Carpatho-German Party
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The Carpathian German Party (german: Karpatendeutsche Partei, abbreviated KdP) 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 political ideology ...
in
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
, active amongst the
Carpathian German Carpathian Germans (german: Karpatendeutsche, Mantaken, hu, kárpátnémetek or ''felvidéki németek'', sk, karpatskí Nemci) are a group of ethnic Germans. The term was coined by the historian Raimund Friedrich Kaindl (1866–1930), originally ...
minority of
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 ...
and
Subcarpathian Rus' Carpathian Ruthenia ( rue, Карпатьска Русь, Karpat'ska Rus'; uk, Закарпаття, Zakarpattia; sk, Podkarpatská Rus; hu, Kárpátalja; ro, Transcarpatia; pl, Zakarpacie); cz, Podkarpatská Rus; german: Karpatenukrai ...
. It began as a bourgeois centrist party, but after teaming up with 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 ...
in 1933 it developed in a
National Socialist 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 Na ...
orientation.


''Karpathendeutsche Volksgemeinschaft''

The KdP originated in 1927 as the ''Karpathendeutsche Volksgemeinschaft'' (KDV, 'Carpathian German Ethnic Community'), founded by men like Dr. Roland Steinacker (a professor in
Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
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 ...
), the
Sudeten German German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part ...
industrialist Karl Manouschek, Dr. Samuel Früwirt, Carl Eugen Schmidt (a Protestant pastor) and the engineer
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 ...
. The KDV was based mainly in Bratislava and surroundings, and gathered its members from the German bourgeouise and sympathizers of various political parties (like the
Farmers' League Farmers' League (german: Bund der Landwirte, BdL, cs, Německý svaz zemědělců) was an ethnic German agrarian political party in Czechoslovakia. Ideologically the party was moderately conservative, having its base in the Sudetenland countr ...
, the
German National Party The German Nationalist Party (german: Deutsche Nationalpartei, DNP, cs, Německá národní strana) was a First Republic political party in Czechoslovakia, representing the German population of Sudetenland. Its chairman and political face was R ...
and the German Democratic Progressive Party). It also organized
Sudeten Germans German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part ...
living in Slovakia.


Party foundation

The KdP was constituted as a political party in July 1928 in Nálepkovo/Wagendrüssel, with their eyes on the upcoming parliamentary election. The KdP was chaired by Dr. Roland Steinacker until 1933. The party had a Christian and anti-
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
outlook, and positioned itself as a party loyal to the Czechoslovak state. A key concern of the founders of the KdP was to steer Germans in Slovakia away from Magyar-dominated parties. The new party hoped to break the political hegemony of the
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 ...
. In terms of identity, the KdP put forward the notion of a 'Carpathian German' identity as opposed to the '
Zipser German Zipser German (German: Zipserisch, Zipserdeutsch, Hungarian: ''szepességi szász nyelv'' or ''cipszer nyelv'') is a Germanic dialect which developed in the Upper Zips region of what is now Slovakia among people who settled there from central G ...
' identity traditionally linked to the Hungarian monarchy.


1929 election

KdP contested the 1929 parliamentary election as part of the
German Electoral Coalition The German Electoral Coalition (german: Deutsche Wahlgemeinschaft, cz, Německé volební společenství) was a political alliance in Czechoslovakia representing Sudeten Germans. History The alliance was established for the 1929 elections as an a ...
, in alliance with the
Farmers' League Farmers' League (german: Bund der Landwirte, BdL, cs, Německý svaz zemědělců) was an ethnic German agrarian political party in Czechoslovakia. Ideologically the party was moderately conservative, having its base in the Sudetenland countr ...
(BdL) and the German Labour and Economic Community (DAWG). Whilst the alliance won 16 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and nine seats in the Senate, no KdP candidates were elected. The alliance obtained 16,922 votes in the areas of the Carpathian Germans (Slovakia and Subcarpathian Rus').''Manuel Statistique de la Republique Tchecoslovaque''. IV. 1932. Prague. Annuaire Statistique de la Republique Tchecoslovaque. pp. 401–402


1933–1934

Desider Alexy became the KdP chairman in 1933. With the National Socialist seizure of power in Germany, KdP gradually moved closer to the Sudeten German Heimatsfront (which later evolved into the Sudeten German Party). The party founded the weekly newspaper ''Deutsche Stimmen'' ('German Voices') as its organ in 1934.


1935 election

In the 1935 parliamentary election KdP contested together with the Sudeten German Party. The agreement between the two parties was reached on March 28, 1935. One KdP candidate was elected, Siegmund Keil who contested a Senate seat in the Nové Zámky 11th electoral district. Moreover, Karmasin was elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a SdP candidate from the Jihlava 10th electoral district. In the Czechoslovak National Assembly SdP and KdP formed joint factions in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. All in all, KdP had polled around 30,000 votes (compared to a total number of around 150,000 Carpathian Germans). Effectively KdP did not become as dominant a force in the Carpathian German community that the SdP had done in the Sudetenland.


Union with SdP

In November 1935 KdP entered into an organic union with SdP, in line with 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 ...
. The official name of SdP became the 'Sudeten German and Carpathian German Party' (''Sudetendeutsche und Karpatendeutsche Partei''). KdP organization was remodelled after that of SdP. Karmasin was named by SdP leader
Konrad Henlein Konrad Ernst Eduard Henlein (6 May 1898 – 10 May 1945) was a leading Sudeten Germans, Sudeten German politician in Czechoslovakia. Upon the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, German occupation in October 1938 he joined the Nazi Party as well ...
as his deputy for the Carpathian region. The symbol of KdP was modelled after that of the SdP, an elongated red shield which carried the letters "KdP". As the alliance with the Sudeten German Party being cemented, KdP began to expand its reach among a younger generation of Germans in Slovakia. Many of the new adherents of KdP had returned from German-language technical schools in
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
and
Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...
-
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
or the
German University in Prague ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...
. KdP was able to build a relatively strong presence in central Slovakia and managed to gain a role amongst younger generation in Zips as well. However the older generation of Zipser Germans and communists sympathizers remained sceptical of Karmasin and his party.


Alliance with Magyar parties

Henlein visited
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 ...
on April 27, 1936. During his visit he appealed to the leaders of the Magyar parties to form an alliance. Such an alliance, which became a reality in the 1937 local elections, meant that the United Magyar Party broke its links to the Zipser German Party. The Zipser German Party was routed in the 1937 polls.


Banned

The KdP and SdP were banned by the Czechoslovak government in the midst of the
Sudeten Crisis The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...
in September 1938. On 8 October 1938 the German Party was set up as a successor organization for the KdP. Karmasin would later become the Slovak Secretary of State for German Affairs and then a Waffen-SS ''
Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the SA, SS, and the NSFK. The rank originated from German shock troop units of the First World War ...
''.


References

{{Czechoslovakia ethnic minorities political parties, state=autocollapse Banned far-right parties German diaspora in Europe German diaspora political parties German nationalist political parties Interwar minority parties in Czechoslovakia Nazi parties Political parties of minorities in Slovakia Political parties established in 1928 Political parties disestablished in 1938