Christian Social Party (Germany)

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The Christian Social Party (German: Christlichsoziale Partei, CSP) was an antisemitic Christian political party in the German Empire, founded in 1878 by Adolf Stoecker as the Christlichsoziale Arbeiterpartei (Christian Social Workers' Party).

The Christian Social Party combined a strong religious and monarchist programme with progressive ideas on labour, and tried to provide an alternative for disillusioned Social Democrat voters.^[1]

The program of the party was:

• Founded mandatory specialized cooperatives
• Settlement of the apprenticeship system
• Commercial arbitration
• Mandatory widows and orphans, disability and pension funds
• Normal working day
• Factory laws
• Restoring Wuchergesetze
• Progressive income and inheritance taxes

In the 1878 elections, the party obtained less than 1% of the vote. Earlier, Johann Most led a large conjugation of Social Democrats in protesting against the party and its "christianity."^[1]

Although antisemitism was only a minor theme in the early stages of the party, the antisemitic message was carried by the so-called Berlin Movement (Berliner Bewegung) of the 1880s, which gathered considerable support. The CSP never gained mass support, but Adolf Stoecker was able to obtain a seat in the Reichstag after an electoral coalition with the Conservative Party. When the Conservatives became worried with the over-tones in Stoecker' antisemitic messages (although Stoecker's messages were more targeted at Reform Judaism than orthodox Judaism^[1]), the Christian Socialists were forced from the coalition in 1896.

The demise of the Christian Social Party came in the early 1900s.

Most members of the CSP, under lead of Reichstag member Reinhard Mumm (who succeeded Adolf Stoecker in representing the Arnsberg constituency), stepped over to the German National People's Party (Deutschnationale Volkspartei) in 1918. The group separated itself again, stepping over to the Christian Social People's Service (Christlich-Soziale Volksdienst) in 1929 after Alfred Hugenberg became the People's Party's president in 1928.

[edit] Notable members

• Friedrich Naumann
• Adolf Stoecker
• Hellmut von Gerlach

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} D. A. Jeremy Telman (1995). "Adolf Stoecker: Anti-Semite with a Christian mission". Jewish History 9 (2): 93–112. doi:10.1007/BF01668991. 

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