Catholic Centre Party

The Weimar Coalition is the name given to the coalition of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the German Democratic Party (DDP), and the Catholic Centre Party, who together had a large majority of the delegates to the Constituent Assembly which met at Weimar in 1919, and were the principal groups which designed the constitution of Germany's Weimar Republic. These three parties were seen as the most committed to Germany's new democratic system, and together governed Germany until the elections of 1920, w ...

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Chancellor of Germany Count Otto von Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg (April 1, 1815 – July 30, 1898) was one of the most prominent European aristocrats and statesmen of the nineteenth century. As Prime Minister of Prussia from 1862 to 1890, he engineered the unification of the numerous states of Germany. From 1867 on, he additionally was Chancellor of the North German Confederation. The latter was enlarged in 1871 to the German Empire, as the first Chancellor of which Bismarck served ...

Including:

• Otto von Bismarck - Biography
• Otto von Bismarck - Early life
• Otto von Bismarck - Early political career
• Otto von Bismarck - Ministerpräsident Prime Minister of Prussia
• Otto von Bismarck - The Defeat of Denmark and Austria
• Otto von Bismarck - The Establishment of the German Empire
• Otto von Bismarck - Chancellor of the German Empire
• Otto von Bismarck - Foreign Policies
• Otto von Bismarck - Last years
• Otto von Bismarck - Legacy

Read more here: » Otto von Bismarck: Encyclopedia - Otto von Bismarck

Otto von Bismarck - Early life. Bismarck was born at Schönhausen, his family's estate in the Prussian Province of Saxony (now Saxony-Anhalt). Bismarck's family had belonged to the nobility since the fourteenth century; from his birth, he held the title Graf (Count). His father, Ferdinand von Bismarck, was a landowner and a former Prussian military officer; his mother, Wilhelmine Mencken, originally belonged to a well-off commoner family. Otto von Bismarck had several siblings, but only an elder brother (Bernhard) and a yo ...

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Otto von Bismarck, Otto von Bismarck - Biography, Otto von Bismarck - Early life, Otto von Bismarck - Early political career, Otto von Bismarck - Ministerpräsident Prime Minister of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck - The Defeat of Denmark and Austria, Otto von Bismarck - The Establishment of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck - Chancellor of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck - Foreign Policies, Otto von Bismarck - Last years, Otto von Bismarck - Legacy

Read more here: » Otto von Bismarck: Encyclopedia II - Otto von Bismarck - Biography

The German Empire was dominated by Prussia, which was, like most of northern Germany, a Protestant state. Because the Empire had descended from the 1866 North German Confederation, Bismarck saw the addition of the southern German states (especially Catholic Bavaria) as a threat to the Empire's stability. Tensions were also increased by the 1870 Vatican Council proclamation on papal infallibility. There were also significant Catholic minorities such as the Poles in eastern parts of Germany and the French in Alsace-Lorraine. Moreover, Bismarck had deliberately formed the German Empire against interference from Austria, a more powerful Catholic ...

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Kulturkampf, Kulturkampf - Overview, Kulturkampf - Connection to Polish territories, Kulturkampf - Other uses of term

Read more here: » Kulturkampf: Encyclopedia II - Kulturkampf - Overview

The relationship between Nazism and mysticism has provoked both curiosity and controversy over the years, as has the relationship between Nazism and Christianity. Hitler and other Nazi leaders clearly made use of both Christian and Pagan symbolism and emotion in propagandizing the Germanic public, and it remains a matter of controversy whether Hitler believed himself a Christian, a heathen, or something else entirely. Some historians have typified Hitler as a Satanist or occultist, whereas other writers have referred to Nazism's occas ...

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Nazism in relation to other concepts, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and religion, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and fascism, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The politics of the time, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and conservatism, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The Final Act, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Late 1932, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The Engineering of Hitler's 30 January Appointment, Nazism in relation to other concepts - After Communism Hitler Neutralises the Centre and the Right, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Hitler Succeeds, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Rhenish-Westphalian Industrial Magnates, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and race, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Reference

Read more here: » Nazism in relation to other concepts: Encyclopedia II - Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and religion

Main article: Holy Roman Empire. History of Germany - Middle Ages. From 772 to 814 king Charlemagne extended the Carolingian empire into northern Italy and the territories of all west Germanic peoples, including the Saxons and the Bajuwari (Bavarians). In 800 Charlemagne's authority in Western Europe was confirmed by his coronation as emperor in Rome. The Holy Roman Empire was established. The Frankish empire was divided into counties, and its frontiers were protected by border Marches. Imperial strongholds (Kaiserpfalzen) became econo ...

