The German Party (german: Deutsche Partei, abbreviated DP) was a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

active amongst the German minority in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

from 1938 to 1945.

History

The party was formed on October 8, 1938, as a successor to the

Carpathian German Party The Carpathian German Party (german: Karpatendeutsche Partei, abbreviated KdP) was a political party in Czechoslovakia, active amongst the Carpathian German minority of Slovakia and Subcarpathian Rus'. It began as a bourgeois centrist party, but ...

(KdP).

Franz Karmasin Franz Karmasin (2 September 1901 – 25 June 1970) was an ethnic German politician in Czechoslovakia, who helped found the Carpathian German Party. During World War II he was state secretary of German affairs in the Slovak Republic, and rose to the ...

, a member of the Czechoslovak Chamber of Deputies, led the party, holding the title of '' Volksgruppeführer''. DP functioned as the referent in Slovakia for the German People's Group in Czecho-Slovakia (DVG), the successor organization of the

Sudeten German Party The Sudeten German Party (german: Sudetendeutsche Partei, SdP, cs, Sudetoněmecká strana) was created by Konrad Henlein under the name ''Sudetendeutsche Heimatfront'' ("Front of the Sudeten German Homeland") on 1 October 1933, some months afte ...

founded on October 30, 1938. The party published ''Grenzbote'' and ''Deutschen Stimmen'' from

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

. Organizationally, DP was modelled after the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

in Germany, following the ''

Führer principle ( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or "guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany cultivated the ("leader principl ...

''. It used the

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

as its symbol and

Horst-Wessel-Lied The "" ("Horst Wessel Song"; ), also known by its opening words "" ("Raise the Flag", ), was the anthem of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 1930 to 1945. From 1933 to 1945, the Nazis made it the co-national anthem of Germany, along with the first sta ...

as its anthem. The DP youth wing was known as 'German Youth' (''Deutsche Jugend'') and maintained a paramilitary wing called '' Freiwillige Schutzstaffel''. Politically DP strove to foster homogenous Carpathian German communities and to maintain a privileged position for the German community in Slovakia. The party was closely aligned with German foreign policy. The first article of the DP statutes from March 1, 1940 proclaimed that "the German Party asrepresentative of the political will of the entire German population in Slovakia". However, not all Germans in Slovakia were happy with the supposed unity party; DP faced resistance from followers of the pro-Hungarian

Zipser German Party The Zipser German Party (german: Zipser deutsche Partei) was a party of the First Czechoslovak Republic founded at Kežmarok on 20–22 March 1920 aiming for the representation of the Zipser Germans minority in Czechoslovakia. In 1924, it was a me ...

. On December 18, 1938, the German Party got two deputies elected to the Slovak Landtag on the unity list of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party – Party of Slovak National Unity (HSĽS-SSNJ); Karmasin and Josef Steinhübl. In March 1940 the DP politician Sigmund Keil became a member of the Landtag, replacing Gejza Rehák. On November 20, 1941, a fourth DP politician became a Landtag member, as Dr. Adalbert Gabriel was appointed by presidential decree to represent the German community. By 1940 DP claimed to have 57,000 members organized in 120 local groups. It folded in 1945.

References

{{Authority control Nazi parties