The German Fatherland Party (, abbreviated as DVLPWette, Wolfram (2002). The Wehrmacht: History, Myth, Reality p. 41. .) was a short-lived far-rightDassen, 2013, pp. 161–187. political party active in the German Empire during the last phase of World War I. It rejected the Reichstag Peace Resolution of July 1917, which called for a negotiated peace without annexations. The Fatherland Party is considered the first attempt at reconciliation and cooperation between the traditional right, characteristic of the Wilhelmine Period, and militant nationalists of the extreme right who would become popular during the interwar period.(2003). German history of society. Volume 4: From the beginning of the First World War to the founding of the two German states 1914–1949, p. 108; Historian Hans-Ulrich Wehler described the DVLP as quote, "[...] the first right-wing radical proto-fascist mass party."Peck, Abraham (1978). Radicals and reactionaries: The Crisis of Conservatism in Wilhelmine Germany pp. 203–221. .Bernd-Jürgen Wendt, Peter-Christian Witt (1983). German Conservatism in the 19th and 20th Century pp. 199–230.Hagenlücke, Heinz (1997). Deutsche Vaterlandspartei: Die nationale Rechte am Ende des Kaiserreiches. German Studies Review. pp. 18, 402. .

History Foundation

Backed by the Pan-German League,Schädlich, Karlheinz (1966) Der Unabhängige Ausschuß für einen Deutschen Frieden als ein Zentrum der Annexionspropaganda des deutschen Imperialismus im ersten WeltkriegKlein, Fritz (1964) Politik im Krieg 1914–1918. Studien zur Politik der deutschen herrschenden Klassen im ersten Weltkrieg. Berlin Akademie-Verlag. pp. 50–65 the German Fatherland Party was founded by Heinrich Claß, August von Dönhoff, Alfred von Tirpitz and Wolfgang KappJennifer Llewellyn, Steve Thompson, (2019). Alpha History; WOLFGANG KAPPWolfgang Kapp Biography on 2 September 1917.Judson, 2011, p. 508. On 9 September, the DVLP made its existence public in newspaper advertisements. The established bourgeois parties reacted inconsistently to the founding of the Fatherland Party. Many conservative parties expressly welcomed them. The board of the National Liberal Party offered to cooperate with the Fatherland Party and left party members the option to join it. The left-liberal Progressive People's Party, which lost a noticeable number of members to the DVLP, expressly refused to work with it. The Catholic Centre Party (Zentrum) told party members on 12 October 1917 not to assist the DVLP.Ullrich, Robert (1968). Deutsche Vaterlandspartei, in: Dieter Fricke (Ed.): The bourgeois parties in Germany. Handbook of the history of the bourgeois parties and other bourgeois interest organizations from Vormärz to 1945. Leipzig, Volume 1, pp. 620–628

Dissolution The November Revolution effectively ended the existence of the DVLP. Until 28 November, the board met again and agreed to stop all "public activities." Furthermore, the members were asked to agitate for the early convocation of a national assembly, to ensure that the "national forces" were gathered together, and, for the time being, to support the Council of the People's Deputies in "maintaining order." Finally, on 10 December 1918, the Reich Committee of the DVLP, which only about 20 people visited, decided to dissolve the party. On this occasion, a three-member liquidation committee was established, which initiated the transfer of the party's assets to the German National People’s Party (DNVP) and became finalized on 1 February 1919.

Subsequent influence During World War I, Anton Drexler joined the German Fatherland Party. After the war, he would go on to form a similar organization, the German Workers' Party, which later became the National Socialist German Workers' Party, better known as the Nazi Party, that came to national power in January 1933 under Adolf Hitler. German scholar Dirk Stegmann concluded that the Fatherland Party was pre- or proto-fascist because of Drexler's involvement.Dirk Stegmann, Die Erben Bismarcks. Parteien und Verbiinde in der Spiitphase des Wilhelminischen Deutschlands Sammlungspolitik, 1897–1918 (Berlin: Kiepenheuer und Witsch, 1970). It should be considered that many historians challenge this position. In 1997, scholar Heinz Hagenlücke argued that "the party was explicitly founded as a party and not a movement, members reflected the typical picture of high Wilhelmine society in contrast to the lower class organizations of the Weimar Republic, which sociologically reached the lower-middle class, soldiers, and the youth."

Ideology

Political positions The Fatherland Party represented pan-German,Meinecke, Friedrich (1951). The German Catastrophe: Reflections and Recollections p. 30. . national liberal, conservative, nationalist, populist, antisemitic and völkisch political circles, united in their opposition against the Reichstag Peace Resolution of July 1917. It played a vital role in the emergence of the stab-in-the-back myth and the defamation of certain politicians as the November Criminals.Fertig, Howard (1964). The Crisis of German Ideology: The Intellectual Origins of the Third Reich. .

