In the fourteen years theWeimar Republic was in existence, some forty parties were represented in theReichstag. Thisfragmentation of political power was in part due to the use of a peculiarproportional representation electoral system that encouraged regional or small special interest parties^[1] and in part due to the many challenges facing the nascent German democracy in this period.

After theNazi seizure of power, they used the provisions of theReichstag Fire Decree to effectively eliminate their chief adversaries, first theCommunists (March 1933) and then theSocial Democrats (22 June 1933) through arrests, confiscation of assets and removal from office. Other parties were pressured into disbanding on their own or were swept away by the "Law Against the Formation of Parties" (14 July 1933) which declared theNazi Party to be Germany's only legal political party.^[2]

Logo		Party	Abbr.	Political Position	Ideology	Description
		Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	SPD	Centre-left toleft-wing	Pro-Weimar Republic Social Democracy Center Marxism	(between 1917 and 1922 also calledMehrheitssozialdemokratische Partei (MSPD) – Majority Social Democrats). Founded in 1875, it was one of the earliest Marxist-influenced parties in the world. A member of theWeimar Coalition, the SPD supported the parliamentary system of democracy and extensive social programs in the economy. For most of the Weimar Republic's existence until 1932, the SPD was the largest single party in theReichstag and it participated in several coalition governments. Its party newspaper was theVorwärts.
		National Socialist German Workers' Party Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei	NSDAP	Far-right	Anti-Weimar Republic Nazism Antisemitism Anti-Young Plan	National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party). This was a far-right political party in Germany that was active between 1920 and 1945, and that created and supported the ideology ofNazism. Its precursor, the German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei; DAP), existed from 1919 to 1920. The Nazi Party emerged from theGerman nationalist,racist andpopulistFreikorps paramilitary culture, which fought against thecommunist uprisings in post-World War I Germany. It supported the ideas ofFührerprinzip,Volksgemeinschaft,Pan-Germanism,Lebensraum and the "Aryan Master Race". The party incorporated ferventantisemitism, anti-communism, anti-capitalism, scientific racism, and the use ofeugenics into its creed. Headed byAdolf Hitler from 1921, the party became the largest in theReichstag by July 1932. Its main newspaper was theVölkischer Beobachter.
		Communist Party of Germany Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands	KPD	Far-left	Anti-Weimar Republic Communism Marxism-Leninism Factions:Luxemburgism Council Communism	Communist Party of Germany. Formed at the very end of 1918 out of a number of left-wing groups, including the left-wing of the USPD and theSpartacus League. It was aMarxist-Leninist party that advocated revolution by theproletariat and the creation of acommunist regime according to the example of theSoviet Union. It was the main far-left party for the majority of the Weimar period. The party's major paper was theDie Rote Fahne (The Red Flag). Between 1920 and 1922 known as the United Communist Party of Germany (Vereinigte Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, VKPD)
		Centre Party Zentrumspartei	DZP	Centre-right	Pro-Weimar Republic Christian Democracy Political Catholicism Christian Republicanism	It was the continuation of the pre-Weimar Catholic party of the same name. A member of theWeimar Coalition, the Centre Party was the third-largest party in theReichstag for most of the Weimar Republic and participated in all governments until 1932. Their party newspaper wasGermania.
		German National People's Party Deutschnationale Volkspartei	DNVP	Right-wing tofar-right	Anti-Weimar Republic German Nationalism Authoritarian conservatism National conservatism Anti-communism Anti-semitism	It presented itself as avolksgemeinschaft or non-class party. It included remnants from the German Conservative Party, the Free Conservative Party, the Völkische movement, the Christian Social movement, and the Pan-German Association. It established two labor unions; one for the blue-collar worker (the DNAB) and one for the white-collar worker (DNAgB), which had been politically unimportant. The DNVP was the main authoritarian right party of Weimar Germany but moved to the radical right after coming under the control of press baronAlfred Hugenberg in 1928. It organized the National Opposition in 1929, together with leaders ofDer Stahlhelm,Hjalmar Schacht, the president of theReichsbank, and the Nazi Party, to oppose ChancellorHermann Müller's Grand Coalition. It joined in coalition with Hitler's government in January 1933.
		German People's Party Deutsche Volkspartei	DVP	Before 1929: Centre tocentre-right After 1929: Centre-right toright-wing	National Liberalism Civic nationalism Conservative liberalism Constitutional Monarchism	Formed in 1918 from the pre-WeimarNational Liberals, it was a center-right party supportingright-liberalism. Its platform stressed Christian family values, secular education, lower tariffs, opposition to welfare spending and agrarian subsidies, and hostility to socialism.Gustav Stresemann was its chairman and it participated in all governments until 1931. After Stresseann's death, the party turned further to the right.
