Der Verband katholischer kaufmännischer Vereinigungen Deutschlands 1877–1933 by Veronika Laufen (review)

This excellent book examines the relationship between labor and Catholicism in Germany—a subject largely neglected by research until now. At first, political liberalism dominated commerce in the country. Founded in Koblenz, the Union of Catholic Commercial Associations brought together local entities of Catholic businessmen in an umbrella organization through general meetings at Mainz (1877) and Koblenz (1878). Priests played an eminent role in leading the organization on the local and regional levels, although the Union was based on the idea of lay apostolate. Its members held a profound loyalty to the Catholic Church, the bishops, and the pope and drew on Catholic social teaching and the needs of their professional milieu to construct their philosophy. The Union relied on two principles—Catholicism (Katholizität) and parity (Parität)—thus seeking to unite the white-collar workers on the one side with the merchants on the other. It unfolded a broad spectrum of activities, including the publication of twelve periodicals. The most important was the Union’s magazine, Merkuria. Other initiatives included life and health insurance, Social Security agencies, savings banks, and self-supporting recreational facilities. The Union also provided its members with job opportunities, legal assistance, scholarships, and funds in cases of economic hardship. A main concern was with the condition of a Catholic minority in a Protestant-dominated society. The Union’s educational programs and professional training initiatives were a way to remove or reduce disadvantages imposed by Catholic inferiority (katholische Inferiorität).

Because of its emphasis on parity, the Union differed from the Christian trade unions. The latter operated as socially and politically effective pressure groups, acting only as representative bodies of working-class interests without regard to religious denomination. In contrast, the Catholic merchants’ Christian faith informed a conception of corporatism and an interpretation of Christian doctrine so that they favored a peaceful agreement of socially distinct or even opposite groups. Such a perspective resulted in the association’s failure to forge wage agreements. The hardships of the political situation forced the Union to merge with stronger partners in Christian trade unionism. This group eventually joined with the Association of the German National Commercial Clerks (Deutschnationaler Handlungsgehilfenverband), although deep reservations existed about the nationalist and antisemitic tendencies of the latter organization. From 1933 to 1938 (the year of the Union’s dissolution), the group was reduced to silence, only permitted to conduct purely religious demonstrations in public.

The study of Veronika Laufen is impressive, offering much valuable and reliable information. Consulted were publications and archives of the Union as well as a number of episcopal and town archives. The interpretation of documents is accurate and clearly arranged. A balanced narrative is presented, offering a clear-cut overview of structural features and chronological developments. Laufen targets the heart of the problems, expressing sympathy for her subject, but giving an objective analysis. She follows Michael Klöcker in maintaining that the Catholic bourgeois milieu tended toward “authority.” That might be true for the commitment of the commercial clerks to their Church, but this argument has less validity given the obvious achievements of an autonomous organization in a society that was indifferent or even hostile to Catholics during the Kaiserreich and the Third Reich.

The addition of a biographical index would have been helpful. Individuals such as Heinrich Held, Peter Cahensly, Otto Gerig, and Peter Altmeier tend to receive the most coverage, whereas the other protagonists of the Union are lesser known. The latter deserve much more attention in current historiography on social Catholicism in Germany.