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94-577: German Party may refer to: German-Hanoverian Party , a regionalist party based in the old Kingdom of Hanover German Party (1947) , a regionalist and conservative political party and governing coalition party German Party (1961) , a minor defunct German conservative party German Party (1993) , a small right wing party active in Germany German Party (Romania) German Party (Slovakia) German Party (Yugoslavia) German Party of

188-527: A Grand Coalition administration, comprising the Centre, both Liberal parties and the Social Democrats, which lasted until November, when the Social Democrats left the coalition and the Centre's Wilhelm Marx became chancellor of a cabinet of the remaining parties. In January 1925 the non-affiliated Hans Luther was appointed chancellor and formed a coalition between the Centre, both Liberal parties,

282-786: A Free State of Hanover within the Weimar Republic , and launched a secondary coup during the Kapp Putsch in March 1920 with the aim of occupying government buildings in Hanover and declaring independence. While the coup ended in failure, it shocked public opinion, showing that even the DHP, which was regarded as "moderate separatist" party, was willing to risk violence and civil war under circumstances. Liberal and republican politicians also pointed out that "the authorities tasked with upholding

376-489: A Nazi as Chancellor, provided he could gain the trust of the President, which at that time seemed quite a difficult task. The negotiations were bound for failure, since the aims of the two groups were largely incompatible. The Centre argued that the vote of July had "called Hitler not to dictatorship but to responsibility, to getting in line with law and constitution". They hoped to "build a strong government without touching

470-507: A broad outline of his government's objectives, Hitler used the questionnaire presented by Kaas to declare the talks a failure and obtain the President's approval for calling for new elections for the third time in about half a year. These elections in March 1933 were already marred by the SA 's terror, after the Reichstag fire and civil rights had been suspended by President Hindenburg through

564-527: A coalition with the Centre Party, promising an equal share in government. Since this went too far for the Centre's national leadership, the negotiations were transferred to the national level, where Heinrich Brüning conferred with Gregor Strasser . During that period the anti-Nazi polemics ceased in order not to disturb the negotiations. Since the NSDAP was the larger party, the Centre was willing to accept

658-465: A coup attempt that became known as the Welfenputsch  [ de ] . The party declined after the failure of the 1924 Hanoverian secession referendum and moved to the left, abandoning monarchism in favour of republicanism and denouncing right-wing parties and movements. It disbanded in 1933 in response to the rise of the NSDAP. The party was founded in 1867 in protest to the annexation of

752-534: A manifesto, the number of Catholic representatives in the Prussian Diet rose considerably. In December 1870, they formed a new "Centre" faction, also called the "Constitution Party" to emphasise its adherence to constitutional liberties. Three months later, early in 1871, the Catholic representatives to the new national parliament, the Reichstag , also formed a "Centre" faction . The party not only defended

846-668: A more decentralised German union and the preservation of confessional schools. As such, the German-Hanoverian Party condemned the Kulturkampf and spoke in favour of Roman Catholic interests. As part of its cooperation with the SPD , the DHP also opposed the Anti-Socialist Laws , as many of the party members "felt a genuine obligation to protect the working class and thus found it expedient to cooperate with

940-569: A parochial Hanoverian perspective. The DHP was closely associated with Ludwig Windthorst , who used to be a minister in independent Hanover. Despite supporting and campaigning for the DHP, Windthorst never joined the party, and focused on building an all-Catholic coalition, becoming a co-founded of the Catholic Centre Party in the process. Once the Centre Party entered politics, the DHP cooperated with it; both parties were opposed to étatism and Prussian taxation, while also seeking

1034-417: A plan to form a broad-based Christian party. The party was an ideologically diverse coalition of Catholic politicians, comprising republicans like Matthias Erzberger and Joseph Wirth as well as right-wingers like Franz von Papen . As a result of the party's flexibility, it participated in every government between 1919 and 1932, both with parties to their left and to their right. The Centre mainly provided

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1128-473: A success would have led to a presidential crisis, as Hindenburg was unwilling to have a coalition parties dictate the administration. In September he ended all speculations by dissolving the Reichstag again, almost immediately after its first meeting. Papen's act did not end the negotiations between the Centre and the NSDAP. In fact, it made further meetings possible, since the Centre Party's leadership blamed

