German Party Deutsche Partei | |
|---|---|
| Volksgruppeführer | Franz Karmasin |
| Founded | 8 October 1938 (1938-10-08) |
| Dissolved | 1945 |
| Preceded by | Carpathian German Party |
| Newspaper | Grenzebote,Deutsche Stimmen |
| Youth wing | German Youth |
| Paramilitary wing | Freiwillige Schutzstaffel |
| Labour wing | Arbeitsfront der Volksdeutschen in der Slowakei |
| Membership(1940) | 57,000 (claimed) |
| Ideology | |
| Slovak Landtag (1938) | 2 / 63 |
| Party flag | |
.png) | |
TheGerman Party (German:Deutsche Partei, abbreviatedDP) was aNazipolitical party active amongst the German minority inSlovakia from 1938 to 1945.[1][2]
The party was formed on 8 October 1938 as a successor to theCarpathian German Party (KdP).[3][4]Franz Karmasin, a member of the Czechoslovak Chamber of Deputies, led the party, holding the title ofVolksgruppeführer.[3] DP functioned as the referent in Slovakia for theGerman People's Group in Czecho-Slovakia (DVG), the successor organization of theSudeten German Party founded on 30 October 1938.[3] The party publishedGrenzbote andDeutschen Stimmen fromBratislava.[2]
Organizationally, DP was modelled after theNSDAP in Germany, following theFührer principle.[4][5] It used theswastika as its symbol andHorst-Wessel-Lied as its anthem.[4] The DP youth wing was known as 'German Youth' (Deutsche Jugend) and maintained a paramilitary wing calledFreiwillige Schutzstaffel.[4] Politically DP strove to foster homogenousCarpathian German communities and to maintain a privileged position for the German community in Slovakia.[6] The party was closely aligned with German foreign policy.[6] The first article of the DP statutes, from 1 March 1940, proclaimed that "the German Party [was] representative of the political will of the entire German population in Slovakia".[7] However, not all Germans in Slovakia were happy with the supposed unity party; DP faced resistance from followers of the pro-HungarianZipser German Party.[5]
On 18 December 1938 the German Party got two deputies elected to the Slovak Landtag on the unity list of theHlinka Slovak People's Party – Party of Slovak National Unity (HSĽS-SSNJ); Karmasin andJosef Steinhübl.[2][4] In March 1940 the DP politician Sigmund Keil became a member of the Landtag, replacing Gejza Rehák.[2] On 20 November 1941, a fourth DP politician became a Landtag member, as Dr.Adalbert Gabriel was appointed by presidential decree to represent the German community.[2]
By 1940 DP claimed to have 57,000 members organized in 120 local groups.[8] It folded in 1945.[2][9]
