Max Josephsohn

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Max Josephsohn (born January 29, 1868 in Grüntal ; † February 2, 1938 in Hamburg ) was a German trade union and cooperative functionary .

Live and act

Max Josephson received a school education at Wilhelm-Gymnasium in Eberswalde , which he left with the middle school leaving certificate. He then completed a four-year commercial apprenticeship there. Then he went to Lübeck and Hamburg, where he worked as a businessman. In 1892 he was one of the founding members of the Vorwärts Association and two years later took over its chairmanship. This first social democratic association of unskilled workers in Hamburg was able to establish itself permanently. Anti-Semites, who, as members of the German Social Reform Party, were also part of the Hamburg citizenship , attacked the association and Josephson sharply from the start. In 1893 they founded the German National Trade Aid Association , which aggressively fought with Vorwärts over workers' rights. Josephsohn showed himself to be a gifted speaker during meetings.

Josephsohn organized in Leipzig in 1897 the amalgamation of several associations to form the central association of sales assistants in Germany . He took over the office of secretary in the association, which had its seat in Hamburg. He also edited the association newspaper Handelsgehülfen-Blatt . Josephsohn was particularly committed to the equality of women, about which he lectured and wrote. The proportion of 45 percent female members was unique for such associations in Hamburg. In 1904 Josephsohn attended the International Conference of Clerks, which took place in Amsterdam and at which Josephsohn played a leading role. After the conference, Hamburg received an international information point. Josephson's activities as head of the association ended in 1911. The association relocated the office to Berlin a year later. From the leadership following him it can be concluded that the local association did not pursue the course of internationalism practiced by Josephsohn.

In addition to his association activities, Josephson co-founded the consumer, construction and savings association “Production” and held an office on the supervisory board there. Because of this membership and his organizational talent, he headed the newly created administration department of the large-scale purchasing company of German consumer associations from 1911 . From 1914 he was authorized to sign for the company . His service ended in 1933.

family

Josephsohn was married and had one daughter. While he himself died of natural causes, his wife and daughter as well as his sister were deported by the National Socialists in 1941/42 and killed or chose to commit suicide.

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personal data
SURNAME Josephsohn, Max
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German trade union and cooperative functionary
DATE OF BIRTH January 29, 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH Grüntal
DATE OF DEATH February 2, 1938
Place of death Hamburg