous records for temporary stays with constantly changing quarters in the Neubrandenburger Zeitung, 1863-1885. Alexander Leipart died in Neubrandenburg at the beginning of April 1885; his widow announced her departure the following year.
  2. ^ Moritz Julius Bonn : This is how you make history. Balance of a life . List, Munich 1953. p. 328.
personal data
SURNAME Leipart, Theodor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German trade unionist
DATE OF BIRTH May 17, 1867
PLACE OF BIRTH Neubrandenburg
DATE OF DEATH March 23, 1947
Place of death Berlin