1222-544: A successful conclusion, Hitler used the Centre negotiations in order to put pressure on the Papen administration. The negotiations were also met with criticism from within the Centre Party. Some rejected them as "currying favour with the National Socialists" and giving credence to Hitler's strategy of legality. Catholic journalists Fritz Gerlich and Ingbert Naab dismissed as "illusionary" the attempt to "uphold

1316-498: A working parliament by cooperation with the National Socialists, since the three parties together had attained 53% of the seats. When Papen called upon the people to "reject the dictatorship of a single party", the Centre Party agreed "without reservation", but it also stated that "with the same resolution we reject the dictatorship of the nameless party, now in power … even if cloaked with the illusion of non-partisanship". After Papen failed to get Hitler's support for his administration,

1410-545: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages German-Hanoverian Party German political commentators mockingly considered the party the Protestant wing of the Centre Party, given their similar political programs and anti-Prussian agenda. E. Bukey remarked that "the DHP behaved as if it were an integral part of the Zentrum" and "had most Guelphs not been Protestants

1504-602: The AfD and joined the Centre Party. The Centre Party belongs to the political spectrum of " Political Catholicism " that, emerging in the early 19th century after the turmoil of the Napoleonic wars, had changed the political face of Germany. Many Catholics found themselves in Protestant dominated states. The first major conflict between the Catholic Church and a Protestant state was the "Colonian Church conflict", when

1598-665: The District of Stade in 1918, which was previously the stronghold of the National Liberals . The party then succeeded in having a plebiscite held in the Prussian Province of Hanover on 19 May 1924. The referendum was endorsed by the Bavarian minister of the interior, Franz Xaver Schweyer  [ de ] , who wished the ‘Lower Saxon tribe’s endeavours to gain independence every success’. Schweyer

1692-558: The German Agrarian League . Lastly, the party also lost the support of local Roman Catholics as it severed its ties to the Centre Party in 1912. The main reason for the decline, however, was the transformation of Hanover from a rural nation into a heavily industrialised one, which eroded the party's overwhelmingly rural base. During the German Revolution of 1918–1919 , the DHP advocated the implementation of

1786-524: The German entry into World War I , the party also used the debates about war bonds to push for a repeal of the last remnants of anti-Jesuit laws. In 1916, the Reichstag adopted a resolution introduced by the Centre Party, calling on the government to follow the Oberste Heeresleitung (OHL) 's recommendation on the use of submarines. The OHL's policy of resuming unrestricted submarine warfare

1880-649: The Kingdom of Hanover by the Kingdom of Prussia in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War . They wanted the revival of the Kingdom of Hanover and the restoration of the sequestrated assets of the former ruling House of Welf . The party therefore was also called the Welfen , and drew its strongest support from the rural areas around Hannover. In the Reichstag , DHP deputies usually acted as allies of

1974-689: The Prussian government interfered in the question of mixed marriages and the religious affiliation of children resulting from these. This led to serious aggressions against the Catholic population of the Rhineland and Westphalia and culminated in the arrest of the Archbishop of Cologne . At that time, one of the founding fathers of Political Catholicism was journalist Joseph Görres , who called upon Catholics to "stand united" for their common goals, "religious liberty and political and civil equality of

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2068-765: The Reichstag Fire Decree . Still the Centre Party campaigned hard against the Hitler administration and managed to preserve their former vote of roughly 11 per cent. The government parties NSDAP and DNVP however jointly won 52 per cent of the vote. This result shattered the Centre Party's hopes of being indispensable for obtaining a majority in parliament. The party was now faced with two alternatives – either to persist in protesting and risk reprisals like Communists and Social Democrats, or to declare their loyal cooperation, in order to protect their members. As shown by subsequent events, though deeply uncomfortable with

2162-696: The Social Democratic Party (SPD). The Centre's Constantin Fehrenbach was elected president of the National Assembly. The party actively cooperated with Social Democrats and left-liberal German Democratic Party (DDP) in drawing up the Weimar Constitution , which guaranteed what the Centre had been fighting for since its founding: equality for Catholics and autonomy for Catholic Church throughout Germany. The party

