Weimar political parties

Weimar political parties

Left-wing

• Kommunistische Arbeiter-Partei Deutschlands — Was an ultraleftist party that split from the KPD in 1920. They rejected participation in the Parliament and called for immediate revolutionary action. Immediately after its formation the party endured a series of splinters and lost much of the little influence it had.
• Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands — Formed out of a number of left-wing groups, including the left wing of the USPD and the Spartacist League. It was a Marxist-Leninist party that advocated revolution by the proletariat and the creation of a communist regime according to the example of the Soviet Union. The party's major paper was the Die Rote Fahne.
• Vereinigte Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands
• Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands — Split from the KPD in 1928, representing the "Right Opposition" of the Bukharinist against the Stalinist "Center" and the Trotskyist "Left Opposition". It never intended to be a real political party, but to influence the KPD.
• Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands —, "Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany" - left wing faction that had split from the SPD in 1917. Parts of it split off, forming the Communist Party, while the majority reunited with the MSPD in 1922. It was a Marxist party that sought change through parliament and social progressive programs.
• Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands —, "Socialist Workers' Party of Germany" - left wing faction that had split from the SPD in 1931. Parts of the USPD and dissenters from the KPD and the KPO joined it, but it remained small. Its political positions were near to those of the USPD, wavering between the SPD and the KPD..
• Sozialistischer Bund.
• Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands — ; they supported the parliamentary system of democracy, and extensive social programs in the economy. Its party newspaper was the Vorwärts.

  Centre

• Deutsche Demokratische Partei — German Democratic Party. A social-liberal party. One of the two main liberal parties. Their party newspapers were the Vossische Zeitung and the Volkswacht.
• The German State Party — Formed in 1930 by the DDP, the People's National Reich Association and remains of the Christian Trade Unionists. In 1930, it published a "Manifesto of the German State Party".
• Wirtschaftspartei.
• Hanseatischer Volksbund
• Zentrumspartei — The Centre Party was the continuation of the pre-Weimar Catholic party of the same name. Their party newspaper was Germania.
• Volksnationale Reichsvereinigung

  Right-wing

• Konservative Volkspartei — Conservative People's Party
• Deutsche Volkspartei — German People's Party. Originating from the pre-Weimar National Liberals, it was a centre-right national liberal party. Gustav Stresemann was its chairman.
• Christliche Volkspartei
• Bayerische Volkspartei — Bavarian People's Party, a Catholic and conservative party
• Christlich-Sozialer Volksdienst
• Christlich-Nationale Bauern- und Landvolkpartei — Christian National Peasants' and Rural Peoples Party
• Deutsche anti-semitische Vereinigung — German Anti-Semitic League
• Deutsche Arbeiterpartei — The German Workers' Party was formed in 1919, by Anton Drexler with Gottfried Feder, Dietrich Eckart and Karl Harrer, and derived in part from the Thule Society, the cover organization of the occult ariosophist Germanenorden. This party added the adjective "National Socialist" in its name and became the "National Socialist German Workers' Party" in 1920.
• Deutschsoziale Partei
• Deutsch-Hannoversche Partei — German-Hanoverian Party
• Deutsche Reformpartei — German Reform Party.
• Deutschvölkische Freiheitspartei — German Völkisch Freedom Party; this was the party of General Ludendorff. It campaigned for an authoritarian regime that would be very nationalistic and promoted socioeconomic questions. It also sought to close the stock exchanges and nationalize the banks. In May 1924, it obtained 6.4% of the vote in alliance with NSDAP, but fell to 3% in the next election, in December 1924.
• Deutschvölkische Reichspartei
• Deutschnationale Volkspartei — German National People's Party. It presented itself as a Volksgemeinschaft or non-class party. It included remnants from the German Conservative Party, the Free Conservative Party, the Völkische movement, the Christian Social movement, and the Pan-German Association. It established two labor unions; one for the blue-collar worker and one for the white-collar worker, which had been politically unimportant. The DNVP was the main authoritarian right party of Weimar Germany, but moved to the radical right after coming under the control of press baron Alfred Hugenberg in 1928. It organized the National Opposition in 1929, together with leaders of the Stahlhelm, Dr. Schacht, the president of the central bank and Hitler's Nazi Party, to oppose Chancellor Hermann Müller's Grand Coalition.
• Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei - The National Socialist German Workers' Party was a far-right political party in Germany that was active between 1920 and 1945, that created and supported the ideology of National Socialism. Its precursor, the German Workers' Party, existed from 1919 to 1920.It supported the ideas of Volksgemeinschaft, Pan-Germanism, Lebensraum and the 'Aryan Master Race.' And the party incorporated fervent antisemitism, anti-communism, anti-capitalism, scientific racism, and the use of eugenics into its creed. Headed by Adolf Hitler from 1921, the Nazi Party grew to be the largest political party in Germany by 1933.
• Deutscher Volksverein — the German People's League was started in 1881 by Max Liebermann von Sonnenberg, a former officer, and Bernhard Förster, Nietzsche's brother in law.
• Deutsches Landvolk. Cover name for the Christian National Peasant/Rural Party in the 1930 Reichstag elections.
• Deutschsozialistische Partei — The German-Socialist Party. It was headed by Julius Streicher, and it was also highly organized, despite having a rather small size. In a controversial move, it dissolved itself in 1922 and many of its members entered the Nazi Party.
• Großdeutsche Arbeiterpartei
• National Bolsheviks — Led by Ernst Niekisch, they combined ultranationalism with social radicalism by claiming to espouse both 'German' principles and much of the programme carried out by the Bolsheviks under Lenin.

