- Source: Law on the Trustees of Labour
The Law on the Trustees of Labour (German: Gesetz über Treuhänder der Arbeit) was a measure enacted by the government of Nazi Germany on 19 May 1933 that established the office of Trustee of Labour to regulate labour relations in Germany. The law was repealed by the Allied Control Council Law No. 40 of 30 November 1946, effective 1 January 1947.
Background
The Nazi Party, after coming to power in Germany under Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler on 30 January 1933, set about to eliminate all opposition and undertake a complete transformation of German society. It sought to bring all components of society into line with the Nazi worldview in a process that became known as Gleichschaltung (coordination). An early target of its campaign was the powerful German trade union movement. On 2 May 1933, Nazi SA stormtroopers attacked and occupied trade union offices throughout the country. The unions were dissolved, their officials were arrested, union newspapers and banks were closed and their funds were confiscated. On 10 May, the German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront, DAF) was established under the leadership of Robert Ley, at that time the Stabschef (chief of staff) of the Party's political organization. The DAF was a Nazi Party office that essentially replaced the myriad trade unions, ostensibly as the sole representative of a united German workforce.
Enactment
In addition, the new position of Trustee of Labour was created by statute as a mechanism of control over labor relations. In accordance with the provisions of the Enabling Act, the Law on the Trustees of Labour was enacted solely by action of the Reich government (the Reich Chancellor and his cabinet) and was not placed before the Reichstag for legislative review, debate and approval. It went into effect when published in the Reichsgesetzblatt on 20 May 1933.
Text of the law establishing the Trustees of Labor
Results of the law
There initially was one trustee for each of thirteen economic areas (Wirtschaftsgebiete).
Hitler appointed the first Trustees of Labour on 15 June 1933.
The duties and responsibilities of the trustees were set out in the Work Order Act (Arbeitsordnungsgesetz) of 20 January 1934. It made the trustees permanent Reich officials supervised by the Reich Ministry of Labour under Franz Seldte.
The regulation of labour conflicts and the setting of wage levels by the trustees replaced collective bargaining between employers and employees.
Since the decisions of the trustees were legally binding, strikes were effectively outlawed.
By 1941, due to the geographic expansion of the Reich, there were twenty-two trustees and the position remained in existence through the fall of the Nazi regime in May 1945.
Repeal
The Law on the Trustees of Labour, which had been superseded by the Work Order Act, was repealed by the Allied Control Council Law No. 40 (30 November 1946) with an effective date of 1 January 1947.
See also
German Labour Front
Gleichschaltung
Trustee of Labour
Work Order Act
References
Sources
Broszat, Martin (1981). The Hitler State: The Foundation and Development of the Internal Structure of the Third Reich. New York: Longman Inc. ISBN 978-0-582-48997-4.
Childers, Thomas (2017). The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-45165-113-3.
Shirer, William (1960). The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-831-77404-2.
Zentner, Christian; Bedürftig, Friedemann, eds. (1997) [1991]. The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-80793-0.
External links
Gesetz über Treuhänder der Arbeit (in German)