Radical center

Radical center
Party leader	Werner Finck
founding	1950
Headquarters	Berlin, since 1951 Frankfurt am Main

The Radical Center , originally planned under the name “German counter-movement”, was a registered “Association against the seriousness of the times”. The "Parody Party" was founded on March 14, 1950 by Werner Finck . Thaddäus Troll was one of the co-founders .

The movement caused a sensation; you joined u. a. Theodor Heuss and Carlo Schmid .

history

The founding of the quasi-party was directed against extreme left and extreme right positions, but not against radicalism in general. According to their own admission, they wanted to take on the "seriousness of the times" of German post-war politics conjured up by Konrad Adenauer and improve the poisoned political climate in Berlin. In retrospect, Heinz Greul later referred to the Radical Center as the "educational attempt to establish humor - as a willingness to discuss and tolerate - in political life" in the still young Federal Republic of Germany. The place of foundation was the Berlin Taberna academica . It is reported that the founding event turned into cabaret more often. Finck once said that, unlike some other politicians, at least after a few minutes you would have noticed that he was talking nonsense. Further local start-ups should z. B. Follow in Kiel . Rudolf Pechel spoke of "a storm of enthusiastic approval from all circles and above all from German youth" that arose after the founding of the so-called party. Upon joining, the members declared their departure in advance if members were to be politically persecuted by a regime in the further course of history. Even prominent politicians like Carlo Schmid ( SPD ) and Theodor Heuss ( FDP ) joined the association. In 1951 the party headquarters were moved from Berlin to Frankfurt am Main.

Positions

One of the first serious problems and issues of the time that the Radical Center campaigned for was the Saar question . At a major event on this subject, a banner was rolled out that read “We are for the Saar question” and recruited members. Other well-known slogans of the Radical Center were, for example, "Against uncompromising" or "For arming tolerance".

Badges of honor and party flag

Party badge

The Radical Center party mark was a safety pin. The party flag was a white tablecloth.

literature

Werner Finck : joke as fate, fate as joke. A German picture book on Nutz und Pious Point . Leafed through by Klaus Budzinski . von Schröder, Hamburg 1966, pp. 95 ff.
Frankfurter Hefte . New publishing company for Frankfurter Hefte, 1951
Werner Finck decided to become a politician… . In: Die Zeit , No. 12/1950

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Heinz Greul: Boards that mean time - The cultural history of cabaret . Cologne / Berlin / Hamburg 1968
↑ Dieter Schnabel: Sometimes someone has to be there to remember . Books on Demand, p. 92
^ The month , Society for International Journalism, Beltz Verlag, Berlin 1950, p. 100
↑ Werner Finck to Theodor Heuss: Handwritten letter with safety pin, Kiel, June 22, 1950
^ Rudolf Pechel: Deutsche Gegenwart: Essays and Lectures, 1945–1952 . Page 271
↑ Minutes of the third party congress of the National Democratic Party of Germany, Verlag der Nation, 1951, p. 177

[Greul-1] Heinz Greul: Boards that mean time - The cultural history of cabaret . Cologne / Berlin / Hamburg 1968

[2] Dieter Schnabel: Sometimes someone has to be there to remember . Books on Demand, p. 92

[3] The month , Society for International Journalism, Beltz Verlag, Berlin 1950, p. 100

[4] Werner Finck to Theodor Heuss: Handwritten letter with safety pin, Kiel, June 22, 1950

[5] Rudolf Pechel: Deutsche Gegenwart: Essays and Lectures, 1945–1952 . Page 271

[6] Minutes of the third party congress of the National Democratic Party of Germany, Verlag der Nation, 1951, p. 177