fbpx
Wikipedia

National Front of the German Democratic Republic

February 15, 2024

Not to be confused with Nationalist Front (Germany), a short-lived minor neo-Nazi group of the 1980s.

The National Front of the German Democratic Republic (German: Nationale Front der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik) was officially an alliance of parties and mass organisations (1950–1990). In fact, only one party held power in the GDR, namely the communist SED. The National Front was an instrument to exercise control over the other parties and organisations. The precursor of the National Front was the Democratic Bloc (since 1945).

National Front of the German Democratic Republic
Nationale Front der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik
ChairmanErich Correns (1950–1981)
Lothar Kolditz (1981–1990)
Founded30 March 1950
Dissolved20 February 1990
Preceded byDemocratic Bloc
HeadquartersEast Berlin, German Democratic Republic
Ideology
Political positionFar-left

The main task of the National Front was to draw up a common electoral list ("Einheitsliste") in elections to the East German parliament, the Volkskammer ("People's Chamber"). This "unity list" was the only list that citizens could vote for. Other parties or lists were prohibited. The National Front system was intended to give to the outside world the impression that there was a democracy with a multi-party system in the GDR.

After the Second World War, the Allies initially allowed four parties: the Communists, the Social Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals. In the Soviet Occupation Zone, the Communist Party forced the Social Democrats to merge (1946). Thus the communist-dominated Socialist Unity Party (SED) was formed.

The other two parties, the Christian Democrats and Liberals, were initially independent. The SED, with the help of the Soviet occupation authorities, intimidated these parties and forced them to get on course. Finally, the occupying authorities allowed two new parties to be founded: the Peasants' Party and the National Democratic Party (1948). Both parties were founded under the secret leadership of the Communist Party. Their task was to poach voters from the Christian Democrats and Liberals. The National Democrats were also supposed to be a collecting ground for former National Socialists. The parties that were not the SED were called Blockpartei.

Finally, there were so-called mass organisations in the Soviet occupation zone and then in the GDR. Some of them were represented on the electoral list, such as the trade union and the women's organisation. Nearly all of these MPs were members of the SED. Therefore, although the SED faction in parliament did not have an absolute majority, most MPs were nevertheless SED members.[1]

All parties and mass organisations in the National Front had to officially accept the SED's leading role as a condition of their existence. Only in the last weeks prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall (November 1989), some politicians of non-SED parties started to moderately criticize SED dominance. The Front disbanded in February 1990, a month before the first free elections in the GDR.

Constituent parties edit

Party Emblem Flag Foundation Dissolution Seats in the Volkskammer (1986)
Socialist Unity Party
SED		     21 April 1946 16 December 1989 127
Christian Democratic Union
CDU		     26 June 1945 1/2 October 1990 52
Liberal Democratic Party
LDPD		     5 July 1945[2] 11 August 1990 52
Democratic Farmers' Party
DBD		     17 June 1948 15 September 1990 52
National Democratic Party
NDPD		     5 May 1948[3][4] 27 March 1990 52

Constituent mass organizations represented in the People's Chamber edit

 
The volunteering campaign "Nice towns and communities. Take part!"
Organization Emblem Flag Foundation Dissolution Assigned representatives in the Volkskammer (1986)
Free German Trade Union Federation
FDGB		     1946 1990 61
Free German Youth
FDJ		     1946 exists today 37
Democratic Women's League of Germany
DFD		     1947 1990 32
Cultural Association of the DDR
KB		     1945 1990 21
Peasants Mutual Aid Association
VdgB		     1945 1994 14

Other organizations associated with the National Front edit

The following organizations, which were part of the NF, did not send elected representatives to the Volkskammer but were active in the performance of its activities.

