Weimar political parties

The Weimar German Republic that existed from 1918 to 1933 had a multi-party political system in which numerous political parties were competitive and able to contest elections. In the fourteen years that the German Republic was in existence, over forty political parties were represented by at least one member in the Reichstag, with others seeing representation just at the Landtag level. In addition to this, many groups and minor political parties existed which were often linked to more prominent political parties, and stood candidates through shared electoral lists.

This political fragmentation was in part due to the many challenges facing the nascent German democracy in this period and many contrasting views on the developments on-going in Germany, and in part due to the specific form of proportional representation electoral system that did not harshly punish regional or small special-interest parties.

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 the only legal political party, turning Germany into a one-party state.

Larger political parties

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! colspan="2" |Logo

!Party

!Political Position

!Ideology

!Description

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|center|150x150px|Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, Logo 1969-1982

|Social Democratic Party of Germany

Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands

|SPD

|Centre-left to left-wing

|Pro-Weimar Republic Social Democracy Center Marxism Republicanism

|Founded in 1875, it was one of the earliest Marxist-influenced parties in the world. A member of the Weimar Coalition, the SPD supported the parliamentary system of democracy and extensive social programs in the economy. For most of the Weimar Republic's existence until 1932, the SPD was the largest single party in the Reichstag and it participated in several coalition governments. Between 1917 and 1922 the SPD was known as the Majority SDP. Its party newspaper was the Vorwärts.

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|NSDAP-Logo|center|150px

|National Socialist German Workers' Party

Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei

|NSDAP

|Far-right

|Anti-Weimar Republic Nazism Antisemitism Anti-Young Plan

|A far-right party active between 1920 and 1945, and the name sake of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers' Party, existed from 1919 to 1920. The NSDAP emerged from the milieu of paramilitant Freikorps extremism. It supported the ideas of Führerprinzip, Volksgemeinschaft, Pan-Germanism, Lebensraum and the "Aryan Master Race". The party's platform included fervent antisemitism, anti-communism, anti-capitalism, scientific racism, and support for eugenics. Headed by Adolf Hitler from 1921, the party became the largest in the Reichstag by July 1932. Its main newspaper was the Völkischer Beobachter.

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| Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, Logo um 1920|center|150px

|Communist Party of Germany

Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands

|KPD

|Far-left

|Communism Luxemburgism Council Communism Marxism-Leninism

|A communist party that advocated revolution by the proletariat, taking example from the Russian Revolution. Formed at the very end of 1918 out of a number of left-wing groups, including the left wing of the USPD and the Spartacus League. It was the main far-left party for the majority of the Weimar period. The party's major paper was the Die Rote Fahne (The Red Flag). Between 1920 and 1922 known as the United Communist Party of Germany

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| Logo of the German Centre Party|center|150px

|Centre Party

Zentrumspartei

| DZP

|Centre to centre-right

|Pro-Weimar Republic Christian Democracy Political Catholicism Republicanism

|A continuation of the pre-Weimar Catholic party of the same name. A member of the Weimar Coalition, the Centre Party was the third-largest party in the Reichstag for most of the Weimar Republic and participated in all governments until 1932. Their party newspaper was Germania.

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|Logo of the German Centre Party|center|150px

|German National People's Party

Deutschnationale Volkspartei

|DNVP

|Right-wing to far-right

|Anti-Weimar Republic German Nationalism Authoritarian conservatism National conservatism Anti-communism Anti-semitism

|An reactionary party that presented itself as a volksgemeinschaft or non-class party. It was formed from the merger of multiple conservative, and national liberal parties with the Völkische movement. The DNVP was the main authoritarian right party of Weimar Germany but moved to the radical right after coming under the control of Alfred Hugenberg. It organized the National Opposition in 1929, together with leaders of Der Stahlhelm, Hjalmar Schacht, the president of the Reichsbank, and the Nazi Party, to oppose Chancellor Hermann Müller's Grand Coalition. It joined in coalition with Hitler's government in January 1933.

