"The world is feverishly preparing for the greatest mass murder in the history of the world."

Franz Vogt

INTRODUCTION

Franz Vogt, in his roles as trade union secretary, member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), elected deputy in the Prussian Landtag, and at times a member of the Reichstag, stood as a steadfast advocate for the interests of miners and a committed opponent of the rising tide of fascism.

THE STORY

Franz Vogt (1899-1940)
Social Democrat and Trade Unionist in the fight against Fascism

The story of Franz Vogt is one of political resistance. In 1933, he was forced to leave Germany in order to flee from the National Socialists, arriving in the Saar region on June 21 of that year. The immediate reason for leaving Germany as soon as possible was the Hitler regime’s decision to declare all SPD mandates in the Reichstag and Landtag null and void. This created an imminent risk of arrest – a fate Franz Vogt was determined to avoid, especially in light of his prior experiences with the SA. As early as April 1933, he had already been brutally assaulted while attempting to retrieve his personal documents: “No sooner had I entered the SA office than they fell upon me like savages. It was impossible to defend myself (…). After many hours of torture, they threw me out onto the street“. [1]

Franz Vogt witnessed the first occupation of the trade union offices by the SA on March 10-11, 1933, narrwoly escaping arrest due only to a case of mistaken identity. On May 2, 1933, the SA stormed the buildings of the union another time – this time definitively. Franz Vogt later wrote: “All buildings of the free trade union occupied by the SA. Assets confiscated. Leaders thrown into prison“. [2] This decisive act by Hitler’s dictatorship against the organizations of workers and employees marked a turning point in Vogt’s life.

Franz Vogt was born on October 16, 1899, in Karschin (Grünberg district, Silesia). He served in the First World War from June 1917 until November 1918, during which he was taken prisoner by Russian forces. Following his release, he joined the Freikorps von der Lippe, a border protection unit.

From 1920 onward, Vogt was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). In 1926, he became chief adviser on economic affairs at the headquarters of the Miners‘ Asscociation in Bochum. In 1932, he was elected to the Prussian Landtag and, in the same year, assumed leadership of the republican defense organization Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold in Bochum.  In these roles, he closely analyzed class antagonisms, described the political struggles of the time, and keenly observed the rise of fascism during the Weimar Republic. He clearly recognized the shifting political landscape following the global economic crisis of 1929 – and the resulting disadvantages for both organized and unorganized workers and employees. As he succinctly put it: “The strike is becoming a blunt weapon.” [3]

Franz Vogt predicted that the weakness of the organized working class would lead “the capitalist opponent using his last means to preserve the social order most favourable to him” [4]. As early as 1930 – the NSDAP won 107 seats in the Reichstag elections – he no longer had any illusions about fascism and was also deeply shocked by the lack of judgment among trade unionists who had voted for the NSDAP: “I had serious doubts about the moral value of a nation” [5].

After May 2, 1933, an undisturbed open activity as a SPD deputy and a trade union secretary was no longer possible. Vogt decided to go into exile. He wanted to escape political persecution and arrest and to not “ fall into the hands of the National Socialist beasts a second time”. Under the condition of the political persecution, he could “only become a martyr. However, we have enough of them. Outside, perhaps I can do something to support the comrades in the battle”. [6] On September 1933 he moved to Amsterdam and focused his work on contributing to the left-wing socialist Freie Presse (Free Press), the Bergarbeitermitteilungen (Miners’ News), the Bergarbeiterzeitung (Miners’ newspaper) and other publications. The aim of the editorial and journalistic activities was to strengthen the resistance against the Nazi dictatorship. Life and work took place under the worst possible conditions. All those living in exile were banned from political activity in the Netherlands. The production of German-language newspapers led to constant interventions and restrictions by Dutch authorities,
who in turn were responding to diplomatic and political pressure from the government in Berlin. The newspapers could only be transported across the border to Germany illegally and were distributed at great risk.

Illegal was also Franz Vogt‘s attempt to re-establish interrupted and severed contacts with SPD members and trade unionists and to set up groups – all of which was a focus of his work in exile: “Vogt was one of the most active organizers of resistance cells“, it says in Hakenkreuz über Bochum [7].

Franz Vogt had political viewpoints and convictions that enabled him to endure these conditions and persevere. He fought against the “capitalist economic anarchy” and wanted a “socialist order”. Nevertheless, this could “only be achieved through political fight” [8]. From 1933 onwards, it was life-threatening for committed trade unionists to stay in Germany. His decision to go into exile was a decision in order to survive.

Life in exile was only possible under new circumstances: separation from his family, extremely modest material conditions, uncertain residence status, constant fear of deportation, etc. Franz Vogt was only able to work illegally under these conditions because his political convictions were stronger than his fears. He was an intelligent and far-sighted man. In his autobiographical notes from March 1934, he describes his future fears: “The clouds are gathering in the political sky. War seems inevitable. The world is gearing up at feverish speed for the greatest mass murder in world history” [9] Five years later, the Second World War began with the invasion of Poland and in May 1940 the German Wehrmacht marched into the Netherlands and occupied the country.

Franz Vogt couldn’t bear that situation and committed suicide on May 14, 1940. He described the invasion of the Netherlands as an unbearable “second defeat” after the handover of power to the NSDAP on January 30, 1933.

The city of Bochum named a street after Franz Vogt.

In 2019, the Bochum “Bündnis gegen Rechts” (“Alliance against the Right”) commemorated Franz Vogt at the opening event of the Fritz Bauer Library in Bochum.

On October 8, 2020, a “Stolperstein” (stumbling stone) was laid in memory of Franz Vogt at Oskar-Hoffman-Street 124 (where he used to live) on the initative of the Bochum Bochum “Bündnis gegen Rechts”.

Author: Uli Borchers

Translation: Mona Hankewitz

Contact: info@fritz-bauer-forum.de

Sources:

Detlef Peukert und Frank Bajohr, Spuren des Widerstandes. Die Bergarbeiterbewegung im Dritten Reich und Exil. München: C.H. Beck Verlag, 1987.

Ernst Kienast (Hrsg.); Handbuch für den Preußischen Landtag. Ausgabe für die 5. Wahlperiode. Berlin 1933, S. 392.

Johannes Volker Wagner, Hakenkreuz über Bochum. Bochum: Studienverlag Brockmeyer, 1983.