Born in Lohr am Main, Nätscher completed an apprenticeship as a butcher in Würzburg, which was interrupted by serving in the military from 1915 to 1918.
[1][2] The Nazi government banned trade unions in May 1933, and Nätscher was arrested, and was in custody for most of the next three years.
In this post, he was highly critical of president Ferdinand Warnecke, who wished to centralise the union.
[1][2] In 1951, Nätscher was elected as president of the NGG, in which role he campaigned for the union to be politically active, and in particular to oppose right-wing extremism.
In 1958, he was also elected as president of the International Union of Food, Drinks and Tobacco Workers' Associations (IUF), the first German to hold the post.