		German Democratic Party Deutsche Demokratische Partei	DDP	Centre tocentre-left	Pro-Weimar Republic Liberalism Social liberalism Republicanism	Formed in 1918 as the successor to theProgressive People's Party, the DDP was a center-left party that supportedsocial liberalism. A member of theWeimar Coalition, it was one of the main liberal parties and participated in several coalition governments.
		Old Social Democratic Party of Germany Alte Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	ASPD	Centre-left	Pro-Weimar Republic Social democracy Left-wing Nationalism	Old Social Democratic Party of Germany. A regional party based inSaxony that split from theSPD in 1926. It never gained a mass following and disbanded in 1932.
		Communist Workers' Party of Germany Kommunistische Arbeiter-Partei Deutschlands	KAPD	Far-left	Anti-Weimar Republic Left communism Revolutionary socialism Council communism	Communist Workers' Party of Germany. An ultra-leftist party that split from the KPD in April 1920. They rejected participation in theReichstag and called for immediate revolutionary action. Immediately after its formation the party endured a series of splinters and lost much of the little influence it had.
		Communist Party of Germany (Opposition) Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (Opposition)	KPO	Left-wing	Anti-Weimar Republic Communism Luxemburgism Bukharinism	Split from the KPD in 1928, representing the "Right Opposition" of the Bukharinists against the Stalinist "Center" and the Trotskyist "Left Opposition". It never intended to be a real political party, but to influence the KPD.
		Socialist Workers' Party of Germany Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands	SAPD	Left-wing	Centrist Marxism Democratic socialism	A left-wing faction that split from the SPD in 1931. Parts of the USPD and dissenters from the KPD and the KPO joined it, but it remained small. Its political positions were near to those of the USPD, wavering between the SPD and the KPD.
		Socialist League Sozialistischer Bund	SB	Left-wing	Socialism	A splinter party that formed from theUSPD in 1922 and merged into theSAPD in 1931.
		Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	USPD	Left-wing	Anti-Weimar Republic Left-wing Center Marxism Democratic socialism Pacifism	This was formed by an anti-war faction that split from theSPD in 1917. It was aMarxist party that sought change through parliament and social progressive programs. The left-wing majority of the party joined the Communist Party in December 1920, while the remainder reunited with the MSPD in September 1922. A splinter element (Sozialistischer Bund) continued as an independent party, never attaining any real electoral success and finally merging with the SAPD in 1931.
		German Farmers' Party Deutsche Bauernpartei	DBP	Centre	Agrarianism	An agrarian party founded in 1928 to advocate for the economic interests of small farmers and peasants.
		German State Party Deutsche Staatspartei	DStP	Centre toCenter-right	Pro-Weimar Republic Liberalism Corporatism Nationalism	German State Party. Formed in 1930 by a merger of theDDP and theVolksnationale Reichsvereinigung (VNRV) (People's National Reich Association), the political wing of theYoung German Order. The VNRVReichstag delegates soon seceded from the party, leaving it essentially the DDP under a new name.
		Hanseatic People's League Hanseatischer Volksbund	HVB	Right-wing	Anti-Weimar Republic Anti-Social democracy German Nationalism	A regional party founded inLübeck in 1926, supported by the middle classes opposed to Marxism and social democracy. It was allied with theDVP.
		Schleswig-Holstein Farmers and Farmworkers Democracy Schleswig-Holsteinische Bauern- und Landarbeiterdemokratie	SHBLD	Centre	Pro-Weimar Republic Agrarian Liberalism	A regional agrarian party active inSchleswig-Holstein between 1919 and 1924. It was a moderate party that leaned towards liberalism, and co-operated with theDVP.
		People's National Reich Association Volksnationale Reichsvereinigung	VR	Center-right toRight-wing	Pro-Weimar Republic German Nationalism National liberalism	This was the political wing of theYoung German Order and it briefly merged with theDDP in 1930 to form theDStP.
		Bavarian People's Party Bayerische Volkspartei	BVP	Centre-right	Pro-Weimar Republic Political Catholicism Christian democracy Bavarian regionalism	A Catholic and conservative party, in 1918 it split off from the Centre Party to pursue a more conservative and particularist Bavarian course.
		Burnswick-Lower Saxony Party Braunschweigisch-Niedersächsische Partei	BNP	Right-wing	Anti-Weimar Republic Monarchism Conservatism Anti-republicanism	This was a small regional party active in the Free State of Brunswick. It was conservative, monarchist and anti-republican. It formed an electoral alliance with the DVP and the DNVP.
