Julius Gehl (4 July 1869,

Bromberg Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its left-bank tributary, the Brda, the strategic location of Bydgoszcz has made it an inland ...

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (; ) was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920, occupying most of the historical Greater Poland. The province was established following the Greater Poland Uprising (1848), Poznań Uprisi ...

– March 1945, Danzig) 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 ...

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

politician. Gehl served as the Chairman of the

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and from 1878 to 1919. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonweal ...

n District League 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).
Handbuch der verfassunggebenden deutschen Nationalversammlung, Weimar 1919
''; biographische Notizen und Bilder, Berlin, 1919 Gehl was a prominent leader of the

Social Democratic Party of the Free City of Danzig The Social Democratic Party of the Free City of Danzig () was a political party in the Free City of Danzig. After the creation of the Free City of Danzig in 1919, the Danzig branch of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) separated itself f ...

during the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

years, serving as its chairman and parliamentary faction leader. Gehl also served as Vice President of the Senate of the Free City.

Early life

Gehl was a

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

apprentice between 1884 and 1887. In until 1890 he was active in the masons' guild. Between 1900 and 1912 he was an official of the Free Association of German Masons.

Political career in West Prussia

In 1912 he became a member of the District Secretariat of the SPD in West Prussia, and would serve as its chairman between 1912 and 1919. In 1915 he became a member of the Price Verification Agency in Danzig. Gehl was editor of the newspaper '' Volkswacht'', published from Danzig, between 1917 and 1918. In 1919 Gehl was elected to the German National Assembly, having stood as an SPD candidate in the second electoral district (West Prussia).´

Free City of Danzig

When the

Free City of Danzig The Free City of Danzig (; ) was a city-state under the protection and oversight of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) and nearly 200 other small localities in the surrou ...

was formed, the Danzig branch of SPD reconstructed themselves as a separate party, the Social Democratic Party of the Free City of Danzig. Gehl was the party chairman 1919–1920. He then became the chairman of the parliamentary faction of the party. Gehl served as Vice President of the

Senate of the Free City of Danzig The Senate of the Free City of Danzig was the government of the Free City of Danzig from 1920 to 1939, after the Allied administration of Reginald Tower and the Danzig Staatsrat. Constitutional Regulations The separation of Danzig from the Germ ...

from August 1925 to March 1931 and twice President of the Volkstag.Kowalski, Werner.
Geschichte der sozialistischen arbeiter-internationale: 1923 - 19
'. Berlin: Dt. Verl. d. Wissenschaften, 1985. p. 291 Gehl was the editor of the party organ ''Danziger Volksstimme''.

''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gehl, Julius 1869 births 1945 deaths Politicians from Bydgoszcz Politicians from the Province of Posen Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Members of the Weimar National Assembly Free City of Danzig politicians Members of the Volkstag of the Free City of Danzig