Organization Emblem Foundation Dissolution
Society for German–Soviet Friendship   1949 1992
People's Solidarity   1945 exists today
Sport and Technology Association   1952 1990
German Gymnastics and Sports Federation   1957 1990
Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation   1948 1990
Writers' Association of the GDR   1945 1990
Association of Gardeners, Settlers, and Animal Breeders   1952 1990
Association of Theatre Professionals [de]   1966 1990
Union of Journalists   1945 1990
Chamber of Engineering [de]   1946 1990
Peace Council of the GDR [de]   1949 1990
Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime   1947 banned in East Germany in 1953, exists today
Committee of Antifascist Resistance Fighters   1953 1991
League of Lusatian Sorbs   1912
founded before the creation of the GDR		 exists today

History edit

 
Pavilion of the National Front in Leipzig, 1953
 
The Nationale Front election poster from 1950

The National Front was the successor to the Demokratischer Block which had been founded in the Soviet occupation zone. The Front itself was founded on 30 March 1950. It operated through the issuing of a generally consistent proportion of seats (divided between the Front's parties and SED-controlled mass organisations) submitted in the form of a single list of candidates during each election to the People's Chamber. Seats were awarded on the basis of a set quota rather than vote totals.[5] As voters only had the option of approving or rejecting the list in far-from-secret conditions, it "won" with virtually unanimous levels of support.[6]

Although nominally a broad-based coalition of parties, in practice the SED was the only one with any real power. By ensuring that Communists dominated the lists, the SED essentially predetermined the composition of the People's Chamber.

In 1950-1951, the public rejection of the validity of the list by some German politicians resulted in some of them being imprisoned for "rejecting the electoral law of the German Democratic Republic" (as in the case of LDPD leader Günter Stempel). Although the SED had already become a full-fledged Stalinist "party of the new type" by the formation of the GDR, the other parties did not completely bend to the SED's will for a time. By the mid-1950s, however, the more courageous members of the constituent parties had been pushed out, and the parties had all been transformed into loyal partners of the SED. By this time, the SED itself had purged its few independent-minded members as well. The Front now took on a character similar to other groupings in the Eastern Bloc. For the next three decades, the minor parties in the Front had to accept the SED's "leading role" as a condition of their continued existence.

On 1 December 1989, the Front was effectively rendered impotent when the Volkskammer deleted the provision of the Constitution of East Germany that gave the SED a monopoly of power. Four days later, the Christian Democratic Union and Liberal Democratic Party, having thrown out their pro-Communist leaderships, withdrew from the Front. On 16 December the SED, having transformed itself into a democratic socialist party, reformed itself into the Party of Democratic Socialism. On 20 February 1990, an amendment to the constitution removed mention of the Front.[7]

Chairmen of the National Front edit

Electoral history edit

Volkskammer elections edit

Election Votes % Seats +/– Position Government
1950 12,088,745 99.6%
466 / 466
   136   1st Sole legal coalition
1954 11,828,877 99.46%
466 / 466
     1st Sole legal coalition
1958 11,689,110 99.87%
466 / 466
     1st Sole legal coalition
1963 11,533,859 99.25%
434 / 434
   32   1st Sole legal coalition
1967 11,197,265 99.93%
434 / 434
     1st Sole legal coalition
1971 11,207,388 99.5%
434 / 434
     1st Sole legal coalition
1976 11,245,023 98.58%
434 / 434
     1st Sole legal coalition
1981 12,235,515 99.9%
500 / 500
   66   1st Sole legal coalition
1986 12,392,094 99.94%
500 / 500
     1st Sole legal coalition

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Andreas Malchya: Der Ausbau des neuen Systems 1949 bis 1961, Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, last retrieved 2019-05-01.
  2. ^ (PDF) (in German). Archived from the original (PDF; 1,0 MB) on 2018-10-25. Retrieved 2017-10-20. Digitalisat des Archivs des Liberalismus
  3. ^ "DDR-Lexikon: NDPD". www.ddr-wissen.de.
  4. ^ "Domains – Iportale".
  5. ^ Eugene Register-Guard October 29, 1989. p. 5A.
  6. ^ Kurt Sontheimer & Wilhelm Bleek. The Government and Politics of East Germany. New York: St. Martin's Press. 1975. p. 66.
  7. ^ Peter E. Quint. The Imperfect Union: Constitutional Structures of German Unification. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. 1997. p. 37.