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History of Germany, History of Germany - The Germans and the Romans, History of Germany - Holy Roman Empire, History of Germany - Middle Ages, History of Germany - Reformation and Thirty Years War, History of Germany - End of the Holy Roman Empire, History of Germany - German Confederation, History of Germany - Restoration and Revolution, History of Germany - North German Confederation, History of Germany - German Empire, History of Germany - Age of Bismarck, History of Germany - Wilhelminian Era, History of Germany - Weimar Republic, History of Germany - Third Reich, History of Germany - Nazi revolution or 'Seizure of Power', History of Germany - Expansion and defeat, History of Germany - Germany since 1945

Read more here: » History of Germany: Encyclopedia II - History of Germany - Holy Roman Empire

Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The French Revolution. The central principle of the mediaeval, Renaissance and ancien régime periods, monarchical rule 'by God's will', was fundamentally challenged by the French Revolution. The revolution began as a conjunction of a need to fix French national finances and a rising middle class who resented the privileges of the clergy (in their role as the First Estate) and nobility (in their role as the Second Estate). The pent-up frustrations caus ...

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Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Catholicism and the Roman Emperors, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The papacy and the Divine Right of Kings, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Catholic missionaries at the Chinese court, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Popular democracy, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The French Revolution, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - France after the Revolution, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Catholicism in the United Kingdom, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Pius IX and the 'errors of the world', Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Leo XIII, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Pius X - back to 'Throne and Altar', Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Church and the Twentieth Century, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Fascism, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The United States, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Australia, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Second Vatican Council, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Liberation Theology, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Church and Central and South America, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - International Law, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Communism, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Catholic churches of Communist China

Read more here: » Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities: Encyclopedia II - Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Popular democracy

Under the disguise of idealism giving way to realism, German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848 to Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck's authoritarian Realpolitik. Bismarck wanted unification to achieve his aim of a conservative, Prussian-dominated German state. He accomplished this through three military successes: He first allied with Austria in order to defeat Denmark in a short war (the Second war of Schleswig) fought during 1864, thus acquiring Schleswig-Holstein. ...

See also:

German Empire, German Empire - Bismarck's founding of the Empire, German Empire - List of Constituent States of the Empire, German Empire - Conservative modernization, German Empire - Militarism, German Empire - After Bismarck, German Empire - Legacy, German Empire - Reference

Read more here: » German Empire: Encyclopedia II - German Empire - Bismarck's founding of the Empire

Some of the traditional center and right-wing political parties of the Weimar Republic accused the Nazis of being socialists citing planks in the Nazis' party program which called for nationalization of trusts and other social measures. However, the German National People's Party (DNVP), the most important party on the mainstream right, usually treated the Nazis as a respected potential ally. Historians such as Ian Kershaw note the links between the Nazis and the German political and economic establishment, as well as the significance ...

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Nazism in relation to other concepts, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and religion, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and fascism, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The politics of the time, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and conservatism, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The Final Act, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Late 1932, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The Engineering of Hitler's 30 January Appointment, Nazism in relation to other concepts - After Communism Hitler Neutralises the Centre and the Right, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Hitler Succeeds, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Rhenish-Westphalian Industrial Magnates, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and race, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Reference

Read more here: » Nazism in relation to other concepts: Encyclopedia II - Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and conservatism

Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Fascism. For strategic reasons, it was desirable for the (essentially agnostic) fascist movements of Benito Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany not to alienate Catholics en masse. Some critics such as John Cornwell's (in the book Hitler's Pope) or Rolf Hochhuth's (in the play The Deputy), have contended that the Roman Catholic Church tainted itself by an often friendly relationship with Fascism and Nazism, or even that Pope Pius XII ...

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Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Catholicism and the Roman Emperors, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The papacy and the Divine Right of Kings, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Catholic missionaries at the Chinese court, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Popular democracy, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The French Revolution, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - France after the Revolution, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Catholicism in the United Kingdom, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Pius IX and the 'errors of the world', Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Leo XIII, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Pius X - back to 'Throne and Altar', Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Church and the Twentieth Century, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Fascism, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The United States, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Australia, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Second Vatican Council, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Liberation Theology, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Church and Central and South America, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - International Law, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Communism, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Catholic churches of Communist China

Read more here: » Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities: Encyclopedia II - Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Church and the Twentieth Century

Reported as bankrupt in December 1932, the NSDAP or Nazi Party was in fettle financial health by the middle of January because the Rhenish-Westphalian industrial magnates assumed responsibility for the debts. These financial and industrial leaders had put the Nazi party back into the political arena after a large drop in the pro-Nazi vote in November 1932. In return, they had gotten promises to be paid back as, if and when Hitler came to power. It is reported that "without the formidable assistance of the industrialists the Nazi party would have foundered on ...