  Other political organizations

• League of Agrarians. It took the name Reichslandbund after 1920.
• Allgemeiner Deutscher Beamtenbund a civil servants league started by the SPD.
• Bavarian Peasants' League operated throughout Germany but especially in its stronghold of Bavaria. It had democratic, anticlerical leanings and subscribed to a narrow Bavarian particularism
• Bauernvereine. Farmers' associations associated with the Center Party and were located in the Catholic west and south.
• Bauernverein. Peasant association located in Schleswig-Holstein. Without religious ties, it initially supported a liberal economic and political policy.
• Christian Social Movement
• Deutsche Landwirtschafsrat
• Federation of German Retail Business
• Green Front. An umbrella group which consisted of the Landbund, the Deutsche Bauernshaft, the Association of Christian-German Peasant Unions, and the German Agricultural Council. It too heavily promoted the Junkers interest and drove many farmers out.
• Kampfgemeinschaft Revolutionärer Nationalsozialisten
• Landvolkbewegung A farmers' movement mainly in Schleswig-Holstein formed in the aftermath of the January 1928 demonstrations.
• Reichsbund der Deserteure — National Association of Deserters; led by Karl Liebknecht; formed before the breakup from the Independent Socialists.
• Reichslandbund — Natural Rural League
• Spartakusbund — left wing of the USPD led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, became the German Communist Party.

  Unions

• Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund
• Allgemeiner freier Angestelltenbund white-collar employee union affiliated with the SPD-dominated free trade unions.
• Christliche Volkspartei — and the Center Party )
• Christlich-föderalistische Reichswahlliste — and the Christliche Volkspartei )
• Deutscher Landarbeiterverband. SPD organized.
• Deutschnationaler Handlungsgehilfenverband — the conservative white collar worker union. The DHV leadership did not fully support the NSDAP because it didn't recognize the independence of unions.
• Gesamtverband Deutscher Beamtengewerkschaften was a conservative civil service union.
• Gewerkschaftsbund der Angestellten was a Hirsch-Duncker union.
• Gewerkschaftsbund deutscher Angestelltenverbände Conservative white-collar union
• Reichsbund Deutscher Angestellten-Berufsverbände Conservative white-collar union.
• Vereinigung der chrislichen-deutschen Bauernvereine.
• Zentralverband der Angestellten , an association of white-collar unions started by the SPD.
• Nationalsozialistische Freiheitspartei and the National Socialist German Workers' Party )
• Nationalsozialistische Freiheitsbewegung and the National Socialist German Workers' Party )

  Other Organizations

• Alldeutscher Verband
• Harzburger Front
• Katholische Burschenvereine. Catholic youth associations that the Catholic Church started in southern Germany to provide Catholic youth with numerous activities.
• 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.
• Tatkreis movement
• Völkisch movement

  Secret societies

• Organisation Consul — In July 1921, Captain Ehrhardt and several members of his brigade formed this organization to commit political assassinations.
• Feme — an irregular tribunal based on ones from medieval Germany that at the time would administer justice when the government was too weak to maintain order.

  Reichstag election results

• 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

List by abbreviation

• ADB — Allgemeiner Deutscher Beamtenbund
• AfA — Allgemeiner Freier Angestelltenbund
• BB — Bavarian Peasants' League
• BVP — Bavarian People's Party
• Center — Catholic Center Party
• CNBL — Christian-National Peasants' and Farmers' Party
• DAF — German Labor Front
• DAP — German Workers Party
• DBB — German Civil Service Federation
• DBP — German Farmers' Party
• DDP — German Democratic Party
• DHV — Deutschnatinaler Handlungsgehilfenverband.
• DNAP — Deutschnational Arbeiterband
• DNAgB — Deutschnationaler Angestelltenbund
• DNVP — German National People's Party
• DSP — German Socialist Party
• DStP — German State Party
• DVFP — German Völkisch Freedom Party
• DVP — German People's Party
• GdA — Gewerkschaftsbund der Angestellten
• GDB — Gesamtverband Deutscher Beamtengewerkschaften
• Gedag — Gewerkschaftsbund deutscher Angestelltenverbände
• KPD — Communist Party of Germany
• NSDAP — National Socialist German Workers' Party
• NSFP — National Socialist Freedom Party
• NSV — National Socialist People's Welfare
• OC — Organisation Consul
• RDA — Reichsbund Deutscher Angestellten-Berufsverbände
• RLB — Reichslandbund
• SPD — Social Democratic Party of Germany
• ZdA — Zentralverband der Angestellten
• WP — Wirtschaftspartei