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The German People's Party (German: , or DVP) was a liberal party during the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
that was the successor to the National Liberal Party of the
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
. A right-liberal, or conservative-liberal political party, it represented political liberalism in Germany between 1918 and 1933 along with the left-liberal
German Democratic Party The German Democratic Party (, or DDP) was a center-left liberal party in the Weimar Republic. Along with the German People's Party (, or DVP), it represented political liberalism in Germany between 1918 and 1933. It was formed in 1918 from the ...
(DDP). The party's best known politician was its founding chairman and later
Reich Chancellor The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the G ...
and Foreign Minister
Gustav Stresemann Gustav Ernst Stresemann (; 10 May 1878 – 3 October 1929) was a German statesman who served as chancellor in 1923 (for 102 days) and as foreign minister from 1923 to 1929, during the Weimar Republic. His most notable achievement was the reconci ...
. With the exception of two short-lived cabinets in 1921 and 1922, the DVP was represented in all Weimar governments from 1920 to 1931. In the late 1920s it turned more to the right politically but could not compete with other nationalist parties. By 1932 the DVP's share of the vote had shrunk to barely over one percent, and it disbanded shortly after the Nazi seizure of power in 1933.


History


Foundation

Following the end of World War I and the collapse of the
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
, the party system in Germany remained largely in place because the groups with a common religion, social status, culture, etc. had for the most part survived. In the political center, there were strong efforts in both the Progressive People's Party (FVP) and the National Liberal Party (NLP) to overcome the historical split between "democrats" (more left-liberal, as the FVP) and "liberals" (more to the right, as the NLP) and to form a large middle class democratic party. Economist and banker
Hjalmar Schacht Hjalmar Schacht (born Horace Greeley Hjalmar Schacht; 22 January 1877 â€“ 3 June 1970, ) was a German economist, banker, centre-right politician, and co-founder in 1918 of the German Democratic Party. He served as the Currency Commissioner ...
, economist and sociologist
Alfred Weber Alfred Weber (; 30 July 1868 – 2 May 1958) was a German economist, geographer, sociologist and theoretician of culture whose work was influential in the development of modern economic geography. Life Alfred Weber, younger brother of the ...
and journalist and editor
Theodor Wolff Theodor Wolff (2 August 1868 – 23 September 1943) was a German writer who was influential as a journalist, critic and newspaper editor. He was born and died in Berlin. Between 1906 and 1933 he was the chief editor of the politically liberal new ...
were the driving forces. At the beginning of the 1918 November Revolution that brought down the German Empire, party leaders
Gustav Stresemann Gustav Ernst Stresemann (; 10 May 1878 – 3 October 1929) was a German statesman who served as chancellor in 1923 (for 102 days) and as foreign minister from 1923 to 1929, during the Weimar Republic. His most notable achievement was the reconci ...
(National Liberals) and
Otto Fischbeck Otto Fischbeck (28 August 1865 – 23 May 1939) was a German liberal politician, member of the Prussian and German parliament and Prussian Minister of trade and commerce from 1918 to 1921. Fischbeck was born in Güntershagen, Province of Pomer ...
(Progressive Liberals) also discussed such possibilities. Negotiations between the two parties began on 15 November 1918, and on the same day they agreed on a program that required significant concessions from the National Liberals, including a commitment to a republic as the future form of government. On 16 November representatives of both parties issued an ''Appeal for the Formation of a German Democratic Party''. For the first time it seemed possible to unite the middle class non-sectarian forces in Germany. When Stresemann asked Alfred Weber whether he could be admitted to the executive committee of the new party, the latter expressed reservations because during World War I Stresemann had become known as an annexationist, i.e., someone who favored increasing Germany's power by annexing land either in Europe or as overseas colonies. Weber did not, however, object to collaboration with Stresemann or to his candidacy for the
Weimar National Assembly The Weimar National Assembly (German: ), officially the German National Constitutional Assembly (), was the popularly elected constitutional convention and de facto parliament of Germany from 6 February 1919 to 21 May 1920. As part of its ...
. Further negotiations on the merger on 18 and 19 November ultimately failed because the majority of National Liberal board members were not prepared to lose their political head and most gifted speaker. As a result, on 20 November Stresemann and three other leading National Liberals drew up an appeal for the formation of the German People's Party. It was founded provisionally on 22 November 1918 and permanently on 15 December 1918 by a resolution of the central executive committee of the former National Liberal Party. They stressed the importance of members viewing the action not as the foundation of a new party but rather as a reorganization of the old National Liberal Party. The executive committee's resolution was approved only narrowly, by a vote of 33 to 28. Most of the National Liberal Party’s center and right wing joined the DVP. Between 22 November and 15 December there were additional attempts to reach an agreement with the new
German Democratic Party The German Democratic Party (, or DDP) was a center-left liberal party in the Weimar Republic. Along with the German People's Party (, or DVP), it represented political liberalism in Germany between 1918 and 1933. It was formed in 1918 from the ...
(DDP), which had been formed out of the Progressive Liberal Party and the more left-leaning members of the National Liberal Party, but these failed. Stresemann remained chairman of the DVP until his death in 1929.


