The National-Social Association (german: Nationalsozialer Verein, NSV) was a
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 ideological or p ...
in the
German Empire, founded in 1896 by
Friedrich Naumann
Friedrich Naumann (25 March 1860 – 24 August 1919) was a German liberal politician and Protestant parish pastor. In 1896, he founded the National-Social Association that sought to combine liberalism, nationalism and (non-Marxist) sociali ...
. It sought to synthesise
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 ...
,
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
and non-
Marxist socialism
Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...
with
Protestant Christian
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
values in order to cross the ideological front lines and draw workers away from Marxist
class struggle. However, it never grew beyond a minor party of intellectuals which failed to gain mass support in elections.
History
In the second half of the 19th century, Germany underwent a rapid industrialization, which was connected with rising social problems. As a result of this, the
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) was founded and soon outlawed under the first
Chancellor of the
German Empire Otto von Bismarck. After the party was legalized again in 1890 (the year Bismarck resigned), it enjoyed considerable success at elections. Since the SPD was
Marxist, using
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
's ''
Das Kapital
''Das Kapital'', also known as ''Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'' or sometimes simply ''Capital'' (german: Das Kapital. Kritik der politischen Ökonomie, link=no, ; 1867–1883), is a foundational theoretical text in materialist phi ...
'' for their theoretical underpinnings, the ruling classes considered it a threat.
In 1896,
Friedrich Naumann
Friedrich Naumann (25 March 1860 – 24 August 1919) was a German liberal politician and Protestant parish pastor. In 1896, he founded the National-Social Association that sought to combine liberalism, nationalism and (non-Marxist) sociali ...
, a Protestant parish priest, founded the National-Social Association. The establishment is seen as a reaction to the rise of
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...
and an attempt to offer a moderate social liberal alternative guided by
Protestant Christian
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
principles as opposed to the secularism of the SPD, to the new masses of the working class. It was influenced by the political theories of
Max Weber, who helped founding the party. In accordance with Weber's teachings, the party believed that
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...
and
bourgeoisie should join hands for a strong German Empire, economic growth and social progress, therefore the party strove to dismantle the ideological divisions between socialists, left and national liberal and Christian parties.
[.]
The ideology of the association was labeled by its thought leader first as "national socialism on a Christian basis" (''nationaler Sozialismus auf christlicher Grundlage'') and "social imperialism" ''(soziales Kaisertum)'', later as "proletarian-bourgeois integral liberalism" (''proletarisch-bürgerlicher Gesamtliberalismus''), meaning a mix of
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
,
Christian socialism and
social liberalism
Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...
. Naumann's party advocated a stronger role for the parliament, but did not question the leading position of the monarch.
Publications of the party included the weekly newspaper ''Die Hilfe'' (''The Help'') and the short-lived daily newspaper ''Die Zeit'' (''The Time''). Furthermore, there were a number of regional and local papers who had close ties with the association.
In the elections of 1898 and 1903, the candidates of the association failed to gain seats and Naumann dissolved the party, merging into the centrist liberal
Free-minded Union
The Free-minded Union (german: Freisinnige Vereinigung; FVg) or Radical Union was a liberal party in the German Empire that existed from 1893 to 1910.
Emergence
Inside its predecessor, the German Free-minded Party, there had always been tension ...
. However, the newspaper ''Die Hilfe'' outlived the party and continued to advocate Naumann's ideology.
Despite its name, the National-Social Association is considered a liberal party and had no relation to the 20th century
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
, except their shared rejection of Marxism and claim to great power status for the German Empire.
Notable members
See also
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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 ...
Bibliography
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References
{{Authority control
Defunct political parties in Germany
Germany, 1896
Political parties of the German Empire
Liberal parties in Germany
Political parties established in 1896
Political parties disestablished in 1903
German nationalist political parties