Christian Fette (1 February 1895 – 26 October 1971) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

trade unionist. Born in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, Fette completed an apprenticeship as a book printer. He joined his trade union, and also the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

. He fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, then returned to his trade. In 1920, he was elected as the chair of the Bremen District of the Union of German Book Printers, then in 1924 as chair of its

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

district. In 1931, he became vice president of the union's Rheinland-Westphalia region. In 1933, the Nazis dissolved the German trade unions. Fette was dismissed and repeatedly arrested, then put under police observation. He spent a lengthy period unemployed, before finding work as a machine maker. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Fette was a leading founder of the Printing and Paper Union, serving as its first president, and also on the first board of the

International Graphical Federation The International Graphical Federation (IGF) was a global union federation bringing together unions of printing workers around the world. History Moved to establish the federation began in 1939, when the Lithographers' International, Internati ...

. In 1951, he was elected as president of the

German Trade Union Confederation The German Trade Union Confederation (; DGB) is an umbrella organisation (sometimes known as a national trade union center) for eight German trade unions, in total representing more than 6 million people (31 December 2011). It was founded ...

. A supporter of

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...

and of

German rearmament German rearmament (''Aufrüstung'', ) was a policy and practice of rearmament carried out by Germany from 1918 to 1939 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, which required German disarmament after World War I to prevent it from starting an ...

, his leadership was unpopular, and he lost a bid for re-election in 1952. From 1953, Fette worked in the press office of the DGB's

Neue Heimat Neue Heimat Gemeinnützige Wohnungs- und Siedlungsgesellschaft m.b.H., or Neue Heimat (NH) for short, was a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit construction and Housing cooperative, housing company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The German Trade ...

company. He retired in 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fette, Christian 1895 births 1971 deaths People from Bremen (city) German military personnel of World War I Presidents of the German Trade Union Confederation