Politics
The Democrats were a more left-wing or social liberal party, whereas the German People's Party was right-wing liberal. Along with the Social Democrats and the Centre Party, the Democratic party was most committed to maintaining a democratic, republican form of government. It considered itself also a devotedly national party and opposed the Treaty of Versailles but emphasized on the other hand the need for international collaboration and the protection of ethnic minorities. A Phd thesis of 1978 (by Jürgen C. Hess) called the DDP the party of "democratic nationalism". With Ludwig Quidde (Nobel Peace Prize winner of 1927) and others the party had a pacifist wing which left the Democrats in 1930.
The party was attacked by some for being a party of Jews and professors (and, indeed, Jews formed one of its most loyal voter groups). Its social basis were middle class entrepreneurs, civil servants, teachers, scientists and craftsmen.
Read more about this topic: German Democratic Party
Famous quotes containing the word politics:
“The Germans—once they were called the nation of thinkers: do they still think at all? Nowadays the Germans are bored with intellect, the Germans distrust intellect, politics devours all seriousness for really intellectual things—Deutschland, Deutschland Über alles was, I fear, the end of German philosophy.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed.”
—Mao Zedong (1893–1976)
“While you’re playing cards with a regular guy or having a bite to eat with him, he seems a peaceable, good-humoured and not entirely dense person. But just begin a conversation with him about something inedible, politics or science, for instance, and he ends up in a deadend or starts in on such an obtuse and base philosophy that you can only wave your hand and leave.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)