Fritz Carl Hatzky
Fritz Carl Hatzky (born November 11, 1889 , † November 4, 1962 in Verden ) was a German social democrat and trade unionist .
Life
Fritz Carl Hatzky grew up in Verden on November 11, 1889, the son of Carl Wilhelm Johann Georg Hermann Hatzky and Caroline Friederike Johanna Hatzky, née Israel. It is not possible to say clearly about his name whether he is written with "K" or with "C", even in official documents both spellings can be found and the name Fritz is only used by his family and is hardly known to anyone. Information about his childhood and youth cannot be found. However, he was a committed social politician, even if he was basically a simple tobacco worker. Furthermore, he led the Verden workers 'union from 1916 to 1933 and chaired the tobacco workers' union, was also a member of the SPD from 1907 to 1933 and from 1945 to 1962 and at times even its district chairman.
On August 29, 1915 he married Clara Johanne, nee Wittrock. Together they had five sons: Franz Fritz, Hans, Heinrich, Fritz and Karl Johann Hermann, who himself became a committed SPD member.
Carl Hatzky died in Verden on November 4, 1962. The SPD and the city of Verden honored him for his commitment, among other things by naming the Carl-Hatzky-Weg. Lutz Brockmann, the mayor of Verdens, also referred to him as: "He was, as it were, the citizen's auditor".
Act
The tobacco workers in Verden
Tobacco workers did not have a good position in German society. Most of the tobacco workers came from Bremen and came to Verden during an industrial boom. The Verden people discriminated against the tobacco workers, most of whom had no possessions, and refused any help. The police closely monitored the workers because "their socialist tendencies seem to seriously threaten the common good and the interests of employers." The workers then founded their own self-help groups such as health insurance and other social welfare or gymnastics clubs. The saying of these gymnastics clubs: "A free people, full of unity and strength, be the standard of the German gymnastics community." Despite the socialist laws, the workers gymnastics club was founded in Verden in 1889 as the first of its kind. First in that it was the first sports club in Germany to "refer to the workforce". Despite orders against this association, he remained influential and was an important body of the Verden labor movement. The self-established, non-governmental social insurance schemes already mentioned were also a novelty in Germany. The workers were urged to join the insurance company.
Hatzky's commitment to the workers in Verden
On November 12th, 1918, the residents of Verden gathered in front of the town hall. The speech of the meeting was given by Mr. Winkelmann from Bremen, at the end of the meeting the crowd cheered for the Social Democrats. Afterwards, Carl Hatzky asked the crowd to be silent, and he also declared that "everyone should go back to their usual job this Monday."
Around 1945, in the sub-district conference, “Hatzky made a vow for all members to do honest and competitive reconstruction work instead of Nazi murder and bloody terror.” With this vow, Hatzky showed that it was important to him that a stable economy was important for them Population and that for this goal nobody may be harmed, even if they have previously killed a large number of people. He was given the honorary chairmanship of the sub-district conference before this vow, as he was the oldest party member at that time, and Carl Hatzky also wishes for a successful cooperation between the old and the young population.
With his entry into the Workers 'Council and Soldiers' Council, his commitment continued to grow. Hatzky was appointed first chairman there and thus also determined the list of announcements of the council, which were announced on November 11, 1918. These include the members of this council and their respective positions. "2) As of today, the same has taken military and civil power into its own hands." In general, it can be concluded from this that the workers' council is concerned with the general welfare of the population.
Hatzky himself was a member of the SPD, to which party his grandson, Karl Hatzky, also belonged. In 1933 Karl saved many SPD books and the traditional flag of the Verden tobacco workers from 1863 from the National Socialists. To save the books and the flag, he climbed through a window of the SPD meeting room on Bremer Strasse at night.
November Revolution in Verden
In Verden, too, incidents occurred in the course of the November Revolution taking place throughout the country , albeit of a different nature than in the rest of the country. The initiators of the revolution, the marines from Kiel, who were on their way directly to Hanover, had to make a stop in Verden for technical reasons. The garrison stationed in Verden had posted a tobacco worker in the telegraph center, which informed the garrison, but also gave the Social Democrats under the direction of Carl Hatzky first-hand information. When the news of the arrival of the revolutionaries arrived by telegraph, the Verden military declared a state of emergency. Resisters against orders from the military were arrested.