The Fatherland Party was decidedly monarchist and supportive of the war efforts of German Emperor Wilhelm II.Manfred Weißbecker, German Fatherland Party, in: Dieter Fricke et al. (Hg.), Lexicon on party history. The bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties and associations in Germany (1789–1945). 2nd volume, Leipzig 1984, pp. 291–403.Yurievich, Klimov (2017). EDUARD MEYER IN THE YEARS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND THE REPUBLIC OF WEIMAR. Saint Petersburg State University. pp. 45–57.

Militarism played an essential role in the party. In March–April 1915, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz stated that the only thing that was keeping Germany from winning the war was the poor leadership of the Chancellor and the Emperor. His solution was a plan in which Bethmann-Hollweg would be sacked, and the office of Chancellor abolished; the Kaiser would "temporarily" abdicate; and Generalfeldmarschall Hindenburg be given the new office of "Dictator of the Reich," concentrating all political and military power into his hands to win the war. These positions continued to receive support from the Fatherland Party. Internally, there were calls for a coup d'etat against the German government, led by Hindenburg and Ludendorff, even against the Emperor if necessary.

Though the Tirpitz plan was not implemented, the very fact it was mooted showed the extent of military dissatisfaction with the existing leadership and the strength of the "state within the state" in that Tirpitz was not punished despite having essentially called for deposing the Emperor. In August 1916, Germany became a de facto military dictatorship under the duumvirate of Generalfeldmarschall Hindenburg and Generalquartiermeister Ludendorff, who ruled Germany until 1918. During the rule of the "silent dictatorship" of Hindenburg and Ludendorff, the German government advocated a set of imperialist war aims calling for the annexation of most of Europe and Africa that in many ways were a prototype for the war aims of the Second World War.Hillgruber, Andreas (1981). Germany and the Two World Wars. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press). pp. 41–45. .

Foreign policy objectives

The official purpose for the existence of the Fatherland Party was to end the war victoriously and secure a "German peace." On 24 September 1917, Tirpitz had demanded a "correct solution to the Belgian question," a "safeguarding of the open sea lanes," "physical compensation" and a "place in the sun" secured for Germany. In the months that followed, the following ideas gradually emerged:

Annexation of Luxembourg, Belgium, Briey and the Longwy ore basins The Netherlands should be brought into a closer relationship to Germany while avoiding any appearance of coercion (up to annexation) Buffer states created in territory carved out of the western Russian Empire, such as Poland and the Baltic states, which would remain under German sovereignty The German colonial empire was to be expanded. The German possessions in Africa would be enlarged to create a contiguous German colony across central Africa "Freedom of the seas" – in the sense that the German fleet must be able to safeguard "German interests" worldwide France must pay a war indemnity of 10 billion German Marks, with further payments to cover veterans' funds and to pay off all of Germany's existing national debt France will partially disarm by demolishing its northern forts

The war aims of the DVLP were concerted at every possible opportunity in "countless meetings (...) and a flood of declarations, appeals, writings, demands and telegrams to the Kaiser, the government, the Reichstag, the Supreme Army Command and to the public" became known and popularized. Above all, this should create the impression of a "primitive popular movement."Manfred Weißbecker: German Fatherland Party, in Dieter Fricke et al .: Lexicon for party history. The bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties and associations in Germany (1789–1945). Volume 2, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1984, pp. 397.

Domestic neutrality In the first few months of its existence, the DVLP repeatedly emphasized its "national" character and its alleged domestic political neutrality. The call to members and supporters, which was still little veiled in the "Great Appeal," to stand up against a Prussian electoral reform, the parliamentarization of Reich policy, and the government's commitment to the DVLP line were deleted on 24 September 1917, without comment. The party promised not to put up its own candidates for Reichstag elections, and the "internal dispute" should rest until the war's end. However, this demonstration of disinterest was merely a tactical tool that arose from the DVLP's political concept. The main domestic political goal of the party leadership was clearly to force a dissolution of the Reichstag by employing extra-parliamentary pressure. This was justified with a populist and pseudo-democratic argument that parliament no longer portrayed the "will of the people."

Organization

Leadership

The party's leaders were Wolfgang Kapp – who would later play a key role in the failed coup in 1920 known as the Kapp Putsch – and Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, a naval minister and post-war party leader. Walter Nicolai, head of the military secret service, was also supportive. Media baron Alfred Hugenberg was also a prominent member and Duke John Albert of Mecklenburg was made "Honorary Chairman". The party included many leading industrialists, large landowners, and business association officials, including Georg Wilhelm von Siemens, Carl Duisberg, Ernst von Borsig, Hugo Stinnes, Emil Kirdorf and Hermann Röchling, but also humanities scholars such as Eduard Meyer.