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|German People's Party|center|150px

|German People's Party

Deutsche Volkspartei

|DVP

|Before 1929: Centre-right After 1929: Right-wing

|National Liberalism Civic nationalism Conservative liberalism Constitutional Monarchism

|A right-liberal party formed in 1918 from the pre-Weimar National Liberals. Its platform stressed Christian family values, secular education, lower tariffs, opposition to welfare spending and agrarian subsidies, and hostility to socialism. Gustav Stresemann was its chairman and it participated in all governments until 1931. After Stresemann's death, the party turned further to the right.

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|German Democratic Party

Deutsche Demokratische Partei

|DDP

|Centre to centre-left

|Pro-Weimar Republic Liberalism Social liberalism Republicanism

|A left-liberal party formed in 1918 as the successor to the Progressive People's Party. A member of the Weimar Coalition, it was one of the main liberal parties and participated in several coalition governments.

! style="background-color: Red" |

|Old Social Democratic Party of Germany

Alte Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands

|ASPD

|Centre-left

|Pro-Weimar Republic Social democracy Left-wing Nationalism

|A regional party based in Saxony that split from the SPD in 1926. It never gained a mass following and disbanded in 1932.

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|1920 election poster of the Communist Workers' Party of Germany (KAPD), calling for a boycott|center|150px

|Communist Workers' Party of Germany

Kommunistische Arbeiter-Partei Deutschlands

|KAPD

|Far-left

|Anti-Weimar Republic Left communism Revolutionary socialism Council communism

|An ultra-leftist party that split from the KPD in April 1920. They rejected participation in the Reichstag 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.

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|The red flag commonly used by socialists, communists, some anarchists, and other left-wing or far-left groups|center|150px

|Communist Party of Germany (Opposition)

Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (Opposition)

|KPO

|Left-wing

|Communism Luxemburgism Bukharinism

|Split from the KPD in 1928, representing the "Right Opposition" of the Bukharinists against the Stalinist "Center" and the Trotskyist "Left Opposition". It never intended to be a real political party, but to influence the KPD.

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|Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands-01|center|150px

|Socialist Workers' Party of Germany

Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands

|SAPD

|Left-wing

|Centrist Marxism Democratic socialism

|A minor left-wing party that contained splits from the SPD, joined by parts of the USPD and dissenters from the KPD and the KPO joined it. Its political positions were near to those of the USPD, wavering between the SPD and the KPD.

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|Socialist League

Sozialistischer Bund

|SB

|Left-wing

|Socialism

|A splinter party that formed from the USPD in 1922 and merged into the SAPD in 1931.

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|USPD logo, 1920|center|150px

|Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany

Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands

|USPD

|Left-wing

|Center Marxism Democratic socialism Pacifism

|An anti-war party that split from the SPD in 1917. It was a Marxist party that sought change through parliament and social progressive programs. The left-wing majority of the party joined the Communist Party in December 1920, while the remainder reunited with the MSPD in September 1922. A splinter element (Sozialistischer Bund) continued as an independent party, never attaining any real electoral success and finally merging with the SAPD in 1931.

|German Farmers' Party

Deutsche Bauernpartei

|DBP

|Centre

|Agrarianism

|An agrarian party founded in 1928 to advocate for the economic interests of small farmers and peasants.

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|German State Party

Deutsche Staatspartei

|DStP

|Centre to Centre-right

|Pro-Weimar Republic Liberalism Corporatism Nationalism

|a party formed in 1930 by a merger of the DDP and the People's National Reich Association (VNRV) - the political wing of the Young German Order. The VNRV Reichstag delegates soon split from the party, leaving it essentially the DDP under a new name.

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|Hanseatic People's League

Hanseatischer Volksbund

|HVB

|Right-wing

|Anti-Weimar Republic Anti-Social democracy German Nationalism

|A regional party founded in Lübeck in 1926, supported by the middle classes opposed to Marxism and social democracy. It was allied with the DVP.

|center|150px

|Schleswig-Holstein Farmers and Farmworkers Democracy

Schleswig-Holsteinische Bauern- und Landarbeiterdemokratie

|SHBLD

|Centre

|Pro-Weimar Republic Agrarian Liberalism

|A regional agrarian party active in Schleswig-Holstein between 1919 and 1924. It was a moderate party that leaned towards liberalism, and co-operated with the DVP.

|Maltese-Cross-Heraldry|center|150px

|People's National Reich Association

Volksnationale Reichsvereinigung

|VR

|Centre-right to right-wing

|Pro-Weimar Republic German nationalism National liberalism

|This was the political wing of the Young German Order and it briefly merged with the DDP in 1930 to form the DStP.

