Krenn, Dorit-Maria: Die christliche Arbeiterbewegung in Bayern vom Ersten Weltkrieg bis 1933, Mainz 1991

Dorit-Maria Krenn: Die christliche Arbeiterbewegung in Bayern vom Ersten Weltkrieg bis 1933.

Dorit-Maria Krenn’s book investigates multiple organizations of the Christian labor movement in Bavaria at the time of the Weimar Republic. It examines thoroughly organizational structure, ideology, and public dealings of associations for Catholic working men and women, housemaids, domestic servants, and employees in the hospitality sector, as well as Protestant associations for working men and women and Christian unions. Krenn’s study revolves around a central question: given the political, social, and cultural conditions of the Weimar Republic, to what extent did Christian labour organizations live up to their own claims and self-image of a movement committed to improving the economic, social, and political standing of workers, as well as expanding their cultural horizons? The study demonstrates that the Nazi »seizure of power,« in the course of which workers’ associations were dissolved and suppressed, destroyed an organizational newtork that combined lobbying for workers’ interests, religious and cultural education of its members, and loyalty to the Weimar constitution. This network not only provided vital assistance to Christian workers but functioned as a positive element in Weimar state and society. Krenn’s comprehensive book rightly resurrects that story from historical oblivion.