National Front of the German Democratic Republic
Template:Distinguish Template:Short description Template:Infobox political party
The National Front of the German Democratic Republic (Template:Langx) was a coalition of parties and mass organisations from 1950 to 1990 which governed the German Democratic Republic (GDR), informally known as East Germany. Although it was presented as a broad alliance, real political authority in the country rested with the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). The National Front's primary role was to manage electoral processes through a single list of approved candidates (Einheitsliste) for the Volkskammer. This system was designed to present an appearance of democratic pluralism under a multi-party system.Template:Citation needed
The National Front developed out of the Democratic Bloc, established in 1945. After the Second World War, the Soviet Union permitted the formation of four parties, but in 1946 the Communist Party forced a merger with the Social Democrats to create the SED. Other parties such as the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPD) were gradually brought into line through intimidation and the removal of dissenting leaders. Two additional parties, the Democratic Farmers' Party (DBD) and the National Democratic Party (NDPD), were created in 1948 under SED direction to draw support away from existing parties and incorporate former Nazis. These non-SED parties were called Blockpartei.Template:Citation needed
Mass organisations such as trade unions and women's groups were also part of the National Front and held seats in the Volkskammer. Many of their representatives were SED members, ensuring continued control. All parties and organisations were required to accept the SED's leading role as a vanguard party, and even regional leaders were subject to SED approval. Although the blockpartei were granted significant resources and governmental representation, all ministers operated under the authority of the SED's Central Committee.Template:Citation needed
In the final months before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, some blockpartei members began to express limited dissent. The National Front was dissolved in February 1990, ahead of the first free elections in East Germany. After reunification, the blockpartei merged with their West German counterparts: the Liberal Democrats and National Democrats joined the Free Democratic Party (FDP), while the East German CDU and the DBD merged with the West German CDU. These mergers were controversial due to the blockpartei access to well-developed infrastructure and resources under the SED regime, putting them at a great competitive advantage over newly established parties.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Constituent parties
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Constituent mass organizations represented in the People's Chamber
| Organization | Emblem | Flag | Foundation | Dissolution | Assigned representatives in the Volkskammer (1986) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free German Trade Union Federation FDGB |
File:FDGB Emblem.svg | File:Flagge FDGB.svg | 1946 | 1990 | 61 |
| Free German Youth FDJ |
File:Freie Deutsche Jugend.svg | File:Flagge der Freie Deutsche Jugend.svg | 1946 | exists today | 37 |
| Democratic Women's League of Germany DFD |
File:DFD Logo.png | File:Flagge Demokratischer Frauenbund Deutschlands.svg | 1947 | 1990 | 32 |
| Cultural Association of the DDR KB |
File:Logo Kulturbund der DDR.svg | File:DDR Kulturbund flag.png | 1945 | 1990 | 21 |
| Peasants Mutual Aid Association VdgB |
File:Vereinigung der gegenseitigen Bauernhilfe (VdgB) Logo.svg | File:Flagge VdgB.svg | 1945 | 1994 | 14 |
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Other organizations associated with the National Front
The following organizations, which were part of the NF, did not send elected representatives to the Volkskammer but were active in the performance of its activities.
History
The National Front was the successor to the Demokratischer Block which had been founded in the Soviet occupation zone. The Front itself was founded on 30 March 1950. It operated through the issuing of a generally consistent proportion of seats (divided between the Front's parties and SED-controlled mass organisations) submitted in the form of a single list of candidates during each election to the People's Chamber. Seats were awarded on the basis of a set quota rather than vote totals.<ref>Eugene Register-Guard October 29, 1989. p. 5A.</ref> As voters only had the option of approving or rejecting the list in far-from-secret conditions, it "won" with virtually unanimous levels of support.<ref>Kurt Sontheimer & Wilhelm Bleek. The Government and Politics of East Germany. New York: St. Martin's Press. 1975. p. 66.</ref>
Although nominally a broad-based coalition of parties, in practice the SED was the only one with any real power. By ensuring that Communists dominated the lists, the SED essentially predetermined the composition of the People's Chamber.Template:Citation needed
In 1950-1951, the public rejection of the validity of the list by some German politicians resulted in some of them being imprisoned for "rejecting the electoral law of the German Democratic Republic" (as in the case of LDPD leader Günter Stempel). Although the SED had already become a full-fledged Stalinist "party of the new type" by the formation of the GDR, the other parties did not completely bend to the SED's will for a time. By the mid-1950s, however, the more courageous members of the constituent parties had been pushed out, and the parties had all been transformed into loyal partners of the SED. By this time, the SED itself had purged its few independent-minded members as well. The Front now took on a character similar to other groupings in the Eastern Bloc. For the next three decades, the minor parties in the Front had to accept the SED's "leading role" as a condition of their continued existence.Template:Citation needed
On 1 December 1989, the Front was effectively rendered impotent when the Volkskammer deleted the provision of the Constitution of East Germany that gave the SED a monopoly of power. Four days later, the Christian Democratic Union and Liberal Democratic Party, having thrown out their pro-Communist leaderships, withdrew from the Front. On 16 December the SED, having transformed itself into a democratic socialist party, reformed itself into the Party of Democratic Socialism. On 20 February 1990, an amendment to the constitution removed mention of the Front.<ref>Peter E. Quint. The Imperfect Union: Constitutional Structures of German Unification. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. 1997. p. 37.</ref>
Chairmen of the National Front
The National Front, as in institution, was led by a National Council that included representatives from all of its constituent organisations, with the SED being over-represented. The National Council elected a Presidium, whose chairman always was an independent politician. Despite the NF's power on paper, the chairman had almost no influence.Template:Citation needed
- Prof. Erich Correns (1950–1981)
- Prof. Lothar Kolditz (1981–1989)
Electoral history
Volkskammer elections
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 12,088,745 | 99.6% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 136 | Template:Steady 1st | Template:Yes2 |
| 1954 | 11,828,877 | 99.46% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady | Template:Steady 1st | Template:Yes2 |
| 1958 | 11,689,110 | 99.87% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady | Template:Steady 1st | Template:Yes2 |
| 1963 | 11,533,859 | 99.25% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Decrease 32 | Template:Steady 1st | Template:Yes2 |
| 1967 | 11,197,265 | 99.93% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady | Template:Steady 1st | Template:Yes2 |
| 1971 | 11,207,388 | 99.5% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady | Template:Steady 1st | Template:Yes2 |
| 1976 | 11,245,023 | 98.58% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady | Template:Steady 1st | Template:Yes2 |
| 1981 | 12,235,515 | 99.9% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 66 | Template:Steady 1st | Template:Yes2 |
| 1986 | 12,392,094 | 99.94% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady | Template:Steady 1st | Template:Yes2 |
See also
- Politics of East Germany
- List of Volkskammer members (9th election period)
- Vietnamese Fatherland Front
- Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland
- Polish Committee of National Liberation/Front of National Unity
- National Front
- Fatherland Front
- People's Democratic Front/Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy
- Lao Front for National Construction
- National United Front of Kampuchea
References
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External links
Template:Organizations of East GermanyTemplate:Authority control