External links edit

  • Die Transformation der DDR-Blockparteien während und nach der politischen Wende

February 15, 2024
national, front, german, democratic, republic, confused, with, nationalist, front, germany, short, lived, minor, nazi, group, 1980s, german, nationale, front, deutschen, demokratischen, republik, officially, alliance, parties, mass, organisations, 1950, 1990, . Not to be confused with Nationalist Front Germany a short lived minor neo Nazi group of the 1980s The National Front of the German Democratic Republic German Nationale Front der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik was officially an alliance of parties and mass organisations 1950 1990 In fact only one party held power in the GDR namely the communist SED The National Front was an instrument to exercise control over the other parties and organisations The precursor of the National Front was the Democratic Bloc since 1945 National Front of the German Democratic Republic Nationale Front der Deutschen Demokratischen RepublikChairmanErich Correns 1950 1981 Lothar Kolditz 1981 1990 Founded30 March 1950Dissolved20 February 1990Preceded byDemocratic BlocHeadquartersEast Berlin German Democratic RepublicIdeologyCommunismMarxism LeninismStalinism until 1956 Political positionFar leftPolitics of East GermanyElectionsThe main task of the National Front was to draw up a common electoral list Einheitsliste in elections to the East German parliament the Volkskammer People s Chamber This unity list was the only list that citizens could vote for Other parties or lists were prohibited The National Front system was intended to give to the outside world the impression that there was a democracy with a multi party system in the GDR After the Second World War the Allies initially allowed four parties the Communists the Social Democrats the Christian Democrats and the Liberals In the Soviet Occupation Zone the Communist Party forced the Social Democrats to merge 1946 Thus the communist dominated Socialist Unity Party SED was formed The other two parties the Christian Democrats and Liberals were initially independent The SED with the help of the Soviet occupation authorities intimidated these parties and forced them to get on course Finally the occupying authorities allowed two new parties to be founded the Peasants Party and the National Democratic Party 1948 Both parties were founded under the secret leadership of the Communist Party Their task was to poach voters from the Christian Democrats and Liberals The National Democrats were also supposed to be a collecting ground for former National Socialists The parties that were not the SED were called Blockpartei Finally there were so called mass organisations in the Soviet occupation zone and then in the GDR Some of them were represented on the electoral list such as the trade union and the women s organisation Nearly all of these MPs were members of the SED Therefore although the SED faction in parliament did not have an absolute majority most MPs were nevertheless SED members 1 All parties and mass organisations in the National Front had to officially accept the SED s leading role as a condition of their existence Only in the last weeks prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall November 1989 some politicians of non SED parties started to moderately criticize SED dominance The Front disbanded in February 1990 a month before the first free elections in the GDR Contents 1 Constituent parties 2 Constituent mass organizations represented in the People s Chamber 3 Other organizations associated with the National Front 4 History 5 Chairmen of the National Front 6 Electoral history 6 1 Volkskammer elections 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksConstituent parties editParty Emblem Flag Foundation Dissolution Seats in the Volkskammer 1986 Socialist Unity PartySED nbsp nbsp 21 April 1946 16 December 1989 127Christian Democratic UnionCDU nbsp nbsp 26 June 1945 1 2 October 1990 52Liberal Democratic PartyLDPD nbsp nbsp 5 July 1945 2 11 August 1990 52Democratic Farmers PartyDBD nbsp nbsp 17 June 1948 15 September 1990 52National Democratic PartyNDPD nbsp nbsp 5 May 1948 3 4 27 March 1990 52Constituent mass organizations represented in the People s Chamber edit nbsp The volunteering campaign Nice towns and communities Take part Organization Emblem Flag Foundation Dissolution Assigned representatives in the Volkskammer 1986 Free German Trade Union FederationFDGB nbsp nbsp 1946 1990 61Free German YouthFDJ nbsp nbsp 1946 exists today 37Democratic Women s League of GermanyDFD nbsp nbsp 1947 1990 32Cultural Association of the DDRKB nbsp nbsp 1945 1990 21Peasants Mutual Aid AssociationVdgB nbsp nbsp 1945 1994 14Other organizations associated with the National Front editThe following organizations which were part of the NF did not send elected representatives to the Volkskammer but were active in the performance of its activities Organization Emblem Foundation DissolutionSociety for German Soviet Friendship nbsp 1949 1992People s Solidarity nbsp 1945 exists todaySport and Technology Association nbsp 1952 1990German Gymnastics and Sports Federation nbsp 1957 1990Ernst Thalmann