National-Social Association
The National Social Club ( NSI ) was a political party in the German Empire. It was founded in 1896 by Friedrich Naumann and joined nationalist, social reformist and liberal goals. After the general election of 1903 he dissolved.
History
The Lutheran pastor Friedrich Naumann was politically initially a supporter of the Christian Social movement around the court preacher Adolf Stoecker, although he never belonged to the conservative anti-Semitic Christian Social Party. After the defection of Stoecker founded Naumann, also under the influence of political theories of Max Weber, 1896 the National Social Association. A core objective of the new party was to bring the workers through political and social reforms to the existing state. These included the demand for a democratization of the political system and for a " social empire ". An important role was played also a kind of moderate imperialism. The social divide along class lines should be overcome in order to create the conditions for a more " economic and political power development of the German nation to the outside ". Output by Naumann slogan " From Bassermann to Bebel " became known. By this was meant that it was necessary for a fundamental political reform in terms of democratization of the constitutional system, an alliance of all progressive forces of the Social Democrats on the left-liberals to the National Liberals to bring about. This requirement was discussed a lot, but without being even vaguely realized on imperial level. Within the National Association of Social left wing by Pastor Paul Göhre pleaded even more to work with the social democratic revisionists to Eduard Bernstein. Really successful this was not so and already joined the SPD in 1898.
On this ideological basis of a number of local chapters of the Association was formed. But Naumann did not manage to win a real mass base. Trailers found the club, especially among higher educated young people. Besides Naumann lawyer Rudolph Sohm, the New Testament scholar Caspar René Gregory, the journalist Hellmut von Gerlach and the land reformer Adolf Damaschkestraße played a role in the National Social Association.
A stronghold of the party was the county Bentheim, Emsland city of Lingen ( Ems), where in addition to the middle class, especially workers of the party belonged. These Hellmut von Gerlach and his loyal assistant Georg Schümer were created members strong workers' associations in Schuettorf, Nordhorn, Guild Hall and Lingen. From whose ranks the single worker representatives came to the National Socialist party days. The struggle of the National Social Association in the region was mainly directed against the free conservative district and the National Liberal textile manufacturer. Those prevented in 1898 in the election to the Prussian House of Representatives by a sensational vote for the center man August sword that Hellmut von Gerlach was able to represent the electoral district of Bentheim - Lingen, with the support of the center. So far, one of them was the center candidate as well as its ally by all means - have been fought - and illegal kind. The pressure of the manufacturers were also the National Social violently to feel, but they fought back with the help of the purchased " Schüttorfer newspaper".
In the general election of 1898, the club had no mandate. In the next 1903 started with high hopes, only able to obtain, with the support of the Centre Party a seat Hellmut von Gerlach in the Hessian constituency Frankenberg. The defeat of 1903 led to the dissolution of the association. The majority of the members, as well as the member of the Reichstag from Gerlach, then joined the Free Radical Association. Only in the Grand Duchy of Baden passed the National Social until the unification of the left-liberal parties to the Progressive People's Party in 1910 continued as an independent organization.