BRANDTS, FRANZ

BRANDTS, Franz. - Sociologist and industrialist, b. at München-Gladbach on 12 Nov. 1834, d. there on 5 Oct. 1914. He deserves credit for having promoted the textile industry in the Rhineland and for having been among the first to address social problems in Germany on a practical basis. With the Arbeiterwohl association he concretely posed the problem of improving workers’ conditions, influencing in this sense the authorities, the press, and above all the leaders and organizations of German Catholicism. When in 1890 the “Volksverein für das katholische Deutschland” (People’s Association for Catholic Germany), with its headquarters in München-Gladbach, was founded, B. became its first president. He decisively opposed the spirit of Manchester liberalism, advocating in its place an enlightened paternalism. In his factories he created a model organization for the benefit of workers, with the aim of eventually enabling the workers themselves to participate in the management of the social affairs of the enterprise.