The ''Deutscher Nationalverband'' (lit. German National Association) was a loose coalition of ethnic

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

and

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

political parties in Cisleithania, a part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. It was formed to contest the 1911 election of the lower house of the Imperial Council (german: Reichsrat) of Cisleithania. Loose coalitions of this type were common in the Imperial Council. It comprised ten individual parties, including the

German People's Party The German People's Party (German: , or DVP) was a liberal party during the Weimar Republic that was the successor to the National Liberal Party of the German Empire. A right-liberal, or conservative-liberal political party, it represented politi ...

German Progress Party The German Progress Party (german: Deutsche Fortschrittspartei, DFP) was the first modern political party in Germany, founded by liberal members of the Prussian House of Representatives () in 1861 in opposition to Minister President Otto von Bism ...

German Radical Party The German Radical Party (German language, German: ''Deutschradicale Partei''), until 1907 the All-German Free Party (''Freialldeutsche Partei''), was a German nationalism, German nationalist political party in Austria-Hungary, active mainly in Kin ...

, and

German Agrarian Party German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

. The ''Nationalverband'' managed to gain 104 seats at the 1911 election, making it the largest bloc in the Imperial Council, and ousting the previously dominant Christian Social Party. It relied on voters from areas of ethnic strife, such as in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

and the Duchy of Styria, but received very few votes in the Imperial capital,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. A plan for the division of Bohemia on ethnic lines was put forth by the bloc, but the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

stopped any further discussion of administrative reform. Gustav Gross, chairman of the ''Nationalverband'', was in favour of the war, as he thought it could be used as a tool to reorganise the empire and entrench German dominance. He wrote in August 1914 that, after a quick victory, peace negotiations could be used to establish

as the official language of the state, and also to detach the largely Slavic-speaking kingdoms of Dalmatia and Galicia from Cisleithania. Gross's leadership was viewed as inept and moderate by younger members of the ''Nationalverband'', especially because of his willingness to collaborate with the Christian Socialists in a war-time government. This led to infighting and factionalism within the bloc, and various splinter groups with more extreme aims were formed. As the bloc was always a very loose coalition with little internal unity, this infighting ultimately led to its disintegration in 1917, at the height of the

. It split into seventeen separate parties.

References

{{Authority control 1911 establishments in Austria-Hungary Defunct political party alliances in Europe Ethnic organizations based in Austria-Hungary German nationalist political parties German nationalism in Austria Liberalism in Austria Nationalist parties in Austria Political parties disestablished in 1917 Political parties in Austria-Hungary Political party alliances in Austria