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Nazism in relation to other concepts, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and religion, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and fascism, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The politics of the time, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and conservatism, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The Final Act, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Late 1932, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The Engineering of Hitler's 30 January Appointment, Nazism in relation to other concepts - After Communism Hitler Neutralises the Centre and the Right, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Hitler Succeeds, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Rhenish-Westphalian Industrial Magnates, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and race, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Reference

Read more here: » Nazism in relation to other concepts: Encyclopedia II - Nazism in relation to other concepts - Rhenish-Westphalian Industrial Magnates

Nazis claimed to scientifically measure a strict hierarchy among races; at the top was the Aryan race (minus the Slavs, who were seen as below Aryan), then lesser races. At the bottom of this hierarchy were "parasitic" races, or Untermenschen, which were perceived to be dangerous to society. Lowest of all in the Nazi racial policy were Africans, gypsies and Jews. Nazi theory said that because the nation was the expression of the race, the greatness of a race could be evaluated according to a race's ability and desire to acquire a larg ...

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Nazism in relation to other concepts, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and religion, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and fascism, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The politics of the time, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and conservatism, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The Final Act, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Late 1932, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The Engineering of Hitler's 30 January Appointment, Nazism in relation to other concepts - After Communism Hitler Neutralises the Centre and the Right, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Hitler Succeeds, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Rhenish-Westphalian Industrial Magnates, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and race, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Reference

Read more here: » Nazism in relation to other concepts: Encyclopedia II - Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and race

Marxist movements in Germany - the largest of whom were the Social Democrats (SPD) and Communists (KPD) - viewed the Nazis as enemies and argued that they were thinly disguised reactionaries. Hitler despised Karl Marx and condemned Communism and Marxism as a Judeo-Bolshevist conspiracy. He pledged to block its rise in Germany and argued that the nation's downfall was due to Marxism and its Jewish influence. These political views prompted some prominent conservatives and capitalists to ...

See also:

Nazism in relation to other concepts, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and religion, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and fascism, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The politics of the time, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and conservatism, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The Final Act, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Late 1932, Nazism in relation to other concepts - The Engineering of Hitler's 30 January Appointment, Nazism in relation to other concepts - After Communism Hitler Neutralises the Centre and the Right, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Hitler Succeeds, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Rhenish-Westphalian Industrial Magnates, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Nazism and race, Nazism in relation to other concepts - Reference

Read more here: » Nazism in relation to other concepts: Encyclopedia II - Nazism in relation to other concepts - The politics of the time

Christianity emerged in the 1st Century as one of many new religions in the Roman Empire and faced competition from other religions such as Mithraism. Early Christians were persecuted as early as 64 A.D. when Nero supposedly ordered large numbers of Christians executed in retaliation for the Great Fire of Rome. Christianity remained a minority religion in the empire for several centuries climaxing in the repression of Galerius in 303. Following Constantine the Great's victory on Milvian Bridge, which he attributed to a Christian omen he saw ...

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Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Catholicism and the Roman Emperors, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The papacy and the Divine Right of Kings, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Catholic missionaries at the Chinese court, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Popular democracy, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The French Revolution, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - France after the Revolution, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Catholicism in the United Kingdom, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Pius IX and the 'errors of the world', Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Leo XIII, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Pius X - back to 'Throne and Altar', Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Church and the Twentieth Century, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Fascism, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The United States, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Australia, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Second Vatican Council, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Liberation Theology, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Church and Central and South America, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - International Law, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Communism, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Catholic churches of Communist China

Read more here: » Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities: Encyclopedia II - Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Catholicism and the Roman Emperors

The doctrine of the divine right of kings, came to dominate mediæval concepts of kingship, claiming biblical authority (Epistle to the Romans, chapter 13). Augustine of Hippo in his work The City of God had stated his opinion that while the City of Man and the City of God may stand at cross-purposes, both of them have been instituted by God and served His ultimate will. Even though the City of Man --- the world of secular government --- may seem ungodly and be governed by sinners, it has been placed on ear ...

