Betriebsobmann

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Betriebsobmann was a political position of the Nazi Party which existed between the years 1939 and 1945. The term first came into being at the start of World War II and was unique only to the local level of the Nazi Party, known as the Ortsgruppen.

Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party

Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party were paramilitary titles used by the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) between approximately 1928 and the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945. Such ranks were held within the political leadership corps of the Nazi Party, charged with the overseeing the regular Nazi Party members.

Nazi Party Fascist political party in Germany (1920-1945)

The National Socialist German Workers' Party, commonly referred to in English as the Nazi Party, was a far-right political party in Germany that was active between 1920 and 1945, that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers' Party, existed from 1919 to 1920.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Contents

Duties

Translated as Shop Steward, or literally "Workers' Representative", the duties of the Betreibsobmann were generally the same as a labor union foreman and focused primary on the local level of war production as well as representing the interests of factory workers. Later, as the war progressed, the Betriebsobmann were in charge of production quotas and often would report workers who were not meeting standards. War defeatism and anti-Nazi sympathies were also immediately reported.

Factory facility where goods are made, or processed

A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial site, usually consisting of buildings and machinery, or more commonly a complex having several buildings, where workers manufacture goods or operate machines processing one product into another.

A production quota is a goal for the production of a good. It is typically set by a government or an organization, and can be applied to an individual worker, firm, industry or country. Quotas can be set high to encourage production, or can be used to restrict production to support a certain price level.

Seniority

Betriebsobmann was divided into four levels of seniority, denoted by a letter placed after the title ranging from (A), (B), (C), and (D).

In addition to the primary rank of Betreibsobmann, a junior rank of Betriebsblockobmann existed as an assistant to the local Blockleiter . There was also a "Cell Operations Foreman" position, known as Betriebszellenobmann as well as a senior foreman position known as Hauptbetriebsobmann. In all, the following were the various levels of seniority:

Blockleiter from 1933 was the title of a lower Nazi Party political rank responsible for the political supervision of a neighborhood. Referred to in common parlance as Blockwart, the officials were in charge to form the link between the Nazi authorities and the general population. The derogatory term Blockwart ("snoop") survives in German colloquial language.

The position of Betriebsobmann was not an actual political rank, but rather a title. Those Nazi Party members holding the position of Betreibsobmann also would hold one of several Nazi Party paramilitary ranks. The position of Betriebsobmann would be denoted by a political armband.

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