Memorial Aschaffenburg

The General German Federation of Trade Unions was founded at the first post-war congress of the free trade unions on July 5, 1919 in Nuremberg. It was a new umbrella organization and successor to the General Commission of the Trade Unions of Germany.

In 1933, with the arrival of Hitler and the National Socialists, the trade unions were subject to all kinds of Nazi laws and regulations. Through its commitment to "positive cooperation" with the Nazi regime and refraining from political activities, it was hoped that the organization could be saved from a ban. However, the expected adjustment course of the ADGB ended with the dismantling of the unions on May 2, 1933.
Many trade union members opposed the Nazis and were sent to concentration camps as political opponents of the National Socialists.

On April 3, 1945, the Aschaffenburg Fortress raised the white flag and the city was handed over to the victorious advancing Americans. The Allies ended the Nazi reign of terror after more than six years of war.
For the union leaders, the end of the war did not mean defeat or surrender, but rather the liberation of the workers.
In this house on Elisenstrasse, the General German Trade Union Federation Aschaffenburg was re-established in the spirit of the united trade union on May 31, 1945, it was the first after the end of the Second World War in Bavaria.
In May 2015, a memorial plaque was installed to commemorate this event.

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