		Christian-National Peasants' and Farmers' Party Christlich-Nationale Bauern- und Landvolkpartei	CNBL	Right-wing	Anti-Weimar Republic Agrarian conservatism German Nationalism	Christian National Peasants' and Farmers' Party. This was a conservative agrarian party that broke off from the German National People's Party (DNVP) in 1928. It contested the 1930 and 1932Reichstag elections under the nameDeutsches Landvolk (German Rural Folk).
		Christian Social People's Service Christlich-Sozialer Volksdienst	CSVD	Centre-right toright-wing	Pro-Weimar Republic Christian democracy Political Protestantism Conservatism	A conservative Protestant party formed at the end of 1929, it was mainly supported by the middle class and Christian trade unionists. It supported state welfare, trade unions and workers participation in management; it opposed atheism, liberalism and Marxism. Also known asChristlich-sozialer Volksdienst (Evangelische Bewegung).
		Christian People's Party Christliche Volkspartei	CVP	Center-right	Pro-Weimar Republic Christian Democracy	A short-lived Catholic party based in theRhineland.[3]
		German-Hanoverian Party Deutsch-Hannoversche Partei	DHP	Centre-left	Pro-Weimar Republic Hannoverian regionalism Hannoverian Separatism Social Agrarianism	Also known as the Guelph Party. A regional party inPrussia'sProvince of Hanover that unsuccessfully advocated for a Free State of Hanover. Formerly conservative andcentre-right, the party moved to the left in the 1920s.
		German Workers' Party Deutsche Arbeiterpartei	DAP	Far-right	Anti-Weimar Republic Proto-fascism Pan-Germanism Anti-Marxism Antisemitism Völkisch Nationalism	This was formed in 1919 byAnton Drexler, withGottfried Feder,Dietrich Eckart andKarl Harrer, and derived in part from theThule Society, the cover organization of the occult ariosophistGermanenorden. This party added the adjective "National Socialist" in its name and became the "National Socialist German Workers' Party" (NSDAP) in 1920.
		German Social Party Deutschsoziale Partei	DSP	Far-right	Anti-Weimar Republic Proto-fascism Völkisch Movement Antisemitism	A far-right antisemitic andVölkisch political party, active from 1921 to 1929.
		German-Socialist Party Deutschsozialistische Partei	DSP	Far-right	Anti-Weimar Republic Proto-fascism National mysticism Racial antisemitism Anti-communism	A far-right, nationalist party heavily influenced by the antisemiticThule Society. It was headed byJulius Streicher, and it was also highly organized, despite having a rather small size. In a controversial move, it dissolved itself in 1922 and many of its members entered the (then very new) Nazi Party.
		German Völkisch Freedom Party Deutschvölkische Freiheitspartei	DVFP	Far-right	Anti-Weimar Republic Proto-fascism Völkisch nationalism Pan-Germanism Revolutionary conservatism Antisemitism Anti-communism	The party of GeneralLudendorff. It campaigned for an authoritarian regime that would be very nationalistic and promoted socioeconomic questions. It also sought to close the stock exchanges and nationalize the banks. In May 1924, it obtained 6.4% of the vote in alliance with NSDAP, but fell to 3% in the next election, in December 1924.
		Greater German People's Community Großdeutsche Volksgemeinschaft	GVG	Far-right	Anti-Weimar Republic Nazism Antisemitism Völkisch nationalism	A Nazifront organization established in January 1924 when the Nazi Party was outlawed. Centered inBavaria, it was led byAlfred Rosenberg until July when he was ousted byJulius Streicher. Opposed to electoral politics, it was not represented in theReichstag. It dissolved in March 1925 and was reabsorbed by the Nazi Party.
		Conservative People's Party Konservative Volkspartei	KVP	Right-wing	Pro-Weimar Republic Conservatism Christian democracy	It split off from the DNVP in 1930, following that party's turn to the far-right underAlfred Hugenberg.
		National Socialist Freedom Party Nationalsozialistische Freiheitspartei	NSFP	Far-right	Anti-Weimar Republic Nazism Pan-Germanism Anti-communism Antisemitism Factions Anti-Catholicism	A Nazi front organization established in April 1924 when the Nazi Party was outlawed and Hitler was jailed. The remaining Nazis formed it as a legal means of carrying on the party and its ideology. As the National Socialist Freedom movement (NSFB), it ran as a combined list with theDVFP in the 1924Reichstag elections and disbanded shortly after the Nazi Party was re-established in February 1925.
		Economic Party Reichspartei des deutschen Mittelstandes	WP	Right-wing	Conservatism Anti-communism Corporatism	A conservative pro-business party, founded in 1920 as the Economic Party of the German Middle Class. It commonly was referred to as theWirtschaftspartei (WP). It supported a reduction in government economic involvement, a freer hand for business, and lower taxes. It was particularly opposed to revaluation, which it considered an attack on the rights of property owners.
		People's Justice Party Volksrechtpartei	VRP	Right-wing		Officially called the Reich Party for Civil Rights and Deflation. Formed in 1926, the party was conservative in outlook and represented itself as the defender of savers, calling for the creation of as broad a middle class as possible. It sought to represent those worst hit by thehyperinflation of the early 1920s.