2256-729: The Stab-in-the-back myth , as well as for the humiliations of the Versailles Treaty and reparations. Erzberger himself, who had signed the armistice, was assassinated by right-wing extremists in 1921. The parties of the Weimar Coalition (Social Democrats, Centre and the left-liberal German Democratic Party (DDP) were the base of the Weimar Republic but lost their majority in the 1920 elections. After this, majority governments were rare as they required

2350-597: The Weimar Coalition . This combination, however, lost its majority in the 1920 elections . The formation of the new Christian People's Party in Rhineland (May 1920) caused considerable concern among the Centre leadership. Seeing the exodus of conservative Catholics caused by a sharp left turn of the Centre at the end of war, Adam Stegerwald proposed his "Essen program" (September 1920) that promised Germany to become "Christian, democratic, German, and social" and

2444-539: The Wilhelmine era . Occupational, religious and regional identities prevailed over a unitary German one, and "bonds of unity that did exist were provided by the artificial dominance of Prussia". As such, the DHP appealed to the regional pride of the voters, and demonstrated a lack of integration of Hannover into Prussia and thus Germany, as the Hanoverian population felt alienated from Berlin. The main voter base of

2538-583: The "New Era" governments of Wilhelm I adopted more lenient policies, the club renamed itself "Fraction of the Centre" in order to open itself up to include non-Catholics. This name stemmed from the fact that in the Landtag the Catholic representatives were seated in the centre, between the Conservatives on the right and the Liberals on the left. Faced with military and constitutional issues, where there

2632-614: The "good times" before 1866, such as lower taxes under independent Hanover. One of the main element of the DHP's campaign was its newspaper Deutsche Volkszeitung , which maintained a small circulation of 6000 copies sold daily. The party was also supported by unrelated regionalist newspapers, such as the Deutsch-Hannoverscher Volkskalender . Throughout the 19th century, the German-Hanoverian Party remained strictly separatist and campaigned mainly on local issues, while only commenting on national developments from

2726-561: The BVP and, for the first time, the right-wing German National People's Party (DNVP). The Centre, the BVP and the DNVP jointly supported legislation to expand religious schools. In the same year, Wilhelm Marx was the Centre's candidate in the presidential elections . In the second round, combining the support of the Weimar coalition parties, he gained 45.3% of the vote and finished a close second to

2820-401: The Catholic gentry met at Soest and drew up an election programme. The main points were: There were also more general demands such as for a more federal, decentralised state, a limitation of state expenditure, a just distribution of taxes, the financial strengthening of the middle classes and the legal "removal of such evil states, that threaten the worker with moral or bodily ruin". With such

2914-426: The Catholic nobleman Franz von Papen as Chancellor, a member of the Centre's right wing and former cavalry captain. The intention was to break the connection of the Centre with the other republican parties or to split the party and integrate it into a comprehensive conservative movement. However, the Centre refused to support Papen's government in any way and criticised him for "distorting and abusing good old ideals of

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3008-539: The Catholic population. Following Bismarck's 1879 turn from free trade to protectionism and from the National Liberal party to the Conservative parties, he also abandoned the unsuccessful Kulturkampf . The Centre party remained a party of opposition to Bismarck, but after his resignation in 1890, it frequently supported the following administrations' policies in the Reichstag , particularly in

3102-772: The Centre Party in 1888. In the age of nationalism, Protestant Germans, whether Conservative (like Otto von Bismarck ) or Liberal, accused the Centre of Ultramontanism or having a greater loyalty towards the Pope than to the German nation. After the First Vatican Council , Bismarck launched the Kulturkampf ("cultural struggle") against the Catholic Church. Catholics fought back vigorously and with near-unanimity. The Centre party gained greater support from

3196-423: The Centre Party still did not give up building a broad coalition government. Since the new administration was still lacking a majority in parliament, the Centre was ready to support it, either by toleration or by coalition. Hitler intended to minimise non-Nazi participation, but feigned a willingness to cooperate with the Centre and blamed Papen and Hugenberg for denying cabinet posts to the Centre. When Kaas requested

3290-434: The Centre began their own negotiations with the National Socialists. They started in the state of Prussia , where the Weimar Coalition had just lost its majority. An alternative majority could be not found and the Papen administration had seized this opportunity to assume control of Germany's largest state in the " Prussian coup " via presidential decree. Now, the National Socialists proposed to end this direct rule by forming