Establishment and consolidation

Although the DVP initially rejected the
Weimar Constitution The Constitution of the German Reich (german: Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (''Weimarer Verfassung''), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933). The c ...
, it participated in almost all Reich governments from 1920 to 1931. This was primarily due to Stresemann. Although he was at heart a monarchist, he recognized that a return to monarchy could only be achieved through a coup followed by civil war, a path he firmly rejected. At the party congress in Jena on 13 April 1919, he said: "We must not proceed from one bloodbath to another. ... The path to domestic peace can only be on the basis of a republican form of government. That is why we are working for it." Initially, this balancing act – cooperation in forming the new state despite rejection of the Republic â€“ was successful. The party criticized the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
and the enormous burdens associated with it as well as the tax policy of Finance Minister
Matthias Erzberger Matthias Erzberger (20 September 1875 – 26 August 1921) was a German writer and politician (Centre Party), the minister of Finance from 1919 to 1920. Prominent in the Catholic Centre Party, he spoke out against World War I from 1917 and as a ...
of the Catholic Centre Party, which especially affected the middle class. Unlike the nationalist-conservative
German National People's Party The German National People's Party (german: Deutschnationale Volkspartei, DNVP) was a national-conservative party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major conservative and nationalist party in Wei ...
(DNVP), the DVP was not directed destructively against the Weimar Republic but combined its criticisms with proposals for reform that stayed within the system. During the 1920
Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo th ...
, however, the party, like its chairman Stresemann, played a role that was less than friendly to the Republic. At first they openly tolerated the putsch, which attempted to overthrow the Republic and set up an autocratic state in its place, although they opposed the use of violence. Only when the failure of the putsch was obvious did they attempt to mediate between the putschists and the Reich government. In the 1920 German federal election, the DVP was able to improve its percentage of the vote by almost ten points, to 13.9%. The
Weimar coalition The Weimar Coalition () is the name given to the centre-leftist coalition of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the social liberal German Democratic Party (DDP) and the Christian democratic Centre Party, who together had a large major ...
made up of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...
(SPD), Centre Party and DDP lost the overwhelming majority it had from the 1919 election, falling from 78% to 56%. At the time of the election, the DVP had about 800,000 members. In June 1920 the German People's Party for the first time participated in a Reich government, the
Fehrenbach cabinet The Fehrenbach cabinet (German: ''Kabinett Fehrenbach'') was the fourth democratically elected ''Reichsregierung'' of the German Reich. It was named after ''Reichskanzler'' (chancellor) Constantin Fehrenbach and took office on 25 June 1920 wh ...
. The SPD, the leading party in founding the Republic, had suffered significant losses in the election and withdrew into opposition even though it was still the strongest force in the Reichstag at 22% (down from 38%). Its previous coalition partners, the Centre Party and the left-liberal DDP, which had also lost a considerable number of votes to right-wing parties, formed a minority government with the DVP. The SPD decided to accept it on the condition that the DVP protect the Republic. There were three DVP members in the new cabinet: Rudolf Heinze as justice minister and vice chancellor, Ernst Scholz as economics minister, and
Hans von Raumer Hans Friedrich Wilhem Ernst von Raumer (10 January 1870 – 3 November 1965) was a German politician of the German People's Party (DVP). He served as minister in two governments of the Weimar Republic and was also active as a representative of G ...
as treasury minister. In May 1921 the DVP left the Reich government when the Fehrenbach cabinet fell, but in the Reichstag it supported on a case-by-case basis the government of Centre Party politician
Joseph Wirth Karl Joseph Wirth (6 September 1879 – 3 January 1956) was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party who served for one year and six months as the chancellor of Germany from 1921 to 1922, as the finance minister from 1920 to 1921, a ...
, under whom the Weimar coalition had been revived. When the "Cabinet of the Economy" was formed under the nonpartisan
Wilhelm Cuno Wilhelm Carl Josef Cuno (2 July 1876 – 3 January 1933) was a German businessman and politician who was the chancellor of Germany from 1922 to 1923, for a total of 264 days. His tenure included the episode known as the Occupation of the Ruhr ...
