Born in Zirkow, Paeplow completed an apprenticeship as a bricklayer, and moved to Chemnitz in his journeyman years.
In 1892, he became the editor of the local SPD newspaper, the Chemnitzer Beobachter, and also became a shop steward for the Central Union of Masons.
From 1899, he served on the executive of the General Commission of German Trade Unions, although he stood down in 1902, when the federation's headquarters moved to Berlin.
Taking a hard-line nativist stance, Paeplow argued in favor of restricting immigration, especially from Asia, Italy, and the Slavic lands.
[3] Paeplow supported German involvement in World War I, and argued against any industrial action while the conflict was ongoing.