Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)
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Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich-Demokratische Union Deutschlands |
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|---|---|
| Leader |
Andreas Hermes (1945) Jakob Kaiser (1945-1947) Otto Nuschke (1948-1957) August Bach (1957-1966) Gerald Götting (1966-1989) Lothar de Maizière (1989-1990) |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Dissolved | October 1990 |
| Merged into | West Germany CDU |
| Headquarters | East Berlin, East Germany |
| Membership (1987) | 140,000 |
| Ideology |
1945-1952: Christian democracy Social conservatism Centrism Christian socialism 1952-1989: Christian democracy Christian Realism Socialism (non-Marxist) 1989-1990: Christian democracy Social conservatism |
| Political position |
1945-1952: Center-right 1952-1989: Left-wing 1989-1990: Center-rightmajority to Right-wingminority |
| National affiliation |
Democratic Bloc (1945-1950) National Front (1950-1990) Alliance for Germany (1990) |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colors | Blue, Yellow |
| Party flag | |
.svg) |
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The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (German: Christlich-Demokratische Union Deutschlands, CDU) was an East German political party founded in 1945. It was part of the National Front with the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and a bloc party until 1989.
It contested the free elections in 1990 as an arm of the West German Christian Democratic Union, into which it merged after German reunification later that same year.
The CDU was originally very similar to its West German counterpart. Like the West German CDU, its support came mostly from devout middle class Christians. However, it was a little more left-leaning than the West German CDU.
Its first chairman was Andreas Hermes, who had been a prominent member of the Centre Party during the Weimar Republic and a three-time minister. He fled to the West in 1946 and was replaced by Jakob Kaiser, another former Centre Party member. Kaiser had been a prominent member of the Centre's left wing, and favoured nationalisation of heavy industries and a land distribution program suggested by the Communists. However, his criticism of the Communists resulted in him being pushed out in 1947 in favour of the more pliant Otto Nuschke, a former member of the German Democratic Party. Nuschke and his supporters gradually pushed out those CDU members who were not willing to do the Communists' bidding. This culminated at the Sixth Party Congress in 1952, at which it formally transformed itself into a loyal partner of the Communists. At this gathering, it declared itself "a Socialist party without any limitations" in accordance with the new line of "Christian realism."
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