in November 1922, the DVP again participated in the government, with Rudolf Heinze as minister of justice and Johann Becker the economics minister. The minority government – the parties represented in the government held only 172 of the 459 Reichstag seats â€“ was from the outset under strong pressure from the right and the left, especially since the political situation – the
occupation of the Ruhr The Occupation of the Ruhr (german: link=no, Ruhrbesetzung) was a period of military occupation of the Ruhr region of Germany by France and Belgium between 11 January 1923 and 25 August 1925. France and Belgium occupied the heavily industria ...
by France and Belgium in January 1923 and the
hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as t ...
which peaked in November 1923 â€“ made it difficult for it to govern. After Cuno's government broke up under the strain of the Ruhr occupation, Stresemann and the DVP, together with the SPD, Centre Party and DDP, formed their first grand coalition on 13 August 1923. It was the only Reich government led by the German People's Party. This basic constellation of the four parties made up the majority of the governments during the short-lived Republic. Although Stresemann was only able to lead the government for three months, since he also was voted out of office due to the Ruhr crisis, the first steps toward consolidating the Weimar Republic were taken during the short period. In spite of fierce attacks from the opposition DNVP, passive resistance to the Ruhr occupation was abandoned and the inflation of 1914 to 1923 was fought successfully with the introduction of the
Rentenmark The Rentenmark (; RM) was a currency issued on 15 October 1923 to stop the hyperinflation of 1922 and 1923 in Weimar Germany, after the previously used "paper" Mark had become almost worthless. It was subdivided into 100 ''Rentenpfennig'' and ...
on 15 November 1923. Although the DVP was unable to maintain its 1920 results of 13.9% of the total votes, it received between 8.7 and 10.1 percent in the three Reichstag elections between 1924 and 1928. Despite Stresemann's brief time in office, the German People's Party had become fully a part of the Weimar Republic and went on to be one of it mainstays. Stresemann was foreign minister in all subsequent cabinets until his death in October 1929. He made a sustained effort to end Germany's foreign policy isolation and to revise the Treaty of Versailles by peaceful means. His involvement was central to the realization of both the 1924
Dawes Plan The Dawes Plan (as proposed by the Dawes Committee, chaired by Charles G. Dawes) was a plan in 1924 that successfully resolved the issue of World War I reparations that Germany had to pay. It ended a crisis in European diplomacy following Wor ...
, which resolved the issue of German payment of
war reparations War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. History Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. R ...
, and the
Locarno Treaties The Locarno Treaties were seven agreements negotiated at Locarno, Switzerland, during 5 to 16 October 1925 and formally signed in London on 1 December, in which the First World War Western European Allied powers and the new states of Central an ...
of 1925 which contributed to Germany's admission to the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
in 1926. Stresemann, along with his French counterpart
Aristide Briand Aristide Pierre Henri Briand (; 28 March 18627 March 1932) was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic. He is mainly remembered for his focus on international issues and reconciliat ...
, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926 for their work on the Locarno Treaties. While the initial cabinets that the DVP participated in were middle class cabinets in which, in addition to the DVP, the Centre, DDP and Bavarian People's Party, the DNVP was also sometimes represented, the German People's Party also participated in the second cabinet of the Social Democrat Hermann Müller from 1928 to 1930. In foreign policy the DVP was in favor of an understanding with the Western powers and thus of a typically republican foreign policy. After Stresemann's death in October 1929,
Julius Curtius Julius Curtius (7 February 1877 – 10 November 1948) was a German politician who served as Minister for Economic Affairs (from January 1926 to December 1929) and Foreign Minister of the Weimar Republic (from October/November 1929 to October 193 ...
, the previous economics minister, succeeded him in the foreign office and took a more demanding stance. Stresemann's approach, which had been directed towards rapprochement, gave way, according to historian Andreas Rödder, to one of negotiation that nevertheless still pursued its goals peacefully. Z=Centre Party BVP=Bavarian People's Party WF=Economic Party KVP=Conservative People's Party