The revolutionaries who stopped involuntarily in Verden feared an intervention by the Verden military and occupied the station as a precaution. As a respected politician, Carl Hatzky reached the position of commander in chief of the revolutionaries and, through diplomatic skills, he succeeded in preventing bloodshed. Carl Hatzky is said to have said: “We're not making a revolution here with rifle in hand.” And although the Verdenese suspected that Hatzky would work with the revolutionaries, Carl was able to convince them of the opposite.
On the side of the Mayor of Verden, it was said that Carl Hatzky "ensured a peaceful November Revolution and a successful start to the Weimar Republic in Verden." He achieved this start mainly through his work in the workers' council during the transition from the German Empire to the Weimar Republic.
Hatzky and the workers' council
The most famous office of Hatzky was the office of first chairman of the workers' council. The workers' council came into effect on November 10, 1918, with Fritz Carl Hatzky serving as the first chairman.
On November 11, 1918, he published the notice of the workers' council. One of these notices read: "4) All new official notices and orders to be issued are only valid if they are countersigned by the workers' and soldiers' council." This primarily means that the workers' council must first sign all notices and orders these may be announced to the public. With its position as first chairman, the workers' council also ensured a peaceful November Revolution and a successful start to the Weimar Republic in Verden.
With the announcements published by Hatzki, as first chairman of the council, he campaigned for a balance to prevail and no one of the population to be harmed. Due to his high position on the workers' council, Carl Hatzky had a high right of co-determination and only used this for good in order to preserve the well-being of the population of Verden and their surroundings.
Carl-Hatzky-Weg
The Carl-Hatzky-Weg, which was approved by Mayor Lutz Brockmann on September 13, 2010, is 65 meters long. The path now serves as a connection between the Große Straße and the Reeperbahn. Planning began around 1990. The two knights made of sandstone now adorn the entrance to the path. They were renovated by a specialist company and installed there. In 1970 this was found at a property entrance on Norderstädtischer Markt. They could have stood at an Augustinian convent founded in 1476 or in Ritterstrasse, which was first mentioned in 1740, or perhaps they were erected for the construction of the syndicate house. Furthermore, the path serves as the first measure of the inner city growth concept, which was implemented with EU funding.
literature
- Ulrich Schröder: Workers 'and Soldiers' Councils in Northwest Germany 1918/19, a comparison; in: Yearbook for the district of Verden 2019, ed. from the district of Verden , Verden 2018, pp. 185–210.
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. Family books privately owned by the Hatzky family in Verden.
- ↑ Memory of deserved Verdener, Verdener Aller-Zeitung.
- ↑ a b c http://www.kreiszeitung.de/lokales/verden/verden/ritter-sind-wieder-916623.html .
- ↑ a b c d e f g Jürgen Siemers: A chronology of a (small) town in Prussia from October 3, 1866 to April 17, 1945, 1986, p. 47.
- ↑ a b Gymnastics as a subversive activity, 1998.
- ↑ a b Cf. 120 years of the SPD Verden local association April 12, 1989 Articles by: Hermann Meyer (Kirchlinteln), Peter Eckermann (Otersen), Fred Higgen and Heinz Möller (Verden), p. 24.
- ^ Hermann Meyer, Books saved from the Nazis.
- ↑ a b Martin Drichel: "Lewer dod as Slav!", Published in the home calendar for the Verden district in 1990, p. 65.
- ↑ a b c http://www.lutz-brockmann.de/Lutz_Brockmann/VG_14.html .
- ↑ Brief presentation of the Carl-Hatzky-Weg on the website of the city of Verden at the opening on September 10, 2010, with an expansion plan.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hatzky, Fritz Carl |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hatzky, Carl |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German politician (SPD) and trade unionist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 11, 1889 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 4th November 1962 |
| Place of death | Verden |