Besides the larger parties, there were also a multitude of smaller groups and parties that were either affiliated with the electoral coalitions of larger parties or were organizationally independent and participated with their own lists either throughout the entire Republic or only in individual constituencies.^[4]

• Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (ADGB)
• Allgemeiner freier Angestelltenbund (AfA) white-collar employee union affiliated with the SPD-dominated free trade unions. (Pro-Weimar Republic)
• Deutscher Landarbeiterverband (German Agricultural Workers' Union) SPD-organized. (Pro-Weimar Republic)
• Deutschnationaler Handlungsgehilfenverband (DHV) (National Association of Clerical Employees) — the conservative white-collar worker union. The DHV leadership did not fully support the NSDAP because it didn't recognize the independence of unions. (Against the government)
• Freie Arbeiter-Union Deutschlands (FAUD) — ananarcho-syndicalisttrade union that participated in therevolution in Germany and continued to be involved in the German labor movement in the early 1920s.
• Gesamtverband Deutscher Beamtengewerkschaften (GDB) was a conservative civil service union.
• Gewerkschaftsbund der Angestellten (GdA) was a Hirsch-Duncker union.
• Gewerkschaftsbund deutscher Angestelltenverbände (Gedag) was a conservative white-collar union.
• Reichsbund Deutscher Angestellten-Berufsverbände was a conservative white-collar union.
• Vereinigung der chrislichen-deutschen Bauernvereine (Association of Christian-German Peasant Unions)
• Zentralverband der Angestellten (ZdA), an association of white-collar unions started by the SPD. (Pro-Weimar Republic)

• Alldeutscher Verband — Pan-German League. A nationalist and colonialist organization whose goal was to nurture, protect and expand German nationality as a unifying force. (Against the government)
• Deutsches Handwerk. German crafts organization headed by Zeleny. Zeleny advocated positions that would improve conditions for the old middle class. It would later back the NSDAP.
• Katholische Burschenvereine. Catholic youth associations that the Catholic Church started in southern Germany to provide Catholic youth with numerous activities.
• Tannenbergbund
• Tatkreis movement
• Völkisch movement (Against the government)

• Bund Wiking — Viking League. A paramilitary organization founded in Munich in 1923 by members of the bannedOrganisation Consul as a successor group. Its stated aim was the establishment of a military dictatorship and modification of the Treaty of Versailles by armed means, including provocations intended to incite workers into violence and provide the pretext for a coup.
• Organisation Consul (OC) — An ultra-nationalist and anti-Semitic terrorist organization that operated from 1920 to 1922. It was formed byHermann Ehrhardt and several members of hisFreikorpsbrigade. It was responsible for political assassinations, including former Minister of FinanceMatthias Erzberger and Foreign MinisterWalther Rathenau, that had the goal of destroying the Republic and replacing it with a right-wing dictatorship. The group was banned by the German government in 1922.
• Schwarze Reichswehr — BlackReichswehr. Extra-legal paramilitary formations promoted by the GermanReichswehr to circumvent manpower restrictions imposed by theVersailles Treaty. Black Reichswehr members were responsible for severalFeme murders. Active 1921 to 1923.

