German People's Party (1868)
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German People's Party
Deutsche Volkspartei |
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|---|---|
| Founded | 1868 |
| Dissolved | 1910 |
| Preceded by | Democratic People's Party, German Progress Party |
| Merged into | Progressive People's Party |
| Newspaper | Frankfurter Zeitung (unofficial) |
| Ideology |
Liberal democracy, Social liberalism, Social progressivism, Republicanism, Parliamentarism, Federalism, Laicism, Radicalism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
The German People's Party (German: Deutsche Volkspartei, DtVP) was a German liberal party created in 1868 by the wing of the German Progress Party which during the conflict about whether the Unification of Germany should be led by the Kingdom of Prussia or Austria-Hungary supported Austria.
The party was most popular in Southern Germany. Initially the South German democrats supported the Greater German solution of the German question. After the establishment of the German Empire in 1871 under Prussia, the solution which excluded Austria, it advocated federalist structures, and defended the South German states' rights against increasing strengthening of the central government in Berlin. Insistently, the party demanded democratic reforms, in particular strengthening of the position of the parliament, which had no say in the formation of the government and no influence on government policies as the government was appointed and dismissed by the emperor alone.
In contrast to the National Liberal Party, it stood in staunch opposition against the policy of Otto von Bismarck from the establishment of the German Empire. The party put the classical liberal notion of liberty above the prospect of a German unification led "from above". The German People's Party was highly critical of the Prusso-German monarchy and advocated the separation of church and state. Still, it rejected Bismarck's "Kulturkampf" against the Catholic Church as well as the Anti-Socialist Laws.
The German People's Party was the most leftist among non-Marxist parties and closest to the social democracy. It was the sole liberal party to cooperate with the Socialists in the Reichstag.
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