See also:

Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Catholicism and the Roman Emperors, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The papacy and the Divine Right of Kings, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Catholic missionaries at the Chinese court, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Popular democracy, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The French Revolution, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - France after the Revolution, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Catholicism in the United Kingdom, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Pius IX and the 'errors of the world', Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Leo XIII, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Pius X - back to 'Throne and Altar', Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Church and the Twentieth Century, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Fascism, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The United States, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Australia, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Second Vatican Council, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Liberation Theology, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Church and Central and South America, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - International Law, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - Communism, Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The Catholic churches of Communist China

Read more here: » Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities: Encyclopedia II - Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities - The papacy and the Divine Right of Kings

Bismarck's domestic policies played a great role in forging the authoritarian political culture of the Kaiserreich. Less preoccupied by continental power politics following unification in 1871, Germany's semi-parliamentary government carried out a relatively smooth economic and political revolution from above that pushed them along the way towards becoming the world's leading industrial power of the time. Not only did German manufacturers capture German markets from British imports, by the 1870s, British manufacturers in the staple in ...

See also:

German Empire, German Empire - Bismarck's founding of the Empire, German Empire - List of Constituent States of the Empire, German Empire - Conservative modernization, German Empire - Militarism, German Empire - After Bismarck, German Empire - Legacy, German Empire - Reference

Read more here: » German Empire: Encyclopedia II - German Empire - Conservative modernization

For details, see the main History of Germany since 1945 article. Germans frequently refer to 1945 as the Stunde Null (zero hour) to describe the near-total collapse of their country. At the Potsdam Conference, Germany was divided into four military occupation zones by the Allies, see Partitions of Germany; the three western zones would form the Federal Republic of Germany (commonly known as West Germany), while part of the Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic (commonly known as East Germany), b ...

See also:

History of Germany, History of Germany - The Germans and the Romans, History of Germany - Holy Roman Empire, History of Germany - Middle Ages, History of Germany - Reformation and Thirty Years War, History of Germany - End of the Holy Roman Empire, History of Germany - German Confederation, History of Germany - Restoration and Revolution, History of Germany - North German Confederation, History of Germany - German Empire, History of Germany - Age of Bismarck, History of Germany - Wilhelminian Era, History of Germany - Weimar Republic, History of Germany - Third Reich, History of Germany - Nazi revolution or 'Seizure of Power', History of Germany - Expansion and defeat, History of Germany - Germany since 1945

Read more here: » History of Germany: Encyclopedia II - History of Germany - Germany since 1945

Bismarck's rule of reactionary co-optation and coercion and his perpetuation of Junker virtues of militarism, hierarchy, and autocracy can be understood best when one considers that the nation was only recently and in some ways tenuously united; that the large and powerful neighbor, France, had for centuries pursued an active policy of keeping "the Germanies" weak and divided; and that Germany had again and again been the field where the power struggles of other European states and kingdoms were played out, with devastating consequenc ...

See also:

German Empire, German Empire - Bismarck's founding of the Empire, German Empire - List of Constituent States of the Empire, German Empire - Conservative modernization, German Empire - Militarism, German Empire - After Bismarck, German Empire - Legacy, German Empire - Reference

Read more here: » German Empire: Encyclopedia II - German Empire - Legacy

The Empire flourished under Bismarck's guidance until the Kaiser's death (March 1888). In this so-called Dreikaiserjahr (Year of Three Emperors), Friedrich III, his son and successor, only lived 99 days, leaving the crown to a young and impetuous Wilhelm II, who forced Bismarck out of office in March 1890. Within Germany, the opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) rose to become for a time the strongest socialist party in the world, winning a third of the votes in the January 1912 elections to the Reichstag (imperial p ...

See also:

German Empire, German Empire - Bismarck's founding of the Empire, German Empire - List of Constituent States of the Empire, German Empire - Conservative modernization, German Empire - Militarism, German Empire - After Bismarck, German Empire - Legacy, German Empire - Reference

Read more here: » German Empire: Encyclopedia II - German Empire - After Bismarck

One of the by-products of conservative modernization was militarism. To unite the upper classes—both the military-aristocracy and industrialists—militarism proved necessary to continue modernization without changing socio-political structures. Each of the elites in the ruling coalition of the Empire found some advantages in formal, overseas expansion: mammoth monopolies wanted imperial support to secure overseas investments against competition and domestic political tensions abroad; bureaucrats wanted more occupations; military officers ...

See also:

German Empire, German Empire - Bismarck's founding of the Empire, German Empire - List of Constituent States of the Empire, German Empire - Conservative modernization, German Empire - Militarism, German Empire - After Bismarck, German Empire - Legacy, German Empire - Reference

Read more here: » German Empire: Encyclopedia II - German Empire - Militarism