3384-630: The Centre remained, by the composition of its members, politicians and voters, an essentially Catholic party. Loyal to the Pope in church matters, the Centre party steered a course independent of the Holy See on secular matters. This became apparent in the "septennat dispute" of 1886. Since the Centre Party rejected Bismarck's military budget, the Chancellor negotiated with the Holy See and promised to abolish some Kulturkampf -related laws and to support

3478-532: The Centre, acting as the representative of reactionary circles". Papen forestalled being expelled by leaving the party. Following Brüning's resignation, the Centre Party entered the opposition. Though they also opposed the Nazi Party , their energies were directed mainly against the renegade Papen. Some Centre politicians were soothed by Hitler's strategy of legality into downplaying the Nazi threat. In regard to

3572-621: The Church's liberties, but also supported representative government and minority rights in general, in particular those of German Poles , Alsatians , and Hannoverians . The Centre's main leader was the Hannoverian advocate Ludwig Windthorst and other major figures included Karl Friedrich von Savigny , Hermann von Mallinckrodt , Burghard Freiherr von Schorlemer-Alst , the brothers August Reichensperger and Peter Reichensperger , Franz von Ballestrem and Georg Count Hertling . The party

3666-538: The Constitution. This allowed him to circumvent parliament, as long as the Social Democrats - who feared another election - tolerated this practice. For this way of government based on both the President and cooperation of parliament, Brüning coined the term "authoritarian democracy". By this time, the party had become increasingly ambivalent toward democracy. Many elements of the party, including Kaas, had come to believe that only an authoritarian regime could protect

3760-642: The DDP and the DVP. In May 1921 the Weimar Coalition once again joined forces with the Centre's Joseph Wirth as Chancellor, but this minority government collapsed again in November 1922. After this, the Centre participated in the non-affiliated Wilhelm Cuno 's "government of the economy", together with both liberal parties and the Bavarian People's Party (BVP). In August 1923, the DVP's Gustav Stresemann formed

3854-494: The DHP might have disappeared altogether." The party also cooperated with the SPD and both parties together voted against the anti-socialist laws and opposed military and colonial expansion; because the "SPD-DHP cooperation was a major factor in maintaining DHP strength in the province of Hanover", DHP was able to maintain its strong position in the German Empire. The party tried to separate Hanover from Germany in 1920, in

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3948-522: The German-Hanoverian party was former nobility, small business owners, public officials and Lutherans; many groups of the Hanoverian society lost privileges upon their annexation to Prussia, and the local industry suffered as local business was forced to compete with Prussian Junkers as well. As such, many resented the loss of Hanoverian independence. The party also found support among other groups, such as Roman Catholics, who were persecuted by

4042-409: The National Socialists", but did not comment on an alternative Chancellor, since he considered that the "personal prerogative of the President". Hindenburg's negotiations with Hitler failed, but so did Kaas's attempt to form a coalition in parliament. By avoiding a clear statement, Hitler managed to pin the blame for this failure on the DNVP's Alfred Hugenberg , who had rejected Kaas's proposals. Since

4136-609: The Party's autonomy, which the Pope had accepted, and by interpreting the published letters as expressions of papal confidence in the party. As the Kulturkampf declined, debates about the character of the party emerged culminating in the Centre dispute, in 1906, after Julius Bachem had published the article "We must get out of the tower!" He called upon Catholic politicians to fulfill Windthorst's word and get out of their perpetual minority position by an effort to increase Protestant numbers among their representatives in parliament. His proposal

4230-530: The Pope in the Roman question , if the Vatican persuaded the Centre Party to accept his bill. Despite this agreement, the Centre Party rejected the budget and Bismarck called new elections. He also published the letters with the Vatican, intending to drive a wedge between Catholic voters loyal to the Pope and the Centre Party with the slogan: "The Pope against the Centre!" Windhorst managed to avert this by reaffirming

4324-600: The SPD". The party deputies also opposed and criticised the colonial policies of Germany , voting against army expansions and condemning colonial expansion as the cause of diplomatic tensions with other colonial empires. The party suffered a severe decline in the early 20th century, as its "clerical-proletarian-agrarian coalition" began to break down. Industrial workers started flocking to the SDP as industrialisation progressed, while many landed proprietors and small businesses switched to