All vote numbers in thousands.

• Regional= Total for regional parties not listed individually
• Rightist= Total for right-wing parties not listed individually
• Splinter= Total for splinter parties not listed individually or among regional or rightist

6 June 1920includes by-elections in Schleswig-Holstein and East Prussia (20 February 1921)and Upper Silesia (19 November 1922)Eligible 35,920 Turnout 28,196 % voting 78.4(Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 590 4USPD 5,047 83SPD 6,104 103Centre 3,910 64BVP 1,173 21DDP 2,334 39WP 219 4DVP 3,919 65DNVP 4,249 71 Regional 709 5 Splinter 161 0Total 28,415 459

4 May 1924Eligible 38,375 Turnout 29,282% voting 76.3(Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 3,693 45USPD 235 0SPD 6,009 100Centre 3,914 65BVP 947 16DDP 1,655 28WP 530 10DVP 2,728 45DNVP 5,697 95NSFP 1,918 32Regional 608 5Rightist 666 10Splinter 682 4Total 29,282 455

7 December 1924Eligible 33,987Turnout 30,290% voting 77.7(Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 2,709 45USPD 99 0SPD 7,881 131Centre 4,092 69BVP 1,134 19DDP 1,920 32WP 639 17DVP 3,049 51DNVP 6,206 103NSFB 907 14Regional 708 4Rightist 545 8Splinter 401 0Total 30,290 493

20 May 1928 Eligible 41,224 Turnout 30,754 % voting 74.6 (Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 3,265 54SPD 9,153 153Centre 3,712 61BVP 946 17DDP 1,479 25WP 1,388 23DVP 2,680 45DNVP 4,382 73NSDAP 810 12Regional 956 3Rightist 1,025 23Splinter 958 2Total 30,754 491

14 September 1930Eligible 42,958Turnout 34,971% voting 81.4(Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 4,592 77SPD 8,578 143Centre 4,128 68BVP 1,059 19DDP 1,322 20WP 1,362 23DVP 1,578 30DNVP 2,458 41NSDAP 6,383 107Regional 683 3Rightist 2,373 46Splinter 455 0Total 34,971 577

31 July 1932 Eligible 44,211 Turnout 36,882% voting 83.4 (Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 5,283 89 SPD 7,960 133Centre 4,589 75BVP 1,193 22DDP 372 4WP 147 2DVP 136 7DNVP 2,177 37NSDAP 13,769 230Regional 219 0Rightist 552 9Splinter 185 0Total 36,582 608

6 November 1932 Eligible 44,374 Turnout 35,471 % voting 79.9 (Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 5,980 100SPD 7,248 121Centre 4,230 70BVP 1,095 20DDP 336 2WP 110 1DVP 661 11DNVP 2,959 52NSDAP 11,737 196Regional 353 1Rightist 510 10Splinter 252 0Total 35,471 584

5 March 1933 Eligible 44,665 Turnout 39,343 % voting 88.1 (Party, Votes, Seats)KPD 4,848 81 SPD 7,181 120Centre 4,425 74BVP 1,074 18DDP 334 5 DVP 432 2DNVP 3,137 52NSDAP 17,277 288Regional 1,246 0Rightist 384 7Splinter 5 0Total 39,343 647

• Weimar paramilitary groups
• Weimar Republic
• Glossary of the Weimar Republic
• Glossary of the Third Reich
• Weimar Timeline

• Brustein, William (1996).The Logic of Evil: The Social Origins of the Nazi Party, 1925–1933. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.ISBN 978-0-300-06533-6.
• Mitcham, Samuel W. (1996).Why Hitler, The Genesis of the Nazi Reich. Westport, CT: Praeger. p. 72.ISBN 978-0-274-65916-6.
• Zentner, Christian; Bedürftig, Friedemann, eds. (1997) [1991].The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. New York: Da Capo Press.ISBN 978-0-306-80793-0.

• Halperin, S. William (1946).Germany Tried Democracy: A Political History of the Reich from 1918 to 1933online.
• Parteien in der Weimarer Republik Vielparteiensystem Weimarer Republik 1918/19-1933 (in German)

• Defunct political parties in Germany
• Political parties in the Weimar Republic

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata