German political parties
In the fourteen years the Weimar Republic was in existence, some forty parties were represented in the Reichstag. This fragmentation of political power was in part due to the use of a peculiar proportional representation electoral system that encouraged regional or small special interest parties[1] and in part due to the many challenges facing the nascent German democracy in this period.
After the Nazi seizure of power, they used the provisions of the Reichstag Fire Decree to effectively eliminate their chief adversaries, first the Communists (March 1933) and then the Social Democrats (22 June 1933) through arrests, confiscation of assets and removal from office. Other parties were pressured into disbanding on their own or were swept away by the "Law Against the Formation of Parties" (14 July 1933) which declared the Nazi Party to be Germany's only legal political party.[2]
Weimar political parties
Other political organizations
Besides the larger parties, there were also a multitude of smaller groups and parties that that were either affiliated with the electoral coalitions of larger parties or were organizationally independent and participated with their own lists either throughout the entire Republic or only in individual constituencies.[4]
Unions
- Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (ADGB)
- Allgemeiner freier Angestelltenbund (AfA) white-collar employee union affiliated with the SPD-dominated free trade unions. (Pro-Weimar Republic)
- Deutscher Landarbeiterverband (German Agricultural Workers' Union) SPD-organized. (Pro-Weimar Republic)
- Deutschnationaler Handlungsgehilfenverband (DHV) (National Association of Clerical Employees) — the conservative white-collar worker union. The DHV leadership did not fully support the NSDAP because it didn't recognize the independence of unions. (Against the government)
- Freie Arbeiter-Union Deutschlands (FAUD) — an anarcho-syndicalist trade union that participated in the revolution in Germany and continued to be involved in the German labor movement in the early 1920s.
- Gesamtverband Deutscher Beamtengewerkschaften (GDB) was a conservative civil service union.
- Gewerkschaftsbund der Angestellten (GdA) was a Hirsch-Duncker union.
- Gewerkschaftsbund deutscher Angestelltenverbände (Gedag) was a conservative white-collar union.
- Reichsbund Deutscher Angestellten-Berufsverbände was a conservative white-collar union.
- Vereinigung der chrislichen-deutschen Bauernvereine (Association of Christian-German Peasant Unions)
- Zentralverband der Angestellten (ZdA), an association of white-collar unions started by the SPD. (Pro-Weimar Republic)
Other Organizations
- Alldeutscher Verband — Pan-German League. A nationalist and colonialist organization whose goal was to nurture, protect and expand German nationality as a unifying force. (Against the government)
- Deutsches Handwerk. German crafts organization headed by Zeleny. Zeleny advocated positions that would improve conditions for the old middle class. It would later back the NSDAP.
- Katholische Burschenvereine. Catholic youth associations that the Catholic Church started in southern Germany to provide Catholic youth with numerous activities.
- Tatkreis movement
- Völkisch movement (Against the government)
Secret societies
- Bund Wiking — Viking League. A paramilitary organization founded in Munich in 1923 by members of the banned Organisation Consul as a successor group. Its stated aim was the establishment of a military dictatorship and modification of the Treaty of Versailles by armed means, including provocations intended to incite workers into violence and provide the pretext for a coup.
- Organisation Consul (OC) — An ultra-nationalist and anti-Semitic terrorist organization that operated from 1920 to 1922. It was formed by Hermann Ehrhardt and several members of his Freikorps brigade. It was responsible for political assassinations, including former Minister of Finance Matthias Erzberger and Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau, that had the goal of destroying the Republic and replacing it with a right-wing dictatorship. The group was banned by the German government in 1922.
- Schwarze Reichswehr — Black Reichswehr. Extra-legal paramilitary formations promoted by the German Reichswehr to circumvent manpower restrictions imposed by the Versailles Treaty. Black Reichswehr members were responsible for several Feme murders. Active 1921 to 1923.
Reichstag election results
All vote numbers in thousands.