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|center|150px

|Bavarian People's Party

Bayerische Volkspartei

|BVP

|Centre-right

|Pro-Weimar Republic Political Catholicism Christian democracy Bavarian regionalism

|A Catholic and conservative party, in 1918 it split off from the Centre Party to pursue a more conservative and particularist Bavarian course.

|Burnswick-Lower Saxony Party

Braunschweigisch-Niedersächsische Partei

|BNP

|Right-wing

|Anti-Weimar Republic Monarchism Conservatism Anti-republicanism

|This was a small regional party active in the Free State of Brunswick. It was conservative, monarchist and anti-republican. It formed an electoral alliance with the DVP and the DNVP.

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|center|150px

|Christian-National Peasants' and Farmers' Party

Christlich-Nationale Bauern- und Landvolkpartei

|CNBL

|Right-wing

|Anti-Weimar Republic Agrarian conservatism German Nationalism

|Christian National Peasants' and Farmers' Party. This was a conservative agrarian party that broke off from the German National People's Party (DNVP) in 1928. It contested the 1930 and 1932 Reichstag elections under the name Deutsches Landvolk (German Rural Folk).

! style="background-color: #1DB4E1" |

|Christian Social People's Service

Christlich-Sozialer Volksdienst

|CSVD

|Centre-right to right-wing

|Pro-Weimar Republic Christian democracy Political Protestantism Conservatism

|A conservative Protestant party formed at the end of 1929, it was mainly supported by the middle class and Christian trade unionists. It supported state welfare, trade unions and workers participation in management; it opposed atheism, liberalism and Marxism. Also known as Christlich-sozialer Volksdienst (Evangelische Bewegung).

|Christian People's Party

Christliche Volkspartei

|CVP

|Centre-right

|Pro-Weimar Republic Christian Democracy

|A short-lived Catholic party based in the Rhineland.

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|center|150x150px

|German-Hanoverian Party

Deutsch-Hannoversche Partei

|DHP

|Centre-left

|Pro-Weimar Republic Hannoverian regionalism Hannoverian Separatism Social Agrarianism

|Also known as the Guelph Party. A regional party in Prussia's Province of Hanover that unsuccessfully advocated for a Free State of Hanover. Formerly conservative and centre-right, the party moved to the left in the 1920s.

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|center|150px

|German Workers' Party

Deutsche Arbeiterpartei

|DAP

|Far-right

|Anti-Weimar Republic Proto-fascism Pan-Germanism Anti-Marxism Antisemitism Völkisch Nationalism

|This 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" (NSDAP) in 1920.

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|German Social Party

Deutschsoziale Partei

|DSP

|Far-right

|Anti-Weimar Republic Proto-fascism Völkisch Movement Antisemitism

|A far-right antisemitic and Völkisch political party, active from 1921 to 1929.

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|center|150px

|German-Socialist Party

Deutschsozialistische Partei

|DSP

|Far-right

|Anti-Weimar Republic Proto-fascism National mysticism Racial antisemitism Anti-communism

|A far-right, nationalist party heavily influenced by the antisemitic Thule Society. 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 (then very new) Nazi Party.

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|center|150px

|German Völkisch Freedom Party

Deutschvölkische Freiheitspartei

|DVFP

|Far-right

|Anti-Weimar Republic Proto-fascism Völkisch nationalism Pan-Germanism Revolutionary conservatism Antisemitism Anti-communism

|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.

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|Greater German People's Community

Großdeutsche Volksgemeinschaft

|GVG

|Far-right

|Anti-Weimar Republic Nazism Antisemitism Völkisch nationalism

|A Nazi front organization established in January 1924 when the Nazi Party was outlawed. Centered in Bavaria, it was led by Alfred Rosenberg until July when he was ousted by Julius Streicher. Opposed to electoral politics, it was not represented in the Reichstag. It dissolved in March 1925 and was reabsorbed by the Nazi Party.

