Workers in the chocolate and caramel factories in 3x4: History of work and photography according to the Regional Labor Office in Rio Grande do Sul, 1933-1943

Abstract

The first Brazilian chocolate and caramel factory was established in Porto Alegre,in 1891, on the initiative of the German immigrants, and also brothers, Franz and MaxNeugebauer and also the German immigrant Fritz Gerhardt.This is how the history of thesweets made by the Neugebauer family began. Production-oriented activities have remained tothis day, although the factory it has changed owners since the 1980s.Besides the Neugebauerfamily factory, in Rio Grande do Sul other plantsmanufacturing the same product emerged,such as the Ernestides Lopes Caramel Factory. This article analyzes a group of workers whowere connected to the chocolate and caramelfactories in this state and requested a professionalcard from 1933 to 1943. It intends to investigate a set of data and the 3x4 photographs ofthese workers present in their professional qualification cards – a document that contained allnecessary information to request the professional card.The research,carried out in the collectionof the Regional Labor Department, safeguarded in the Center of Historical Documentationof the Federal University of Pelotas, included a significant number of workers in this type offactory. Among them were some specialized foreigners, women and young female workers.