Julius Gehl (4 July 1869,

Bromberg Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the Vistula River, River Vistula with its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda River, Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December ...

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (german: Provinz Posen, pl, Prowincja Poznańska) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920. Posen was established in 1848 following the Greater Poland Uprising as a successor to the Grand Duchy of Posen, w ...

– March 1945, Danzig) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

social democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

politician. Gehl served as the Chairman of the

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...

n District League of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (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 (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei der Freien Stadt 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 ...

during the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

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 building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

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 Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...

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 (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gda ...

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 The Volkstag (English: ''People's Diet'') was the parliament of the Free City of Danzig between 1919 and 1939. After World War I Danzig (Gdańsk) became a Free City under the protection of the League of Nations. The first elections to a const ...

.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 People 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