The organization was founded in July 1919. In 1920 the name
Gewerkschaftsbund was adopted, and a headquarters was set up in
Liberec.
Gewerkschaftsbund emerged as a prominent force in the amongst labour movements in Czechoslovakia, having around 75% of unionized German workers as its members in 1921 (at the time Czechoslovakia had a general unionizing rate of 50%, one of the higher in Europe). Major unions affiliated to
Gewerkschaftsbund were Textile Workers (90,878 members in 1921), Metalworkers (39,209 members in 1921) and Miners (37,582 members in 1921). In 1922,
Czechoslovak communists had formed a separate trade union centre,
Mezinárodní všeodborový svaz (MVS). However, not all communist trade unionists joined MVS. As of 1926, there were around 15 000 communists inside the
Gewerkschaftsbund affiliates. ==Merger into OSČ==