All-German People's Party

All-German People's Party
Gesamtdeutsche Volkspartei
LeaderGustav Heinemann
Founded1952
Dissolved1957
Split fromChristian Democratic Union and Centre Party
Merged intoSocial Democratic Party of Germany
IdeologyCentrism
Christian democracy
Christian left
Pacifism[1]
Neutralism[1]
Political positionCentre to centre-left[2]
Helene Wessel on the GVP founding convention 1952
Gustav Heinemann in 1949

The All-German People's Party (German: Gesamtdeutsche Volkspartei, GVP) was a minor political party in West Germany active between 1952 and 1957.[3] It was a Christian, pacifist, centre-left[2] party that opposed the re-armament of West Germany because it believed that the remilitarisation and NATO integration would make German reunification impossible, deepen the division of Europe and pose a danger to peace.

Most members were dissidents from the Christian Democratic Union or German Centre Party who disagreed with the foreign and intra-German policy of Konrad Adenauer's government. The party failed to win broader public support, only gaining 1.2% in the federal election. The party dissolved and many members joined the Social Democratic Party (SPD), with a number of former GVP activists rising to high-ranking positions, including two Presidents of Germany, Gustav Heinemann and Johannes Rau.

  1. ^ a b Stöver, Bernd (2011). Der Kalte Krieg: Geschichte eines radikalen Zeitalters, 1947 - 1991. C. H. Beck. p. 220.
  2. ^ a b Sauer, Thomas (1999). Westorientierung im deutschen Protestantismus?. Oldenbourg. p. 151, note 109.
  3. ^ Dilling, Matthias (2022). "Denominational Conflicts and Party Breakthrough: The Negative Case of the All-German People's Party". Social Science History. 46 (3): 505–529. doi:10.1017/ssh.2022.1. ISSN 0145-5532. S2CID 247983650.

Developed by StudentB