Liberal Association

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Members of the FVg parliamentary group , around 1889

The Freisinnige Vereinigung ( FVg , also FrVgg ) was a liberal party in the German Empire , which emerged in 1893 from a split from the German Freisinnige Party and in 1910 became part of the Progressive People's Party . In terms of personnel, it was in the tradition of the Liberal Association , which in turn split off from the National Liberal Party in 1880 . The FVg was initially a classic honorary party , but changed to a member party at the latest with the admission of the National Social Association in 1903 .

Emergence

The existing from the beginning intra-party tensions between the left wing of the former progressives and the right wing of the former secessionists occurred on May 6, 1893, the surface than in the Reichstag Georg Siemens and five other members of the German-liberal faction in contrast to the fraction majority an army bill by Chancellor Leo von Caprivi voted. The party leader Eugen Richter then successfully demanded that the six dissenters be excluded from the parliamentary group. A few days later, other former secessionists such as Ludwig Bamberger , Theodor Barth , Heinrich Rickert and Karl Schrader as well as a group of old progressives around Albert Hänel declared their withdrawal from the party and formed the Liberal Association with the apostates . In many respects, especially in terms of personnel, the new grouping continued the tradition of the Liberal Association from the early 1880s. The remaining left wing of the party around Richter, meanwhile, constituted itself as the Liberal People's Party .

Since the Reichstag was dissolved after the parliamentary majority rejected the Caprivian Army Bill, the development phase of the new party ran parallel to the campaign for the Reichstag election in 1893 . The Liberal Association emphasized above all economic liberal goals. However, the split in the party had shaken voters' confidence in left-wing liberalism overall, so that the two parties together fared significantly weaker than the German-Free Party in previous elections. Of the total of 37 mandates of the two left-liberal groups, only 13 were given to the Liberal Association. In the Reichstag election in 1890 , the Liberal groups were able to win 66 seats.

Organization and politics until 1903

Because of the Reichstag election, there was also an official founding meeting afterwards. The group chairman made it clear that the association did not want to be a closed party, but rather a liberal electoral association. Therefore there was no new party program; instead, the programmatic demands of the German Liberal Party of 1884 retained their validity for the time being. Although there was a membership fee, there was hardly any permanent organization and the association had no statutes . Most of the local organizations of the German Liberal Party had joined the Liberal People's Party. In the aftermath, too, the number of local clubs remained small. The number of election committees was slightly larger. In many constituencies, however, the association was not represented at all. In 1903 there were about 1,000 party members.

The regional focus of the party was in northern Germany and in eastern Elbe . In Bremen in 1893 it became the strongest party. Almost two thirds of the mandates were won in the areas east of the Elbe.

In contrast to the Liberal People's Party, the Liberal Association supported the naval and colonial policy of the German Reich government, so that its content came closer to the National Liberal Party . There were attempts to unite with the National Liberals; that did not happen, however.

Association with the National Social Association

The connection of the National Social Association around Friedrich Naumann to the Liberal Association in 1903 was of great importance . This changed the character of the association permanently. The social problems of the industrial age now played a bigger role. The aim was to overcome the antagonism between the bourgeoisie and the workers , following the example of Joseph Chamberlain . In addition to solving the social question as such, it was hoped that this would give Germany the possibility of further external development of power in the age of imperialism . With the local groups of the National Socials, the association also got a stronger organizational structure. The local associations developed a great deal of activity, especially during the election campaigns, and held events for the political education of their members during the rest of the time . The local organizations also gained political weight, the party executive gaining influence over the parliamentary group in the Reichstag, and the local associations put forward motions at the party congresses. The goal of developing into a people 's party , however, was not achieved. In 1909 the party had only about 9,000 members.

Union of left-wing liberal parties

In 1905 there was a meeting of members of the two free-thinking parties and the German People's Party to discuss a new merger of the (left) liberal parties. He came to work out a program based on a minimal consensus. There was closer cooperation during the election campaign for the Reichstag election in 1907 . The three parties then belonged to the Bülow Block and formed a parliamentary group in the Reichstag. However, this policy had led to the split-off of some critics around Theodor Barth, Rudolf Breitscheid and Hellmut von Gerlach within the Liberal Association . Their democratic association was irrelevant and soon disintegrated.

In 1910 the Progressive People's Party was founded as an amalgamation of left-liberal parties.

Significant members

literature

  • Ludwig Elm : Liberal Association (FVg) 1893-1910 (Electoral Association of Liberals). In: Dieter Fricke et al. (Ed.): Lexicon for the history of parties. Volume 2. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1984, DNB 550849033 , pp. 682-693.
  • Hans Fenske: German party history. From the beginning to the present. Schöningh, Paderborn 1994, ISBN 3-506-99464-6 , pp. 123-125.
  • Andrea Kramp: Georg Gothein (1857-1940). The rise and fall of left-wing liberalism (= writings of the Federal Archives. Volume 77). Droste, Düsseldorf 2018, ISBN 3-7700-1635-1 .
  • Walter Tormin : History of the German parties since 1848. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1966, DNB 458434698 , p. 111–114.
  • Konstanze Wegner : Theodor Barth and the Liberal Association. Studies on the history of left-wing liberalism in Wilhelmine Germany (= Tübingen studies on history and politics. Volume 24). Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 1968, DNB 458590355 .

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