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Rudolf Wissell (8 March 1869 – 13 December 1962) was a German politician in theSocial Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). During theWeimar Republic, he held office as the Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister for Labour.
Rudolf Wissell was born on 8 March 1869 inGöttingen, in thePrussianProvince of Hanover. His father was Ludwig Wissel, a helmsman, his mother was Ulrike, née Klimmet. He went to school inBremen from 1876-83. In 1883, he started an apprenticeship as a mechanical engineer. Finishing in 1887, Wissell started to work at a machine builder in Bremen.).[1]
In 1888, Wissel became a member of the (still illegal) SPD and chairman of theFachverein der Schlosser und Maschinenbauer (a union). In 1890, he brought theFachverein into the newly foundedDeutscher Metallarbeiter-Verband. From 1891-3, he served in a PrussianGrenadier regiment stationed inPosen. Following military service, Wissell worked as a lathe operator atKiel and for theMetallarbeiter-Verband from 1893-1901. He also attended courses in law. In 1901, Wissell he became a full-time union functionary asArbeitersekretär of the unions atLübeck.[1]
Involving himself in social policy, he was a member of theBürgerschaft, Lübeck's city parliament, from 1905-8. In 1908, he joined theGeneralkommission der Gewerkschaften (the central workers' secretariat of trade unions) inBerlin, later becoming head of its social policy department.[1]
In 1916-8, Wissell worked part-time in the SPD newspaperVorwärts, as editor for social policy issues.[1]
In March 1918, Wissel was elected to theReichstag for the electoral district Niederbarnim/"Potsdam 6"; where he belonged to the party's right wing. In theGerman Revolution, Wissell becameZweiter Vorsitzender (deputy chairman) of theGeneralkommission where he opposed the formation of agovernment based on workers' and soldiers' councils and argued for an agreement with employers. He supported the foundation of theAllgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (ADG).[1]
One result of his arguments was the conclusion of theStinnes-Legien Agreement, which meant that the employer's associations for the first time recognised the trade unions as the representatives of the workers.
On 28 December 1918, the three representatives of theIndependent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) withdrew from theCouncil of the People's Deputies, the de facto government of Germany, and Wissell along withGustav Noske became members.[1]
In January 1919, Wissel was elected for the SPD to theNational Assembly. One and a half years later, in June 1920, he was elected to the firstReichstag of the Weimar Republic. He was re-elected seven times from 1924 to 1933, and was a member of the German parliament for almost exactly 13 years, from June 1920 to June 1933.
Apart from his work as a member of the Reichstag, Wissell filled various high public offices in the 1920s. From February to July 1919, he was the firstReichswirtschaftsminister (Minister for Economic Affairs) of the republic. In this function in the cabinets ofPhilipp Scheidemann andGustav Bauer, he opposed the left-wing councils and worked towards a socially controlled economy for the benefit of the community. When he was unable to convince his party and the government of the merits of this plan, he resigned.[1]
From 1928 to 1930, as Minister of Labour he belonged to theKabinett der Persönlichkeiten (Cabinet of Personalities) underHermann Müller. In this position, he opposed all strikes to help overcome theGreat Depression.[1]
As a politician engaged in social policy, Wissell was a member of the executive committee of the ADG from 1919 to 1924. From 1924 to 1932, he was also an arbitrator in pay negotiations in Berlin and Brandenburg. In 1929, he received an honorary doctorate from theUniversity of Kiel due to his public service.[1]
The important parliamentary activities that Wissell participated in during his time in the Reichstag included the vote on theEnabling Act in March 1933: here, he was one of 94 members who voted against the law that created the legal foundations for the Nazi dictatorship. It was passed by 444 votes to 94.
After the Nazis' rise to power in early 1933, Wissell was expelled from public life, being a prominent Social Democrat. His Reichstag membership was revoked in June 1933. He was also placed under arrest for two months and was under police supervision for another two years. Retired, he then lived a withdrawn life in Berlin until 1945.[1]
After 1945, Wissell worked on rebuilding the SPD in Berlin. He clearly rejected a unification of the SPD and theCommunist Party of Germany (KPD). In the last years of his life, he received many different honours: in 1949 he became an honorary citizen of Berlin and in 1954 received theGroßes Bundesverdienstkreuz (Great Cross of Merit).[1]
Wissell died in West Berlin on 13 December 1962.[1] He was buried in agrave of honour of theBerlin Senate at theHoly Cross Cemetery, Berlin-Mariendorf.[2]
Today, his name is carried by theRudolf-Wissell-Brücke [de] between Charlottenburg und Charlottenburg-Nord, at 960 meters the longest road bridge of Berlin, as well as theRudolf-Wissell-Siedlung (Rudolf Wissell Settlement) inStaaken, built in the 1970s, and theRudolf-Wissell-Grundschule (Rudolf Wissell Primary School) inGesundbrunnen.
Council of the People's Deputies – 10 November 1918 to 13 February 1919 | ||
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Scheidemann cabinet – 13 February to 20 June 1919 | ||
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