Weimar Political Parties

1. Catholic Center Party:

It was more diverse party but had uniformity to protect the interests of German’s Catholics who were of 34% of population. So the largest numbers of supporters were Catholics, some Protestants who were included in legislative delegation including 1% of Jews also voted the Catholic Party. Catholic women also highly voted. The Center Party was vital to the stability of Republic and was the part of every Weimer government. Its leader served as chancellors for nine administrations and was included in each of the twenty-one cabinets that ruled during the fourteen years of the Republic. With the change in the leadership of the party in 1928, it drifted towards its more conservative wing which evolved into the Bavarian People’s Party and was positioned itself in opposition to the Weimer government.

 2. Communist Party(KPD)

Communist Party was the left wing sided and founded in 1981 in the midst of revolutionary chaos. The party’s earliest members came from the radical Spartacist group but were crushed by Social Democratic army. They were opposed to the existence of Weimer Republic and were antagonistic to the democratic leftist social Democratic Party. The Communists were in favor of a Russian style dictatorship and during the Weimer crisis years, its voting strength grew as unemployed people were more attracted. Although the party had feminist agenda and were opposed to anti-Semitism and were Jews leaders could not get a huge number of support from women and Jews.

 3. German Democratic Party (DDP)

They were members of protestant middle class and often from professional group of lawyers, doctors and liberal academics. The party supported the Weimer Republic and was resistant to militarism and anti-Semitism. Jews and protestant highly supported the party and while the party fits on the left side of the political spectrum, it stressed its moderation. There was a rise in Weimer Republic support in 1919 and later eroded the support of Weimer’s end period. This party was in decline later on because of the death of its prominent leaders Max Weber and Friedrich Newmann. Though of its declining support, the party played an important role during the Weimer years and was a participant in coalition governments. Later the Party reconstituted itself as he State Party.

 4. German Nationalist People Party (DNVP)

The supporters of this party were Protestants and a mix of landowners and industrialists with crafts people and civil servants and farmers who followed the wealthy landowners. Also attracted the more conservative elements among the white collar clerical and retail sales workers. It was militaristic, resistant to republic government, opposed to attempts to fulfill the terms of the Versailles treaty and anti-Semitic.

5. German People’s Party (DVP)
It represented owners of small and middle-sized business, white collar workers and Protestants. It lacked the rural base of the nationalists and was more moderate in its nationalism and less extreme in its anti-Semitism. The party had a core group who were willing to support and participate in Weimer coalition government which kept conservatives like Gustav Stresemann as party leader while other members were never reconciled to the new Republic.

 6. National Socialist German Workers Party ( NSDAP-Nazi)

It was founded in 1919 as the German Workers Party and moved forward as Adolf Hitler emerged as its speaker and leader. This party initially attracted young military who were unable to reintegrate themselves into the civilian society and economy. Also they had a support of middle class people, shopkeepers, artisans and white-collar workers. The party was opposed to the Weimer Republic and in 1923 Hitler tried unsuccessfully to seize the government by force but failed and later attempted a strategy of gaining power through the electoral process without changing its fundamental opposition to democracy and republican government. Anti-Semitism and the threat that the Jews represented to Germany were at the core of the Nazi ideology.  Although Hitler was Catholic there were fewer Catholic supporters than Protestants where as women support grown faster. By 1932, the Nazis had become the most popular political party and they had the largest legislative delegation. This party was funded by industrialists because they hated Communism.

 7. Social Democratic Party (SPD)

This party was supported by blue-collar trade union skilled workers, progressive white-collar workers and intellectuals as well as Catholics and Protestants were both attracted. In some parts working class families voted this party in large numbers; also landless farm workers, working class women, some Jews. From 1919 to 1932 this party received the most votes in national elections and had the largest legislative delegation. They were committed to reform Weimer society and hoped to make Weimer more egalitarian and was opponent of anti-Semitism during the Weimer years.