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|Conservative People's Party

Konservative Volkspartei

|KVP

|Right-wing

|Pro-Weimar Republic Conservatism Christian democracy

|It split off from the DNVP in 1930, following that party's turn to the far-right under Alfred Hugenberg.

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|center|150px

|National Socialist Freedom Party

Nationalsozialistische Freiheitspartei

|NSFP

|Far-right

|Anti-Weimar Republic Nazism Pan-Germanism Anti-communism Antisemitism

Factions

Anti-Catholicism

|A Nazi front organization established in April 1924 when the Nazi Party was outlawed and Hitler was jailed. The remaining Nazis formed it as a legal means of carrying on the party and its ideology. As the National Socialist Freedom movement (NSFB), it ran as a combined list with the DVFP in the 1924 Reichstag elections and disbanded shortly after the Nazi Party was re-established in February 1925.

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|center|150px

|Economic Party

Reichspartei des deutschen Mittelstandes

| WP

|Right-wing

|Conservatism Anti-communism Corporatism

|A conservative pro-business party, founded in 1920 as the Economic Party of the German Middle Class. It commonly was referred to as the Wirtschaftspartei (WP). It supported a reduction in government economic involvement, a freer hand for business, and lower taxes. It was particularly opposed to revaluation, which it considered an attack on the rights of property owners.

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|People's Justice Party

Volksrechtpartei

| VRP

|Right-wing

|Officially called the Reich Party for Civil Rights and Deflation. Formed in 1926, the party was conservative in outlook and represented itself as the defender of savers, calling for the creation of as broad a middle class as possible. It sought to represent those worst hit by the hyperinflation of the early 1920s.

Smaller political parties, organisations and electoral lists

Besides the larger parties, there were also a multitude of smaller groups and parties that were either affiliated with the electoral coalitions of larger parties or were organisationally independent and participated with their own lists either throughout the entire Republic or only in individual constituencies.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Party

!Categorization

!Stance

!Description

|General German Civil Servants Association

Allgemeiner Deutscher Beamtenbund

|AGB

|Left-wing

|A civil servants' league started by the SPD.

|German Agrarian League

Bund der Landwirte

|BdL

|The Agrarian League was an agricultural advocacy group that opposed free trade, industrialization, and liberalism. It merged with the Deutscher Landbund in 1921 to form the Reichslandbund.

|Peasants' Association

Bauernverein

|Peasant association located in Schleswig-Holstein. Without religious ties, it initially supported a liberal economic and political policy.

|Peasants' Associations

Bauernvereine

|Centre

|Farmers' associations associated with the Center Party, that were located in the Catholic west and south.

|Bavarian Peasants' League

Bayerischer Bauernbund

|BBB

|Operated throughout Germany but especially in its stronghold of Bavaria. It had democratic, anticlerical leanings and subscribed to a narrow Bavarian particularism. It supported the BVP and the DNVP, and in 1928 helped found the DBP. Also BBB.

|Brunswick State Electoral Association

Braunschweigischer Landeswahlverband

|BLWV

|Right-wing

|Anti-Weimar Republic

|This was a regional electoral alliance of conservative bourgeois parties, consisting of the Deutsche Volkspartei (DVP), the Deutschnationale Volkspartei (DNVP) and the Welf–oriented Braunschweigisch-Niedersächsische Partei (BNP), or Brunswick Lower–Saxon Party. It was active between 1918 and 1922 in the Free State of Brunswick.

|Christian-Federalist Imperial Electoral List

Christlich-föderalistische Reichswahlliste

|Centre

|Pro-Weimar Republic

|Combined list of the Bavarian People's Party (BVP), the Christliche Volkspartei (CVP) and a Hessian party.

Arbeiter- und Bauernpartei Deutschlands, Christlich-Radikale Volksfront

|ABDCV

|Left-wing

|Associated with the KPD.

|League of the Unemployed of Berlin

Bund der Erwerbslosen Berlins

|BEB

|Left-wing

|Associated with the KPD.

|Radical Democratic Party

Radikaldemokratische Partei

|RDP

|Pro-Weimar Republic

|A left-liberal party founded by former members of the German Democratic Party who rejected its merger with the Young German Order that formed the German State Party. The party supported republicanism, pacificism and radical democracy. In the only federal election the RDP took part in, it was in an electoral coalition with the SPD.