Fuchs, Franz

Trade unionist, city councillor, president of the state parliament

Born: 28.11.1894 in Neusattl (Sudetenland)

Died: 10.06.1981 in Wiesbaden

Franz Fuchs spent his childhood in Wirges in the Westerwald. After attending elementary school, he learned the trade of a merchant, which he practiced until the First World War.

Fuchs had to do military service between 1916 and 1918. He had already joined the SPD and the trade union movement in 1912. With the emergence of the democratic Weimar Republic, Fuchs decided to play an active role in the reorganization of the political situation. He initially played a key role in building up the trade unions in what was then the Unterwesterwald district, before being appointed trade union secretary in Worms in 1921. There he succeeded Heinrich Zinnkann as head of the legal department of the General German Trade Union Federation in 1928. At the same time, he also began to get involved in party politics, initially as a member of the Worms city council.

When the National Socialists seized power, he was dismissed from his posts and faced persecution by the SA and Gestapo. After his release from Osthofen concentration camp in March 1933, Fuchs moved to Wiesbaden in October of the same year in order to reduce the pressure of persecution. As he was considered politically unreliable, those in power refused him permission to practise his profession. It was not until 1939 that Fuchs was allowed to work in a subordinate position as a commercial clerk.

Immediately after the end of National Socialist rule, Fuchs campaigned for a new democratic beginning. He was active in local politics for the SPD, first on the Wiesbaden Reconstruction Committee and then on the Citizens' Committee. Between 1946 and 1964, Fuchs was a member of the city council, eight years of which he served as chairman of the city council until his retirement.

Fuchs entered the civil service in August 1945. Within a few years, he rose from the position of an advisor at the Wiesbaden Chief Insurance Office and then as head of the personnel department at the Wiesbaden District Municipal Association to become a state councillor at the Hesse State Welfare Association.

In 1954, Fuchs moved into state politics in Hesse. He was a member of the Hessian state parliament until 1966. In 1962, at the beginning of the 5th legislative period, he once again succeeded Heinrich Zinnkann, this time as President of the State Parliament.

After his retirement from the political bodies in 1966 until his death in 1981, Franz Fuchs was involved in socio-political and cultural issues on a voluntary basis. Because of this tireless commitment, but also because of his personality, he was recognized and revered across party lines. This appreciation was expressed in the awarding of the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Plakette and the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. The state capital of Wiesbaden recognized Fuchs' achievements with its badge of honour and made him an honorary citizen.