Pioneer Organisation nbsp 1948 1990Writers Association of the GDR nbsp 1945 1990Association of Gardeners Settlers and Animal Breeders nbsp 1952 1990Association of Theatre Professionals de nbsp 1966 1990Union of Journalists nbsp 1945 1990Chamber of Engineering de nbsp 1946 1990Peace Council of the GDR de nbsp 1949 1990Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime nbsp 1947 banned in East Germany in 1953 exists todayCommittee of Antifascist Resistance Fighters nbsp 1953 1991League of Lusatian Sorbs nbsp 1912founded before the creation of the GDR exists todayHistory edit nbsp Pavilion of the National Front in Leipzig 1953 nbsp The Nationale Front election poster from 1950The National Front was the successor to the Demokratischer Block which had been founded in the Soviet occupation zone The Front itself was founded on 30 March 1950 It operated through the issuing of a generally consistent proportion of seats divided between the Front s parties and SED controlled mass organisations submitted in the form of a single list of candidates during each election to the People s Chamber Seats were awarded on the basis of a set quota rather than vote totals 5 As voters only had the option of approving or rejecting the list in far from secret conditions it won with virtually unanimous levels of support 6 Although nominally a broad based coalition of parties in practice the SED was the only one with any real power By ensuring that Communists dominated the lists the SED essentially predetermined the composition of the People s Chamber In 1950 1951 the public rejection of the validity of the list by some German politicians resulted in some of them being imprisoned for rejecting the electoral law of the German Democratic Republic as in the case of LDPD leader Gunter Stempel Although the SED had already become a full fledged Stalinist party of the new type by the formation of the GDR the other parties did not completely bend to the SED s will for a time By the mid 1950s however the more courageous members of the constituent parties had been pushed out and the parties had all been transformed into loyal partners of the SED By this time the SED itself had purged its few independent minded members as well The Front now took on a character similar to other groupings in the Eastern Bloc For the next three decades the minor parties in the Front had to accept the SED s leading role as a condition of their continued existence On 1 December 1989 the Front was effectively rendered impotent when the Volkskammer deleted the provision of the Constitution of East Germany that gave the SED a monopoly of power Four days later the Christian Democratic Union and Liberal Democratic Party having thrown out their pro Communist leaderships withdrew from the Front On 16 December the SED having transformed itself into a democratic socialist party reformed itself into the Party of Democratic Socialism On 20 February 1990 an amendment to the constitution removed mention of the Front 7 Chairmen of the National Front editProf Erich Correns 1950 1981 Prof Lothar Kolditz 1981 1989 Electoral history editVolkskammer elections edit Election Votes Seats Position Government1950 12 088 745 99 6 466 466 nbsp 136 nbsp 1st Sole legal coalition1954 11 828 877 99 46 466 466 nbsp nbsp 1st Sole legal coalition1958 11 689 110 99 87 466 466 nbsp nbsp 1st Sole legal coalition1963 11 533 859 99 25 434 434 nbsp 32 nbsp 1st Sole legal coalition1967 11 197 265 99 93 434 434 nbsp nbsp 1st Sole legal coalition1971 11 207 388 99 5 434 434 nbsp nbsp 1st Sole legal coalition1976 11 245 023 98 58 434 434 nbsp nbsp 1st Sole legal coalition1981 12 235 515 99 9 500 500 nbsp 66 nbsp 1st Sole legal coalition1986 12 392 094 99 94 500 500 nbsp nbsp 1st Sole legal coalitionSee also edit nbsp East Germany portalPolitics of East Germany List of Volkskammer members 9th election period Vietnamese Fatherland Front Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland in North Korea Polish Committee of National Liberation Front of National Unity National Front Fatherland Front People s Democratic Front Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy Lao Front for National Construction National United Front of KampucheaReferences edit Andreas Malchya Der Ausbau des neuen Systems 1949 bis 1961 Bundeszentrale fur politische Bildung last retrieved 2019 05 01 Aufruf der Liberal Demokratischen Partei Deutschlands an das deutsche Volk vom 5 Juli 1945 PDF in German Archived from the original PDF 1 0 MB on 2018 10 25 Retrieved 2017 10 20 Digitalisat des Archivs des Liberalismus DDR Lexikon NDPD www ddr wissen de Domains Iportale Eugene Register Guard October 29 1989 p 5A Kurt Sontheimer amp Wilhelm Bleek The Government and Politics of East Germany New York St Martin s Press 1975 p 66 Peter E Quint The Imperfect Union Constitutional Structures of German Unification Princeton N J Princeton University Press 1997 p 37 External links editDie Transformation der DDR Blockparteien wahrend und nach der politischen Wende Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title National Front of the German Democratic Republic amp oldid 1205544394, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.