4418-404: The Social Democrats as the largest party in the Reichstag . As Communists and National Socialists together had won the majority of seats, no government coalition could be formed without one of them. Papen tried to justify his authoritarian style of government by pointing out that parliament could no longer function properly. Countering this reasoning, the Centre and the BVP tried to re-establish

4512-465: The Stahlhelm as "too authoritarian and set on establishing a fascist dictatorship". The DHP also pledged its loyalty to the constitution, stating that "as a party of justice and out of a sense of responsibility it prefers not to pursue a politics of collapse and ruin and rather to remain true to the constitution". In the early 1930s, the party marked its largest break by embracing republicanism—however,

4606-827: The Zips , a party of the First Czechoslovak Republic founded 1920 See also [ edit ] List of political parties in Germany Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title German Party . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_Party&oldid=1209864644 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Political party disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

4700-559: The anti-Prussian Centre Party parliamentary group under Ludwig Windthorst , who although a Catholic and leader of the Centre Party was a former Hanoverian Justice Minister who was loyal to the House of Welf. From 1890 the party was led by Georg von der Decken . After the proclamation of the German Empire , the imperial authorities had failed to produce an integrated society, despite the rapid industrialization that took place during

4794-497: The cabinet had refused to support Papen's planned coup d'état by a permanent dissolution of the Reichstag, in December Hindenburg appointed General Kurt von Schleicher as Chancellor. Schleicher tried to form a " Querfront " (an alliance involving willing members of both left-wing and right-wing parties), which failed. Schleicher then revived Papen's proposed coup d'état, which the Centre Party refused to condone, as did

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4888-427: The constitution and the legal order" with a man such as Hitler with his "unconditional propensity to evil". Instead of "driving out the devil by Belzebub", the Centre should act as the parliament's conscience. The party leadership answered their critics by calling it a "duty of conscience" to try to achieve a constitutional government. Though Papen did not expect the negotiations to succeed, he was nonetheless concerned as

4982-581: The denominations". The conflict relaxed after 1840, with Frederick William IV 's accession to the throne. The German revolutions of 1848–1849 brought new opportunities for German Catholics. In October, the bishops had their first meeting in 40 years in Würzburg and the local "Catholic Federations" assembled in Mainz to found the "Catholic Federation of Germany". In the National Assembly , which

5076-403: The fact that Catholic representatives would take up the middle section of seats in parliament between the social democrats and the conservatives. For most of the Weimar Republic, the Centre Party was the third-largest party in the Reichstag and a bulwark of the Republic, participating in all governments until 1932. Following Adolf Hitler 's rise to power in early 1933, the Centre Party was among

5170-548: The failure not on the parties' incompatibility but on Papen calling for new elections. Since the NSDAP vote dropped again in the elections of November 1932 , the Centre Party considered their strategy successful and resumed negotiations, this time under the slogan of forming a "Notgemeinschaft" ("community of need"), even though the Centre, BVP, and NSDAP together no longer formed a majority in parliament. Kaas advised President Hindenburg not to continue Papen's "administration of conflict"; he advocated "national concentration including

5264-405: The field of social security. The Kulturkampf had reinforced the Catholic character of the Centre Party, but even during it Ludwig Windthorst had defended the party against Bismarck's accusation of being a "denominational party" in describing the Centre as "a political party with a comprehensive political programme and open to anyone, who accepts it". However, few Protestants took up this offer and

5358-415: The government on a coalition with the rising right-wing parties, the "logical result of current development". This would force the radicals to "take their share in responsibility" and "acquainting them with international politics". The Centre would then act as the party of opposition to this administration. As Papen was faced with almost uniform opposition by the parties, he had the Reichstag dissolved. In

5452-412: The government, the Centre Party rejected a "temporal solution", such as Papen's presidial cabinets, and rather advocated a "total solution", i.e., a government according to the rules of the constitution. Since the Centre considered Papen's administration of being "in a dangerous way dependent on radical right-wing parties", chairman Ludwig Kaas advised the President to recognise this connection by basing

