Social Democratic Party of Germany
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (German Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands or SPD) is the oldest political party of Germany that still exists. There were other political parties that were older, but they no longer exist.
[edit] History
It was founded as Allgemeinen Deutschen Arbeitervereins (ADAV) on May 23rd in 1863 in Leipzig. Founder was Ferdinand Lasalle. In 1875 the ADAV was united with the Sozialdemokratischen Arbeiterpartei (SDAP) of August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht, which was founded in 1869 in Eisenach. The new name was Sozialistischen Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands (SAP). In the fall of 1890 it got its actual name.
In the years between 1875 and 1890 it was suppressed by Otto von Bismarck. The Social democrats wanted to support the rights of workers.
In 1914 the SPD was divided because the main direction supported the war credits for the Kaiser. The Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschland (USPD) (independend social democratic party of Germany) was against it.
After the monarchy fell,the SPD lead some governments of the Weimar Republic.
Later the SPD was the only party in the Reichstag who voted against the Ermächtigungsgesetz. Afterward the SPD was forbidden by the Nazis. The Nazis arrested the leading social democrats. Many were sent to Nazi concentration camps. Others moved away to towns where they were not known. Friedrich Kellner, an organizer for the SPD in Mainz from 1920 to 1932, moved to Laubach. He wrote entries in a secret diary about the crimes of the Nazis.
After World War II. the SPD was refounded. In the GDR (Eastern Germany) a unification with the communist party was forced by the Soviet Union, in Western Germany the SPD worked as a not-communist left-winged party.
First chief of the SPD after WW II. was Kurt Schumacher. The SPD leaded some state governments in West Germany, but was always the leading opposition party in the Bundestag (federal parliament). Under its fraction chief Herbert Wehner the SPD joinded the federal government under chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU) with the CDU and the CSU in 1966. Party chief Willy Brandt became foreign secretary and vice chancellor.
Up from 1969 Willy Brandt was German chancellor, the SPD leaded the government. Its partner was the FDP. In 1974 Helmut Schmidt became chancellor. In 1982 the SPD lost the power of government.
Between 1998 and 2005 there was a second period of a SPD-leaded government under chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Its partner in that time was the Green Party.
Since 2005 the SPD is junior partner in a coalition with the CDU and CSU under Angela Merkel.
[edit] Programme
The SPD is traditionally the party of the workers in Germany. In 1953 (Godesberger Programm) the SPD accepts market economy, but wanted to have a social balance. The government of Schröder (1998 - 2005) lost its social balance. So the SPD lost a lot of members. Currently there are great discussion in the SPD.