- Regional= Total for regional parties not listed individually
- Rightist= Total for right-wing parties not listed individually
- Splinter= Total for splinter parties not listed individually or among regional or rightist
6 June 1920includes by-elections in Schleswig-Holstein and East Prussia (20 February 1921)and Upper Silesia (19 November 1922)Eligible 35,920 Turnout 28,196 % voting 78.4(Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 590 4USPD 5,047 83SPD 6,104 103Centre 3,910 64BVP 1,173 21DDP 2,334 39WP 219 4DVP 3,919 65DNVP 4,249 71 Regional 709 5 Splinter 161 0Total 28,415 459
4 May 1924Eligible 38,375 Turnout 29,282% voting 76.3(Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 3,693 45USPD 235 0SPD 6,009 100Centre 3,914 65BVP 947 16DDP 1,655 28WP 530 10DVP 2,728 45DNVP 5,697 95NSFP 1,918 32Regional 608 5Rightist 666 10Splinter 682 4Total 29,282 455
7 December 1924Eligible 33,987Turnout 30,290% voting 77.7(Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 2,709 45USPD 99 0SPD 7,881 131Centre 4,092 69BVP 1,134 19DDP 1,920 32WP 639 17DVP 3,049 51DNVP 6,206 103NSFB 907 14Regional 708 4Rightist 545 8Splinter 401 0Total 30,290 493
20 May 1928 Eligible 41,224 Turnout 30,754 % voting 74.6 (Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 3,265 54SPD 9,153 153Centre 3,712 61BVP 946 17DDP 1,479 25WP 1,388 23DVP 2,680 45DNVP 4,382 73NSDAP 810 12Regional 956 3Rightist 1,025 23Splinter 958 2Total 30,754 491
14 September 1930Eligible 42,958Turnout 34,971% voting 81.4(Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 4,592 77SPD 8,578 143Centre 4,128 68BVP 1,059 19DDP 1,322 20WP 1,362 23DVP 1,578 30DNVP 2,458 41NSDAP 6,383 107Regional 683 3Rightist 2,373 46Splinter 455 0Total 34,971 577
31 July 1932 Eligible 44,211 Turnout 36,882% voting 83.4 (Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 5,283 89 SPD 7,960 133Centre 4,589 75BVP 1,193 22DDP 372 4WP 147 2DVP 136 7DNVP 2,177 37NSDAP 13,769 230Regional 219 0Rightist 552 9Splinter 185 0Total 36,582 608
6 November 1932 Eligible 44,374 Turnout 35,471 % voting 79.9 (Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 5,980 100SPD 7,248 121Centre 4,230 70BVP 1,095 20DDP 336 2WP 110 1DVP 661 11DNVP 2,959 52NSDAP 11,737 196Regional 353 1Rightist 510 10Splinter 252 0Total 35,471 584
5 March 1933 Eligible 44,665 Turnout 39,343 % voting 88.1 (Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 4,848 81 SPD 7,181 120Centre 4,425 74BVP 1,074 18DDP 334 5 DVP 432 2DNVP 3,137 52NSDAP 17,277 288Regional 1,246 0Rightist 384 7Splinter 5 0Total 39,343 647
List by abbreviation
See also
References
- ^ Luebke, David. "The Weimar Constitution: A Primer". University of Oregon. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- ^ "Law against the Founding of New Parties". Holocaust Encyclopedia. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ a b Carina Simon (2016). "Heinz Brauweiler: Eine politische Biographie im Zeichen des antidemokratischen Denkens" (PDF).
- ^ "Vielparteiensystem Parteien Weimarer Republik 1918/19-1933". teachsam.de. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Reichstagswahlen 1919-1933 - Diverse Linke". www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
- ^ a b c "Preußen: Wahl zum 6. Reichstag 1932". www.gonschior.de. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
- ^ "Vielparteiensystem Parteien Weimarer Republik 1918/19-1933". teachsam.de. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
Sources
Further reading
- Halperin, S. William (1946). Germany Tried Democracy: A Political History of the Reich from 1918 to 1933 online.
- Parteien in der Weimarer Republik Vielparteiensystem Weimarer Republik 1918/19-1933 (in German)