5546-455: The leading spokesman for the German far-left, was ready to assist the Guelphs during the coup if it had more success. The DHP turned to more electoral means afterwards, and its pro-independence petition secured 600,000 signatures. The party also argued that Hanover contributed more in taxes to the welfare of Prussia and Germany than it received in return, expanding its appeal beyond the Guelph loyalty. This allowed it to win significant support in

5640-414: The legitimate concerns of other states." Members of the DHP feared that the referendum could be interpreted as a "right-wing ploy directed against the socialist government of Prussia", which sparked the Guelphs to try and win support for independence from the left. However, the referendum fell short of the one-third threshold required to enact devolution, with 25.5 per cent in favour. According to Evan Bukey,

5734-420: The local industry suffered. The party won 45.2% of Hanoverian vote in the February 1867 North German federal election , and won 9 seats in the Reichstag. The DHP performed especially well in rural areas, while also dominating the city of Hanover thanks to the support of the industrial working class. Lastly, the party also performed well in Roman Catholic areas, such as the Duchy of Meppen - Lingen . In 1870,

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5828-404: The lower and middle classes as well as among the Prussian Junkers . In 1930, Brüning's failure to gain a majority for his policies in parliament prompted him to call early elections , in which the four parties of the former Grand coalition lost their majority. After this, Brüning based his administration entirely on the support of the presidential decrees ("Notverordnung") through article 48 of

5922-399: The ministers for finance and labour and, on four occasions, the Chancellor. However, this also damaged the party's prospects because it was increasingly associated with all of the conflicts, problems, and failures of the Republic. The Centre had a share of the odium attached to the so-called "Weimar Establishment" which was blamed, especially on the right, for the German defeat in World War I in

6016-558: The moderate-conservative wing of the party, was appointed as Chancellor with a cabinet that, apart from the missing Social Democrats, was virtually unchanged. Brüning was confronted with economic crises exacerbated by the Great Depression and had to tackle the difficult tasks of consolidating both budget and currency when faced with rising unemployment, and of also negotiating changes to the war reparations payments. His course of strict budget discipline, with severe cuts in public expenditure, and tax increases made him extremely unpopular among

6110-414: The national movements. The middle-ground emphasised their loyalty to the Church and rejected both extremes. To mediate the tension between the wings and to strengthen their ties with the Bishops, the party in September 1928 did not elect the two favourites Joseph Joos and Adam Stegerwald , but rather the cleric Ludwig Kaas as chairman. In 1930, the Grand Coalition fell apart. Heinrich Brüning , from

6204-442: The new interdenominational Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and, in Bavaria, the Christian Social Union (CSU). The Centre Party continued on as a marginal party and concentrated its efforts on regional politics, mainly based in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia . The party was unrepresented on the German federal level from 1957 to 2022, when Federal representative Uwe Witt and European representative Jörg Meuthen defected from

6298-433: The now-dominating Prussian authorities during the Kulturkampf . The Catholic population was deeply opposed to the unification of Germany and feared further persecution and identity loss in a Prussia- and Protestant-dominated Germany. The party also enjoyed support of Hanoverian craftsmen and artisans, whose guilds and unions were undermined by the annexation, and of industrial workers, who had to deal with worse conditions as

6392-549: The other parties. Under these circumstances, Hindenburg refused to back the coup, and Schleicher accordingly resigned on 28 January 1933. Meanwhile, Papen had formed an intrigue to oust his successor. He conferred with Hugenberg and industrial magnates and bankers during a feverish night in which the outcome was unclear to all participants. On 30 January 1933 Hitler was appointed Chancellor with Papen as Vice-Chancellor and Hugenberg as minister for economics. Though seeing their adversaries Papen and Hugenberg join forces with Hitler,

6486-403: The parties who voted for the Enabling Act , which granted legislative powers to Hitler's government. Nevertheless, the party was pressured into dissolving itself on 5 July, as the Nazi Party became the only legally permitted party in the country shortly thereafter. After World War II , the party was reconstituted, but could not rise again to its former importance, as most of its members joined

6580-427: The party and secured its continual existence despite the turmoil of the revolution. The party however was weakened by its Bavarian wing splitting off and forming the Bavarian People's Party (BVP), which emphasised autonomy of the states and also took a more conservative course. In the 1919 elections for the Weimar National Assembly , the Centre Party gained 91 representatives, being the second largest party after

