Auf verlorenem Posten? : Die Praxis der Betriebsräte in den Aufsichtsräten in der Weimarer Republik

Abstract

The "Law on the Appointment of Works Council Members to the Supervisory Board" of February 15, 1922, marked the birth of corporate co-determination in Germany. For the first time, the institutional appointment of a maximum of two employee representatives to corporate supervisory bodies was legally established. In practice, however, this first legal enactment of corporate co-determination in the Weimar Republic met with fierce resistance in many companies. Heavy industry, in particular, remained unwilling to cooperate with its interest groups; works councils were excluded from important information and decisions on supervisory boards and relegated to second-class supervisory board members. In contrast, employers in the "new" industries, particularly the chemical and electrical engineering sectors, accommodated the new legal provisions established by the Weimar Republic.