Württemberg farmers and wine growers' association

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The Württemberg Farmers 'and Vintners Association (WBWB) was a regional offshoot of the Reichslandbund in Württemberg and was created in 1919 as a merger of the Württemberg farmers ' association, founded in 1895, with the Württemberg small farmers 'and wine gardeners' association .

history

Already in the constituent state assembly for the people's state of Württemberg elected on January 12, 1919 , the 10 members of the WBB and the four members of the WKWB with the 11 members from the parliamentary group of the citizens' party formed a parliamentary group, which both in the Württemberg state parliament and in the Reichstag until 1933 Persisted. While the urban citizens 'party tended to focus its parliamentary work on the Reichstag, the rural WBWB, often just called the “farmers' union”, was more active in the state parliament. This division of labor was clearly evident in the relationship between the two top politicians from the farmers 'union and the citizens' party. Theodor Körner from the Bauernbund set the tone in the parliamentary group and Wilhelm Bazille from the Citizens' Party mostly followed Körner's state political guidelines during his government activity in Stuttgart. In the Reichstag, on the other hand, Bazille actively represented the interests of the citizens' party and received support from Körner. This symbiosis worked for Bazille especially after he left the Citizens 'Party as a result of the rift with Alfred Hugenberg in January 1930, since the farmers' union ensured that Bazille could remain Minister of Culture in Württemberg until 1933 .

Despite the close community of factions between the farmers' union and the citizens' party, the farmers' union in Württemberg remained politically independent and did not formally join forces with the DNVP as in some other parts of Germany . The chairman of the WBWB was Wilhelm Vogt from 1919 to 1933 , but he always acted in close consultation with Theodor Körner.

The Württemberg farmers 'and winegrowers' union corresponded to the type of a pure interest party. Of the 16 members of the WBWB in the Württemberg Landtag elected in 1928, 11 were farmers, one wine grower and one landowner. If the factors agriculture and Protestantism came together in one area , the WBWB could be certain of a high share of the vote. Accordingly, the party had its main focus in the predominantly Protestant upper offices of Altwuerttemberg and Hohenlohe , where the liberals of the Democratic People's Party were previously strong. The number of party members was relatively high. Around the mid-twenties there were around 60,000 who remained loyal to the WBWB until 1933. In a way, the Bauernbund assumed a similar role for the rural Protestant population of Württemberg as the Center Party did for the Catholics. The WBWB therefore went beyond purely agricultural issues and also dealt with very general issues relating to rural infrastructure, such as transport links or water and electricity supply.

Like the Citizens' Party, the Bauernbund was not free from anti- republican and ethnic ideas and cultivated anti-Semitism in the spirit of the evangelical pioneer Adolf Stoecker . However, the farmers' union in Württemberg always emphasized a decisive opposition to National Socialism and was able to keep its electorate, which contributed to the fact that the election results of the NSDAP in Württemberg until 1932 remained significantly behind the overall results in the Reich.

In the later years of the Weimar Republic, the WBWB grew to a certain extent due to the appearance of the Christian Social People's Service , which had a positive relationship with the Republic and was particularly attractive to the Pietists. Since the Protestant Church President Theophil Wurm opposed the political activity of the People's Service, its voter potential remained low and the goal of a comprehensive Protestant party unattained.

References and comments

  1. ^ Reinhold Weber: Political culture, party system and voter traditions in the German south-west. In: Reinhold Weber and Hans-Georg Wehling (eds.): Baden-Württemberg. Society, history, politics (= writings on political regional studies of Baden-Württemberg, Vol. 34.) Verlag W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-17-018837-2 , page 63.
  2. ↑ The official spelling for the term “ Minister of Culture ” used today was formerly Minister of Culture in Württemberg
  3. ^ Waldemar Besson : Württemberg and the German state crisis 1928-1933 . Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1959, page 29
  4. ^ Reinhold Weber: Political culture, party system and voter traditions in the German south-west. In: Reinhold Weber and Hans-Georg Wehling (eds.): Baden-Württemberg. Society, history, politics . Verlag W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-17-018837-2 , page 68.

literature

  • Reinhold Weber: Citizens 'party and farmers' union in Württemberg. Conservative parties in the German Empire and Weimar (1895–1933) . Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 2004, ISBN 3-7700-5259-5 , ( Contributions to the history of parliamentarism and political parties 141), (At the same time: Tübingen, Univ., Diss., 2003).