German Conservative Party

The German Conservative Party was a political party in the German Empire.

Formation

The party was constituted on June 7, 1876 from very different groups: nobles, landowners, government supporters as Bismarck, Moltke, tradition- oriented Protestants and Christian Socialists. They acknowledged the Constitution of the German Empire and argued for the preservation of the monarchical prerogatives, strengthening the religion, against centralism and parliamentarianism and for combating social democracy. The German Conservative Party was the successor party to the Prussian Old Conservatives, but gained unlike those in some states outside of Prussia importance. The first chairman of the party was the squire and member of the Reichstag Otto von Helldorff - Bedra. The program of the party was discussed in detail with Bismarck.

Their main organ was the New Prussian newspaper ( Kreuzzeitung ).

Policy

First, the party sat down significantly from Bismarck and the supporting him free from the Conservative Party, but she approached in 1877 his policy again - especially when he went to the protective policy. Their strongholds had the party in East Prussia, Pomerania, Mecklenburg, and the province of Saxony. In the Prussian House of Representatives she was favored by the three-class suffrage, the strongest force. In the mansion their position was even stronger. So they had a significant impact on the officer corps, civil servants and ministers and the Federal Council on the imperial policy.

The party was partially aligned anti-Semitic, as anti-Semitic propaganda was, for example, in the Reichstag election campaign in 1881 to a large extent used.

The protective tariff policy, she went along with the Free Conservatives, the center and with parts of the National Liberal Party. But they turned against the Kulturkampf of Bismarck.

After his release, the German conservatives were in opposition to the liberal economic policies of the new Chancellor Leo von Caprivi. 1892, adopted the party program (called the Tivoli Program, named after the Berlin Tivoli Brewery, in the ballroom of the Congress met ) turned, influenced by Adolf Stoecker, against the corrosive Jewish Einflussund against social democracy. From 1892 onwards there has also been lobbying between the largely rural nobility entstamme ligand previous party leadership and Stoecker rather bourgeois- urbanized CSU. Due to the advent of the Federation of Farmers of the first inferior agrarian wing was strengthened again and Stoecker led in February 1896 due to socio-political differences, the separation of the Christian Social Party. The German Conservatives voted in 1898 and 1899 closed for naval and military templates and were in the Prussian Landtag as an opponent of the Mittelland Canal ( " Canal rebels ").

Under Chancellor, Prince Bernhard von Bülow, the party approached because of its agrarprotektionistischer policy back to the imperial government, but rejected it continues all approaches to liberal reforms in the domestic, economic and financial policy from and contributed in 1909 to overthrow the government v. Bülow with. The German conservatives opposed any strengthening of the empire at the expense of individual states, because they feared that otherwise would lose their influence in federal politics Prussia dominant weight. However, they agreed to all military and naval bills while they supported the colonial policy only reluctantly. Therefore, there was also a distance to the Pan-German program.

As a party without a mass basis they sought a replacement in the Agrarian League ( BDL ), set the tone in the Prussian large landowners. On many issues, it was purely for interest party of agriculture. Many Prussian district administrators gave their support.

Known representatives of the party were, inter alia, William of Rauchhaupt, Otto von Manteuffel, Ernst von Heydebrand and Lasa, Kuno von Westarp, Hans Hugo von Kleist Retzow, Philip of Nathusius - LUDOM, Elard of Oldenburg- Januschau, Hans von Kanitz, Heinrich von Salish, Dr. Georg Oertel or Wilhelm Joachim von Hammerstein.

A majority of the members of the German Conservative Party took part in 1918 in the founding of the German National People's Party ( DNVP ).

Party structure

Chaired by Helldorf the party is a " conglomerate of independent Honoratiorenpolitiker " was until 1890 ( Volker Stalmann ) with only a few permanent structures. East of the Elbe were the supporters of the party just before elections in action to set up their candidates and to lead the election campaign, while it often partly great conservative local associations existed in larger cities in West Germany, the partially state associations ( in Baden, Saxony and Bavaria ) were united. It was not until 1902 existed with the "Main Association of German conservatives" a parent party structure on imperial level. Was made ​​the party less of its chairman ( until 1892 Otto von Helldorff, 1892-1911 Otto von Manteuffel, 1912-1918 Ernst von Heydebrand and the Lasa ) as a collective body. Until 1889 this function of the party committee, after a penalty or after 1902 fulfilled a committee of twelve of the Reichstag and the Prussian and Saxon Landtag. The Committee decided on the broad lines of party politics and was responsible for the organization of election campaigns. Party conventions found in 1876, 1892 and from 1912 onwards then held regularly. The party made ​​no membership fee, to fund it had to rely on donations, the main source of money was going to the east of the Elbe landlordism ( Junker ).

Regional distribution

In regional terms, the party had their strongholds in Prussia east of the Elbe. Thus, the German Conservative Party in 1887 represented in the German Reichstag 74 constituencies, 61 (82%) of whom were Prussian constituencies, 49 of the 61 constituencies Prussia ( = 80%) were east of the Elbe. This regionalization of the strongholds intensified in the course of the empire: Of the 43 constituencies won the party in the Reichstag elections in 1912 there were 39 (91%) on Prussian territory. A study of the regional distribution of German conservative seats in the elections to the Prussian House of Deputies confirms the East Elbe focus of the Party: In the elections to the Prussian House of Representatives in 1913, the party reached 143 seats, 125 (87%) derived from such constituencies were located east of the Elbe.

Press

The appearing daily party organ of the German conservatives was the post that was the same as the official organ of the government Bismarck. More press products from the party were the Reichsbote, the Conservative monthly magazine and the German nobility sheet.