The German Conservative Party (, DkP) was a

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

founded in 1876. It largely represented the wealthy landowning

German nobility The German nobility () and Royal family, royalty were status groups of the Estates of the realm, medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain Privilege (law), privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the Ger ...

and the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

Junker Junker (, , , , , , ka, იუნკერი, ) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German , meaning 'young nobleman'Duden; Meaning of Junker, in German/ref> or otherwise 'young lord' (derivation of and ). The term is traditionally ...

class. The party was a response to German unification, universal and equal franchise in national elections and rapid

industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

. It changed from a diffuse party of broad ideology into an interest party in Bismarckian Germany. In the early 1870s,

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

formed his majority with the base in the National Liberal Party which emphasized

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

and anti-Catholicism. Bismarck broke with them in the late 1870s, by which time the German Conservative Party and the

Free Conservative Party The Free Conservative Party (, FKP) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative political party in Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia and the German Empire which ran as the German Reich Party (, DRP) in the federal elections to the Reichstag (Ger ...

had brought together the landed Junkers in the East and the rapidly growing industrial leadership in the major cities. They now became the main base of Bismarck's support and successive Chancellors down to 1918. According to Robert M. Berdahl, this redirection illustrated "the slow and painful process by which the landed aristocracy adjusted to its new position in the capitalist 'class' system that had come to replace the precapitalist 'Estate' structure of Prussian society".

Policies

The German Conservative Party was generally seen as representing the interests of the

, the

landowners living east of the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

and the Evangelical Church of the Prussian Union and had its political stronghold in the Prussian Diet, where the three-class franchise gave rural elites and the wealthy disproportionate representation. Predominantly Prussian traditionalists, the party members had been skeptical at first about the 1871

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). I ...

—unlike the

, a national conservative split-off dominated by business magnates unrestrictedly supporting the policies of

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Reichstagsfraktion der Deutschkonservativen Partei 1889

The policies of Old Conservatives like Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke or Elard von Oldenburg-Januschau generally embraced support for the powers of the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

and opposition to

economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...

and

democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an democratic transition, authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction ...

, the introduction of

electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems that alters how public desires, usually expressed by cast votes, produce election results. Description Reforms can include changes to: * Voting systems, such as adoption of proportional represen ...

in Prussia, or true parliamentary government in Germany as a whole. Due to

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

, on federal level the DKP had to face strikingly decreased significance. In the 1878 federal election, it gained 13.0% of the votes cast and entered the Reichstag parliament with 59 deputies. Afterwards, the party, which furthermore lost votes as Germans moved from rural areas to new industrial centers in the west ('' Ostflucht''), forged an electoral alliance with the Christian Social Party under Adolf Stoecker, opportunistically embracing

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. Thomas Childers stated that the Conservatives were the first major party in Germany to incorporate antisemitism into its platform. The 1892 party program denounced a "demoralizing Jewish influence", but when this attitude failed to halt the party's fall in the polls this element was de-emphasized. Stoecker finally revoked the alliance in 1896. Though predominantly

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, the DKP opposed the '' Kulturkampf'', but supported Bismarck when during the

Long Depression The Long Depression was a worldwide price and economic recession, beginning in Panic of 1873, 1873 and running either through March 1879, or 1899, depending on the metrics used. It was most severe in Europe and the United States, which had been e ...

he began to implement protectionist policies by restricting grain imports from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Following this, the DKP strongly opposed the New Course of his successor

Leo von Caprivi Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprara de Montecuccoli (English language, English: ''Count George Leo of Caprivi, Caprara, and Montecuccoli''; born Georg Leo von Caprivi; 24 February 1831 – 6 February 1899) was a German general and statesman. He ...

. It also withdrew its confidence in Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow in 1909 when he tried to implement an inheritance tax reform; Bülow resigned following the reform's failure. The party supported Kaiser Wilhelm II's naval policies and Germany's

arms race An arms race occurs when two or more groups compete in military superiority. It consists of a competition between two or more State (polity), states to have superior armed forces, concerning production of weapons, the growth of a military, and ...

with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

but initially kept its distance towards

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

and the activists of the Pan-German League. The party was dissolved following the fall of the monarchy in November 1918 and the German Revolution. Most of its supporters turned to the newly established

German National People's Party The German National People's Party (, DNVP) was a national-conservative and German monarchy, monarchist political party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major nationalist party in Weimar German ...

. The ''Deutschkonservative Partei'' had no direct connection to the '' Deutsche Rechtspartei'' founded in 1946, which used the name ''Deutsche Konservative Partei'' (German Conservative Party) in parts of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. Members were for example Wilhelm von Rauchhaupt, Otto von Manteuffel, Ernst von Heydebrand und der Lasa, Kuno von Westarp, Hans Hugo von Kleist-Retzow, Philipp von Nathusius-Ludom, Elard von Oldenburg-Januschau, Hans von Kanitz, Heinrich von Salisch, Georg Oertel, Gustav von Goßler or Wilhelm Joachim von Hammerstein.

Chairmen

* 1876-1892: Otto von Helldorff * 1892–1911: Otto Karl Gottlob Freiherr von Manteuffel * 1912–1918: Ernst von Heydebrand und der Lasa

References

Works cited

* * *

External links

''Konservatives Handbuch''
(''The Conservative Handbook''). Published by the party in 1898.

(in German). {{Authority control Defunct political parties in Germany Political parties established in 1876 Christian political parties in Germany Conservative parties in Germany German nationalist political parties Political parties of the German Empire Protestant political parties 1876 establishments in Germany Monarchist parties in Germany Right-wing parties in Europe National conservative parties Social conservative parties Political parties disestablished in 1918 1918 disestablishments in Germany

Policies

Chairmen

See also

References

Works cited

Further reading

External links