Adolf Feldmann

The master furrier Adolf Feldmann (born April 4, 1860 in Unruhstadt ; † late 1933 in Berlin ) was the leader of the intermediate masters in the German furrier trade, also founder and chairman of the Reich Association of Independent Furriers and Cap Makers and Chairman of the Association of Independent Furriers Berlin .

Professional background

Invitation by the association itself. Kürschner Pelzbranche EV Berlin and the surrounding area on July 14, 1924. Signed by the board, on behalf of A. Feldmann.

Adolf Feldmann completed his training as a furrier with his uncle in Unruhstadt on the Brandenburg-Silesian border. His grandfather was already a furrier and drove the approximately 325 kilometers to the Leipziger Brühl to buy furs there. Immediately after taking his journeyman's examination, his nephew Adolf also wandered in the direction of Leipzig, which dominates the fur market. On the way he met fellow travelers who persuaded him to come with them to Racibórz first . There worked for the Scharek company for one season . From there he went to Breslau and on to Dresden and Zwickau . He was in Hildesheim several times, only to get to Leipzig in the end.

In the fur trade metropolis he worked for Theodor Pfeiffer until 1888 . He passed his master craftsman examination in Leipzig and married. From here, Feldmann moved to Berlin, where fur clothing had been booming since the 1980s. He found employment with A. & S. Segall , where he became a foreman. In 1900 he started his own business; the address book for 1909 lists the master furrier on the edge of Berlin's ready-to-wear district around Hausvogteiplatz , on Seydelstrasse 27. He often neglected his business in favor of his industry colleagues.

At the age of 70, Adolf Feldmann was still actively involved in his own business, now supported by his son. In the 1932 address book is a master furrier A. Wolf. Feldmann registered in Berlin-Schöneberg (W 30) at Barbarossastraße 8; In the directory of the following year 1933 there seems to be no entry of a furrier Feldmann to be found.

Engagement in the fur industry

Pin for the 20th anniversary of the Association of Independent Furriers Berlin, 1905–1925

Feldmann got his first contact with the furrier movement, which was just beginning, while working in Leipzig. He became a member of the newly founded professional association of furriers .

During his time as a foreman in Berlin, he began to get involved in the industry and soon showed great organizational talent. He resigned from the Berlin Fachverein der Kürschner and founded the Association of the Cap Industry, which still existed in 1942.

After starting his own business in 1900, he nevertheless spent a lot of time working within the specialist organization.

In the great Berlin collective bargaining and organizational struggles of 1905, despite some fierce resistance, he pushed through his intention to bring the Kürschner intermediate masters together in a separate organization. It was about being able to better represent their special interests vis-à-vis the fur manufacturers and journeymen. To this end, Feldmann set up the association of independent furriers (fur industry) in Berlin and the surrounding area . Under his leadership, a type of wage structure based on collective agreements was fought for. After the fronts between the Berlin house traders and the German Furrier Association, Berlin branch had hardened so much that a rapprochement seemed impossible, the Viennese furrier Emanuel Ruzika was invited. After his presentation on February 2, 1910 on the general situation, a resolution was adopted that formed the basis for a treaty that was concluded on May 1, 1910. Following the example and with Feldmann's support, similar associations emerged in Leipzig, Schkeuditz and Weißenfels , the related hat industry followed with such organizations. In 1919, Feldmann succeeded in uniting all the individual associations in the Reich Association of Independent Furriers and Cap Makers in Germany .

On January 14, 1924, the Association of Independent Furriers of Berlin held its general assembly in the “Musicians' Halls” in Berlin. The chairman was Mr. Feldmann. The cash situation was "very sad, but you still close with a stock of 283 gold marks". The number of members had increased to 753 and was essentially the same as in the year it was founded. Mr. Feldmann urged cohesion in view of the negotiations currently taking place on a new tariff. Mr. Bich made bitter complaints about the company meetings. Mr Müller announced that the Berlin furriers' winter festival would take place on February 18 in the “Friedrichshain” brewery. The re-election of the board ended with the re-election of the previous gentlemen. Mr. Frankenstein was newly elected to the board as assessor.

In the generally extremely difficult economic situation of 1930, a dispute broke out in two Berlin trade journals as to whether one should lower the wages of the intermediate masters, in particular to make the export business more competitive and to also have work in the so-called "quiet time". Feldmann, "known as a spirited fighter - defended himself in the name of the challenged and flatly refused any reduction in wages. [...] This attempt failed because of Adolf Feldmann's resistance. "

At the same time he founded the Berliner Kürschner-Zeitung and played a decisive role in founding a death benefit fund , the pension subsidy fund and the purchasing cooperative for independent furriers and the establishment of the Reich Association of the German Wage Industry . On the occasion of the fur industry's globally unique event, the International Fur Exhibition - IPA in Leipzig in 1933, he prepared a conference for all home traders, master craftsmen and chambermen in the fur industry.

Feldmann continued to work in the associations and led the collective bargaining and other negotiations of his professional associations and chaired the meetings of his colleagues. On his 70th birthday, the hall in the teachers' club house, his old arena, could not hold those who appeared when he, the chairman, was given a banquet. “Even his opponents, who came to congratulate” stated that they “respected this man, recognized his pure will”.

His association work ended when the craft organizations were brought into line and restructured after the National Socialists came to power in 1933: “With the dissolution of the associations, his life's work fell into ruins. Adolf Feldmann did not long survive this sudden turning away from this completely engaging and fulfilling activity. - Only a few followed his coffin in the cemetery ”.

literature

A. Feldmann: The German furrier house trade . In: IPA - international fur exhibition, international hunting exhibition Leipzig 1930 - official catalog . Pp. 361-362

See also

• Berlin minimum wage tariff for furriers from January 1, 1920

Web links

Commons : Adolf Feldmann  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Philipp Manes : The German fur industry and its associations 1900-1940, attempt at a story . Berlin 1941 Volume 4. Copy of the original manuscript, pp. 72–75 ( → table of contents ).
2. ^ Address book Berlin, 1909 edition , p. 763. Last accessed October 19, 2018.
3. ^ Address book Berlin, 1921 edition , p. 708. Last accessed October 20, 2018.
4. ^ Address book Berlin 1933 edition , pp. 566-577. Last accessed November 20, 2018
5. ^ Philipp Manes : The German fur industry and its associations 1900-1940, attempt at a story . Berlin 1941 Volume 1. Copy of the original manuscript, p. 10 ( G. & C. Franke collection ).
6. ^ Heinrich Lange, Albert Regge: History of the dressers, furriers and cap makers in Germany . German Clothing Association (ed.), Berlin 1930, pp. 223–225.
7. ↑ n .: General assembly of the association itself. Kürschner (fur industry) Berlins EV In: Der Rauchwarenmarkt , No. 6, January 16, 1924, Berlin, p. 3.
8. ^ Philipp Manes : The German fur industry and its associations 1900-1940, attempt at a story . Berlin 1941 Volume 3. Copy of the original manuscript, pp. 3, 18 ( → table of contents ).