Downturn and end

The DVP’s more conservative members never really trusted Stresemann, especially when he became more supportive of the Republic. Even in the early 1920s there was internal opposition to Stresemann, centered especially around the industrial magnate and DVP member
Hugo Stinnes Hugo Dieter Stinnes (12 February 1870 – 10 April 1924) was a German industrialist and politician. During the late era of the German Empire and early Weimar Republic, he was considered to be one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Europe. ...
. This element sought much closer cooperation with the DNVP but was initially unable to achieve it because of the close ties between the DVP and the Republic. In 1924 former Reich Minister of Economics Johann Becker, together with other representatives of the right wing such as the entrepreneur
Albert Vögler Albert Vögler (8 February 1877 – 14 April 1945) was a German politician, industrialist and entrepreneur. He was a co-founder of the German People's Party, and an important executive in the munitions industry during the Second World War. Và ...
, left the DVP and founded the National Liberal Reich Party, which joined the DNVP in 1925. After Stresemann's death in October 1929, Ernst Scholz became party chairman, and the DVP tended more to the right. In
Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
, for example, it participated in the Baum-Frick government, the first state government with
Nazi Party 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 ...
(NSDAP) participation. Although the DVP was represented in Heinrich Brüning's first cabinet, its downturn had begun. The Reichstag election of 14 September 1930 sent the DVP back to the low level of 1919, with just 4.5% of the votes and a loss of 15 seats. The moderate party leader Scholz, who was in poor health, had to resign, making way in November 1930 for Eduard Dingeldey. As a representative of the younger generation, he tried to mediate between the party's wings in order to make a political comeback with a united DVP. The elections of 1932 showed that the DVP was unable to compete with the DNVP and the NSDAP when it came to the national consciousness they emphasized. It sank to insignificance, with just 1.2% of the vote and 7 seats in the Reichstag. It joined lists with the DNVP for the Reichstag elections in November and gained four seats. But many representatives of the liberal wing left the party, as did a large number of the members of the German National Association of Commercial Employees () who had chosen the DVP because of their dislike of
Alfred Hugenberg Alfred Ernst Christian Alexander Hugenberg (19 June 1865 – 12 March 1951) was an influential German businessman and politician. An important figure in nationalist politics in Germany for the first few decades of the twentieth century, Hugenbe ...
of the DNVP. In the spring of 1933 Otto Hugo, the deputy chairman of the DVP, demanded that the party be completely merged into the NSDAP, but Dingeldey refused. It was only after the National Socialists threatened him with personal consequences that on 4 July 1933 he announced the decision taken by the Reich Executive () on 27 June to voluntarily disband the party.


