Georg Schmidt (22 November 1875 – 22 February 1946) 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 and politician. Born in Biebrich, Schmidt became a gardener, and in 1898 he joined the General German Gardeners' Union. Shortly after, he moved to

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

, where he joined the local Verein Edelweiß association, which he persuaded to join the union. In 1902, he was elected to the union's national executive, and in 1903, he successfully persuaded the union to affiliate to the

General Commission of German Trade Unions The General Commission of German Trade Unions () was an umbrella body for German trade unions during the German Empire, from the end of the Anti-Socialist Laws in 1890 up to 1919. In 1919, a successor organisation was named the Allgemeiner Deutsch ...

. From 1904, Schmidt worked as one of three full-time employees of the union, with responsibility for southern Germany. In 1905, he became managing director of the union's newspaper, the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Gärtner-Zeitung''. In 1907, Schmidt became the president of the union, and within two years, he had increased its membership to 5,000. This brought him to the attention of

Carl Legien Carl Rudolf Legien (1 December 1861 – 26 December 1920) was a German unionist, moderate Social Democratic politician and first President of the International Federation of Trade Unions. Biography Legien was born in Marienburg, K ...

, leader of the General of Commission of German Trade Unions. The federation were establishing the

Union of Agricultural, Forest and Vineyard Workers of Germany The German Agricultural Workers' Union (, DLV) was a trade union representing agricultural and forestry workers in Germany. From 1890, agricultural workers in Germany were represented by the Union of Factory, Agricultural and Commercial Support ...

, and Legien persuaded Schmidt to become its full-time president. Under Schmidt's leadership, the union grew rapidly, becoming the German Agricultural Workers' Union, and negotiated pay and conditions with employers. In 1919, the General Commission was replaced by the

General German Trade Union Confederation The General German Trade Union Federation (, ADGB) was a confederation of German trade unions in Germany founded during the Weimar Republic. It was founded in 1919 and was initially powerful enough to organize a general strike in 1920 against a rig ...

, and Schmidt served on its executive. From 1924, he also served as general secretary of the

International Landworkers' Federation The International Landworkers' Federation (ILF) was a global union federation bringing together trade unions representing agricultural and forestry workers. History The federation was established in 1920 at a conference in Amsterdam, and set up it ...

. Schmidt was also a member of 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 ...

(SPD), and he was elected to the Prussian State Assembly in 1919, and then the Reichstag in 1920, representing

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

. He also served on the Provisional Reich Economic Council in 1920, and from 1924 until 1933. In both his political and trade union roles, Schmidt argued against

tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

s. He tried to persuade the ADGB to support a reduction in pay for civil servants. He also negotiated a major agreement with Polish trade unionists on the role of migrant agricultural workers from Poland. He remained in his trade union posts until the Nazi government banned unions in 1933, and maintained his trade union and social democratic contacts over the following years. At the end of

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 ...

, the SPD was re-established, and Schmidt served on its Berlin agricultural policy committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Georg 1875 births 1946 deaths German trade unionists Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic People from Wiesbaden Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians