German Labour Front

The German Labour Front (German: Deutsche Arbeitsfront, DAF) was the National Socialist trade union organization which replaced the various independent trade unions of the Weimar Republic after Adolf Hitler's rise to power. After the Nazi-organized 1933 May Day labor celebrations, the Third Reich not only nationalized all trade unions, but decreed union membership as a mandatory duty, forcing every worker to join the state-operated union. This effectively made the DAF a "yellow" union without adequate representation from the membership and bore little resemblance to modern labor practices with free and fair elections. Unlike the conventional premise of unionization, the DAF resulted in lower wages, longer working hours, and little internal representation, often known as union democracy.

Its leader was Robert Ley, who stated its aim was 'to create a true social and productive community' (Smelster, 1988). Theoretically, DAF existed to act as a medium through which workers and owners could mutually represent their interests. Wages were set by the 12 DAF trustees. The employees were given relatively high set wages and security of employment, and dismissal was increasingly made difficult. Social security and leisure programmes were started, canteens, breaks, and regular working times were established, and German workers were generally satisfied by what the DAF gave them in repayment for their absolute loyalty.

Following the National Socialist’s Volksgemeinschaft approach towards developing a greater “people’s community”, the DAF expanded or established new social, educational, sports, health, and entertainment programs for German workers via the Strength through Joy, which included factory libraries and gardens, periodic breaks, swimming pools, low-priced hot meals, adult education programs, periodic work breaks, physical education, sports facilities, gymnastic training, orchestral music during lunch breaks, free tickets to concerts and opera, and subsidized vacations that saw over 10.3 million Germans signed up by 1938. The DAF financed the building of ocean-going vessels that permitted German workers to pay minimal prices to sail to many foreign destinations. Up to six ocean liners were operating just before the start of World War II. According to the chief of the Associated Press in Berlin, Louis P. Lochner, ticket prices for ocean streamer vessels ranged from twelve to sixteen marks for “a full week on such a steamer.” For those who desired vacations closer to home, the DAF constructed spa and summer resort complexes. One of the largest was located on the island of Reugen, where the DAF financed and erected a “summer resort with 20,000 beds.”.

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