Ideological foundations and program

The party was generally thought to represent the interests of German industrialists. Its platform stressed Christian family values, secular education, lower tariffs, opposition to welfare spending and agrarian subsidies, and hostility to socialism (Communists and Social Democrats). The liberal concept of the people which shaped political thinking in the DVP was fed off impulses from
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
and
Idealism In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ide ...
(see
Bildungsbürgertum ''Bildungsbürgertum'' () is a social class that emerged in mid-18th-century Germany, as the educated social stratum of the bourgeoisie, men and women who had received an education based upon the metaphysical values of Idealism and Classical s ...
). Like the National Liberal Party of the German Empire, it saw itself primarily as a liberal rather than a democratic party. This was expressed in the fact that in its politics the freedom of the individual from state intervention was more important than the enforcement of majority decisions against the interests of individuals. Its concept of man was shaped by the view that the individual who justifies himself through self-acquired education and property knows better what is important for himself and thus for society as a sum of all its individuals than do the purely quantitative masses. On the other hand, it called on the intellectual and economic elites to have their actions measured against moral standards and to place themselves at the service of society out of a sense of responsibility to it. Only from these principles can it be understood why the DVP, which as a supporter of an enlightened constitutional monarchy had rejected the Weimar Constitution, sided completely with the Republic after the failure of the Kapp Putsch. Stresemann made this clear in a speech on 25 October 1923, in which, as Reich Chancellor, he explained in the face of hyperinflation and the Ruhr struggle: "In the distress of the present, I call 'national' the man who, when the cart is in the mud, lends a hand to pull it out, but not the man who stands by and says, 'After all, it won't help, and you are not the right men to do it.'"


Members and representatives

The members and representatives of the DVP, who were primarily committed, principled scholars and civil servants, belonged to the middle and upper classes. They represented the wealthy educated middle class which had come together in the National Liberal Party during the Empire. After1922 there was a party-affiliated student association, the Reich Committee of University Groups of the German People's Party (), whose influence in the predominantly right-wing student body remained comparatively small.


Voter base

The DVP had its voter base predominantly in large and mid-sized cities: in the 1920 Reichstag elections, for example, it won an average of 13.2% of the vote in cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, while it received only 7.2% of the vote in small communities with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. The DVP was also a predominantly Protestant party. In areas with a very high proportion of Roman Catholic voters, the DVP's share of the vote always fell far short of its Reich average. In contrast, the lower the proportion of Catholics, the greater the percentage of DVP votes. The DVP's voter structure thus resembled that of the former National Liberal Party in its distribution by denomination and urban versus rural.


Election results


Federal elections (''Reichstag'')


Presidential elections


Prussia State elections


Support in the press

In contrast to the German Democratic Party, which was openly sponsored by the major liberal papers in Berlin (including the ''
Vossische Zeitung The (''Voss's Newspaper'') was a nationally-known Berlin newspaper that represented the interests of the liberal middle class. It was also generally regarded as Germany's national newspaper of record. In the Berlin press it held a special role d ...
'' and ''
Berliner Tageblatt The ''Berliner Tageblatt'' or ''BT'' was a German language newspaper published in Berlin from 1872 to 1939. Along with the '' Frankfurter Zeitung'', it became one of the most important liberal German newspapers of its time. History The ''Berlin ...
''), the DVP received support only from the ''Kölnischen Zeitung'' (Cologne), the ''Magdeburg Zeitung'', the ''Tägliche Rundschau'' from Berlin, and the ''Königsberger Allgemeine Zeitung''. The other major parties of the Weimar Republic were also better positioned in terms of the media. The SPD had its own newspapers, the ideas of the Centre Party were promoted by the Catholic papers and the DNVP had Hugenberg's opinion empire behind it.


Finances

Even though the DVP was considered the party of big industrial capital, it always struggled with financial problems. The DDP was able to rely primarily on Berlin and Hamburg businesses, especially in the early days of the Weimar Republic, while the DNVP was mainly supported by Rhenish-Westphalian heavy industry.
Hugo Stinnes Hugo Dieter Stinnes (12 February 1870 – 10 April 1924) was a German industrialist and politician. During the late era of the German Empire and early Weimar Republic, he was considered to be one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Europe. ...
and
Albert Vögler Albert Vögler (8 February 1877 – 14 April 1945) was a German politician, industrialist and entrepreneur. He was a co-founder of the German People's Party, and an important executive in the munitions industry during the Second World War. Và ...
were the only two business barons who were on the side of the German People's Party. Stinnes' death and Vögler's resignation from the party, both in 1924, considerably reduced the DVP's base of donations. Smaller amounts were contributed by the Kali-Society and the companies of the Hansabund, an anti-monopolistic economic-political interest group led by DVP politician Rießer.


