Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund

Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (FDGB), East German trade union federation. Controlled by the Socialist Unity Party, the FDGB was formed shortly after World War II with virtually compulsory membership. With the rapid reduction of private enterprise in the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany, the trade unions dropped their original function of representing the workers’ interests as against the employers’ and instead became agents for the administration of social insurance, for the organization of technical training and political...