6674-422: The party and the new Social Democratic government. Adolf Hofmann , the Free State of Prussia minister for culture, attempted to decree a total separation of church and state, forcing religion out of schools. This stirred up a wave of protest among the Catholic population, and bishops, Catholic organisations and the Centre Party itself united to combat the "red danger". This conflict bridged internal tensions within

6768-469: The party had become largely irrelevant by then, "overwhelmed by forces more ruthless and radical in their demands for comprehensive change". In 1933, the DHP, like other conservative and liberal parties, dissolved to prevent a ban by the Nazi regime . After World War II , a party called Niedersächsische Landespartei (" Lower Saxon State Party ") was formed as a continuation of the DHP. From 1947 that party

6862-536: The party's exclusively Catholic character and uniting Germany's fragmented party spectrum. In 1920 he advocated the formation of a broad Christian middle-party, that would transcend denominations and social classes and which could push back the Social Democrats' influence. The Polish minority in the German Empire formed one of the largest Catholic groups, but the Centre Party pursued an anti-Polish course causing enmity between it and Polish minority. With

6956-436: The position of the Church. The Centre consistently supported Brüning's government and in 1932 vigorously campaigned for the re-election of Paul von Hindenburg , calling him a "venerate historical personality" and "the keeper of the constitution". Hindenburg was re-elected against Adolf Hitler , but shortly afterwards dismissed Brüning on 30 May 1932. President Hindenburg, advised by General Kurt von Schleicher , appointed

7050-556: The re-formation of the Zentrum under a new name (Christliche Volkspartei, CVP). This proposal was rejected, with only a few regions adopting it for the 1919 election ; the party instead adopted the Berlin Guidelines (Berliner Leitsätze), which were more moderate but failed at making the Zentrum attractive for Protestant voters too. Adam Stegerwald , leader of the Christian trade unions , made another attempt at transcending

7144-413: The regionalist supporters met in the city of Einbeck , where a Hannoverscher Wahlverein , responsible for picking election candidates was proclaimed. The party mainly focused on cultivating its strength in rural areas, advocating protectionist measures to shield Hanoverian agriculture and combat competition from Prussian landowners. The party appealed to the regionalist sentiment by reminding voters of

7238-405: The republican constitution were often anything but committed republicans", and were often trivializing and tolerating violence and coup threats from the right. The readiness of Guelph militias to battle the conservative Reichswehr caused an outpour of sympathy from the left—Hannover's Communists defended the DHP against accusations of treason by Social Democrats. It was also reported that Iwan Katz,

7332-479: The result nevertheless showed that many Hanoverians remained alienated from Germany, and "continued to maintain their regional loyalty and to feel uncomfortable in the German state". The defeat at the referendum hastened the party's decline. The party turned sharply to the left in late 1920s and 1930s, rejecting right-wing parties and organizations such as the German National People's Party and

7426-574: The revised constitution of 1850 granted liberties, which in parts even exceeded those of the Frankfurt draft constitution , yet two years later the minister for culture, von Raumer, issued decrees directed mainly against the Jesuits . In reaction this led to a doubling of Catholic representatives in the subsequent elections and the formation of a Catholic club in the Landtag of Prussia . In 1858, when

7520-431: The subsequent elections, the Centre Party campaigned on two fronts, against both the Papen government and National Socialists and reaffirmed their stance as the "constitution party" opposed to "any measure contrary to constitution, justice and law" and "unwilling to yield to terror". The July 1932 elections brought further losses to the mainstream parties and gains to the extremist parties. The National Socialists supplanted

7614-493: The substance of the constitution", to create "clear responsibilities" and to "preclude anti-constitutional experiments". The Centre advocated a return to Brüning's " authoritarian democracy ", which they considered up to the times and tested by experience, against Papen's "omnipotent state and independent leadership", while the Nazis would only accept a coalition that would serve their purpose of achieving total dominance. Not expecting

7708-411: The support of the Weimar Coalition and the national liberal German People's Party (DVP). Social Democrats and DVP found it hard to agree on economic policy while Social Democrats disagreed with the Centre Party on issues like religious schools or a nationwide Concordat with the Holy See. Following the 1920 elections, the Centre's Constantin Fehrenbach formed a minority government in a coalition with