Notable members

* Wilhelm Bünger (1870–1937), Saxon Minister President and judge in the Reichstag Fire Trial *
Julius Curtius Julius Curtius (7 February 1877 – 10 November 1948) was a German politician who served as Minister for Economic Affairs (from January 1926 to December 1929) and Foreign Minister of the Weimar Republic (from October/November 1929 to October 193 ...
(1877–1948), Reich Foreign Minister and Economics Minister *
Rudolf Heinze Karl Rudolf Heinze (22 July 1865 – 26 May 1928) was a German jurist and politician. During the Weimar Republic, as a member of the right-of-centre German People's Party (DVP) he was vice-chancellor of Germany and minister of Justice in 1920/21 ...
(1865–1928), Reich Minister of Justice * Gerhard Graf von Kanitz (1885–1949), Reich Economic Minister * Katharina von Kardorff-Oheimb (1879–1962), Reichstag Deputy *
Hans von Raumer Hans Friedrich Wilhem Ernst von Raumer (10 January 1870 – 3 November 1965) was a German politician of the German People's Party (DVP). He served as minister in two governments of the Weimar Republic and was also active as a representative of G ...
(1870–1965), Reich Economic Minister * Karl Sack (1896–1945), Resistance fighter against National Socialism *
Emil Georg von Stauß Emil Georg von Stauss (often rendered Emil Georg von Stauß, 6 October 1877 in Baiersbronn – 11 December 1942 in Berlin) was a German banker who served as Director-General of the board of the Deutsche Bank. Business career As well as his banking ...
(1877–1942), Banker *
Hugo Stinnes Hugo Dieter Stinnes (12 February 1870 – 10 April 1924) was a German industrialist and politician. During the late era of the German Empire and early Weimar Republic, he was considered to be one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Europe. ...
(1870–1924), Industrialist *
Albert Vögler Albert Vögler (8 February 1877 – 14 April 1945) was a German politician, industrialist and entrepreneur. He was a co-founder of the German People's Party, and an important executive in the munitions industry during the Second World War. Và ...
(1877–1945), Industrialist * Arthur Zarden (1885–1944), State Secretary


Involvement in founding parties in 1945

Politicians from the DVP participated in the founding of the German Party (DP), Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) after World War II.


See also

*
Contributions to liberal theory Contribution or Contribute may refer to: * ''Contribution'' (album), by Mica Paris (1990) ** "Contribution" (song), title song from the album *Contribution (law), an agreement between defendants in a suit to apportion liability *Contributions, a ...
* Elections in the Free State of Prussia *
Liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into diff ...
*
Liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
*
Liberalism in Germany This article aims to give a historical outline of liberalism in Germany. The liberal parties dealt with in the timeline below are, largely, those which received sufficient support at one time or another to have been represented in parliament. N ...
*
Liberalism worldwide This article gives information on liberalism worldwide. It is an overview of parties that adhere to some form of liberalism and is therefore a list of liberal parties around the world. Introduction The definition of liberal party is highly deba ...
*
List of liberal parties This article gives information on liberalism worldwide. It is an overview of parties that adhere to some form of liberalism and is therefore a list of liberal parties around the world. Introduction The definition of liberal party is highly deba ...
*
Wilhelm Adam Wilhelm Adam (28 March 1893 – 24 November 1978) was an officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Following the German surrender after the Battle of Stalingrad, he became a member of the National Committee for a Free German ...
(member from 1926 to 1929)


References

{{Authority control Centre-right parties in Europe Centrist parties in Germany Conservative liberal parties Conservative parties in Germany Germany 1918 Defunct political parties in Germany German nationalist political parties Liberal conservative parties in Germany Liberal parties in Germany Monarchist parties in Germany National liberal parties Political parties in the Weimar Republic Protestant political parties Right-wing parties in Europe