7802-576: The victorious right-wing candidate Paul von Hindenburg with 48.3%. In May 1926 Chancellor Luther resigned and Marx again assumed the chancellorship. In June 1928, the general elections resulted in losses for the government parties and in gains for the Social Democrats and the Communists . The Grand Coalition of 1923 was revived, this time including the BVP and the Social Democrat Hermann Müller became chancellor. During

7896-412: The years of the Weimar Republic, debates about the Catholic character of the party, as described above, persisted. The left-wing of the party, led by Erzberger and Wirth, had close ties to the Catholic workers' associations led by Joseph Joos . Some politicians on the right wing of the party, including Heinrich Brauns and Franz von Papen , advocated a move towards the right and a closer cooperation with

7990-493: Was appointed Chancellor, but he could not overcome the dominance of the military leadership of Hindenburg and Ludendorff . When a parliamentary system of government was introduced in October 1918, the new chancellor Max von Baden appointed representatives from the Centre party, the Social Democrats and the left-liberals as ministers. After the fall of the monarchy in the German Revolution of 1918–1919 , conflict arose between

8084-457: Was attacked by the Social Democrats, who remarked that a Northern politician meddling or merely commenting on Bavarian politics would have sparked outrage. Schweyer then responded that "Prussia must blame herself for the rising number of people who have a desire and think it an urgent requirement for the sake of the Reich to end Prussia’s abuse of her numerical superiority, which ruthlessly suppresses

8178-417: Was convened to draw up a German constitution, a "Catholic club" was formed. This was not yet a comprehensive party, but a loose union aimed at protecting the Church's liberties in a future Germany, supported by many petitions from the " [Pope] Pius federations for religious liberty". The later demise of the National Assembly proved to be a major setback for Political Catholicism. In the Kingdom of Prussia ,

8272-813: Was known as the German Party (DP). By the time of 1953, a group of DP dissidents formed a new DHP , which again joined the remnants of the German Party in 1962. Centre Party (Germany) The Centre Party ( German : Zentrum ), officially the German Centre Party (German: Deutsche Zentrumspartei ) and also known in English as the Catholic Centre Party , is a Christian democratic political party in Germany . It

8366-422: Was less successful in the school question. Although religious education remained an ordinary subject in most schools, the comprehensive, inter-denominational schools became default. The Centre Party, whose pragmatic principles generally left it open to supporting either a monarchical or republican form of government, proved one of the mainstays of the Weimar Republic , continuing the cooperation with SPD and DDP in

8460-478: Was met with passionate opposition by the greater part of Catholic public, especially since it also included the Christian trade unions and other Catholic organisations. No side could win the upper hand, when the outbreak of World War I ended the dispute. After the war, there were many proposals on how the reform the party. Heinrich Brauns published the Cologne Program (Kölner Programm), which proposed

8554-475: Was most Influential in the German Empire and Weimar Republic . Formed in 1870, it successfully battled the Kulturkampf waged by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck against the Catholic Church . It soon won a quarter of the seats in the Reichstag , and its middle position on most issues allowed it to play a decisive role in the formation of majorities. The party name Zentrum (Centre) originally came from

8648-767: Was named the Centre Party due to the fact that in Parliament the Catholics sat between the Liberals on the left and the Conservatives on the right as opposed to the party adhering to centrism in the modern context. Also in other German states Catholic parties were formed, cooperating with the Prussian Centre Party in the Reichstag: The Catholic People's Party was formed in the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1869, and merged into

8742-611: Was no definite Church position, the group soon disintegrated and disappeared from parliament after 1867. Growing anti-Catholic sentiment and policies, including plans for dissolving all monasteries in Prussia, made it clear that a reorganisation of the group was urgently needed in order to protect Catholic minority rights, enshrined in the 1850 constitution, and to bring them over to the emerging nation state. In June 1870, Peter Reichensperger called on Catholics to unite and, in October, priests, representatives of Catholic federations and

8836-569: Was supposed to break the deadlock of the war but instead led to the United States entry into the war . As the war continued, many of the leaders of the Centre's left wing, particularly Matthias Erzberger , came to support a negotiated settlement, and Erzberger was key in the passage of the Reichstag Peace Resolution of 1917. The same year, the Centre's Georg von Hertling , formerly Minister-President of Bavaria ,

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