Farmers' League
Encyclopedia
Farmers' League was an ethnic German agrarian political party
in Czechoslovakia. Ideologically the party was moderately conservative, having its base in the Sudetenland
countryside. The party was led by Franz Spina
. Landjugend
was the youth wing of the party. In the 1920 election
, the party won 11 seats (3.9% of the nationwide vote).
In the 1925 election
, BdL won 24 parliamentary seats (8% of the vote). Following the election, BdL joined the Czechoslovak government. Spina became a national minister. After having entered the government the party began cooperation with the Czechoslovak agrarians.
In the 1929 election
, the BdL parliamentary presence was halved. The party got 12 seats, having got 4% of the national vote.
After the DNP and DNSAP had been banned in October 1933, the political atmosphere in Sudetenland changed. The BdL came under pressure from rightwing radicals in Landjugend, and formed a movement called Landstand led by Gustav Hacker (the leader of Landjugend). Landstand was formed with the intention of enabling cooperation with the Sudetendeutsche Heimatfront (SHF). Through the creation of Landstand, it is possible that BdL sought to pre-empt competition from SHF in the Sudetenland countryside. BdL hoped to achieve a division of labour between Landstand and SHF, thinking that SHF would mobilize urban populace and BdL/Landstand would retain their dominance over rural German politics. These overtures to the SHF caused rifts in the Czechoslovak government. The DSAP (German Social Democrats), who were also in the government, were particularly worried and called upon BdL to differentiate themselves from 'the fascists
'. In the end, BdL was side-lined as the Czechoslovak agrarians began to cooperate directly with SHF. Landstand became a short-lived movement.
In the 1935 election
, BdL gathered 1.7% of the national vote. The party got five parliamentary seats. The party suffered badly from the competition from the Sudeten German Party (SdP), the new incarnation of SHF. After the election, BdL began to reorient itself towards cooperation with democratic forces, declaring their support to Edvard Beneš
as president just before the election. But the party suffered continuously from defections from its ranks.
In the new scenario, BdL was divided into two fractions. One led by Hackner, who had become chairman of the party, and another led by Spina. After the Anschluß of Austria
, Hacker called on all BdL members to join SdP. The situation in BdL became more and more chaotic. On March 22, 1938, Hacker proclaimed himself as the 'plenipotenary' of BdL, and went on to declare the party to merged into SdP. The Spina-led fraction tried to regroup, but failed to reconstruct the BdL.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Czechoslovakia. Ideologically the party was moderately conservative, having its base in the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
countryside. The party was led by Franz Spina
Franz Spina
Franz Spina was German-Czechoslovakian right-wing and activist politician of the First Republic Era. Franz Spina was chairman of Bund der Landwirte, or Union of Farmers and Rural Enterprises, right-wing party of German-speaking countryside of Czechoslovakia...
. Landjugend
Landjugend
Reichverbandes des Bundes der deutschen Landjugend , generally called Landjugend, was an ethnic German youth movement in interbellum Czechoslovakia, politically related to the Farmers' League. The organization was founded in 1919. By 1922, Landjugend had 16,000 members....
was the youth wing of the party. In the 1920 election
Czechoslovakian parliamentary election, 1920
Parliamentary elections were held in Czechoslovakia on 18 and 25 April 1920. The Chamber of Deputies was elected on 18 April and the Senate on 25 April. They were the first elections held under the Czechoslovak Constitution of 1920. The result was a victory for the Czechoslovak Social Democratic...
, the party won 11 seats (3.9% of the nationwide vote).
In the 1925 election
Czechoslovakian parliamentary election, 1925
Parliamentary elections were held in Czechoslovakia on 15 November 1925. The result was a victory for the Republican Party of Agricultural and Smallholder People, which won 45 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 23 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 90.1% in the Chamber election and 77.3% for...
, BdL won 24 parliamentary seats (8% of the vote). Following the election, BdL joined the Czechoslovak government. Spina became a national minister. After having entered the government the party began cooperation with the Czechoslovak agrarians.
In the 1929 election
Czechoslovakian parliamentary election, 1929
Parliamentary elections were held in Czechoslovakia on 27 October 1929. The result was a victory for the Republican Party of Agricultural and Smallholder People, which won 46 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 24 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 90.2% in the Chamber election and 78.8% for...
, the BdL parliamentary presence was halved. The party got 12 seats, having got 4% of the national vote.
After the DNP and DNSAP had been banned in October 1933, the political atmosphere in Sudetenland changed. The BdL came under pressure from rightwing radicals in Landjugend, and formed a movement called Landstand led by Gustav Hacker (the leader of Landjugend). Landstand was formed with the intention of enabling cooperation with the Sudetendeutsche Heimatfront (SHF). Through the creation of Landstand, it is possible that BdL sought to pre-empt competition from SHF in the Sudetenland countryside. BdL hoped to achieve a division of labour between Landstand and SHF, thinking that SHF would mobilize urban populace and BdL/Landstand would retain their dominance over rural German politics. These overtures to the SHF caused rifts in the Czechoslovak government. The DSAP (German Social Democrats), who were also in the government, were particularly worried and called upon BdL to differentiate themselves from 'the fascists
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
'. In the end, BdL was side-lined as the Czechoslovak agrarians began to cooperate directly with SHF. Landstand became a short-lived movement.
In the 1935 election
Czechoslovakian parliamentary election, 1935
Parliamentary elections were held in Czechoslovakia on 19 May 1935. The result was a victory for the newly established Sudeten German Party, which won 44 seats in the Chamber and 23 in the Senate. Funded by the German Nazi Party, it won over two-third of the vote amongst Sudeten Germans...
, BdL gathered 1.7% of the national vote. The party got five parliamentary seats. The party suffered badly from the competition from the Sudeten German Party (SdP), the new incarnation of SHF. After the election, BdL began to reorient itself towards cooperation with democratic forces, declaring their support to Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš was a leader of the Czechoslovak independence movement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the second President of Czechoslovakia. He was known to be a skilled diplomat.- Youth :...
as president just before the election. But the party suffered continuously from defections from its ranks.
In the new scenario, BdL was divided into two fractions. One led by Hackner, who had become chairman of the party, and another led by Spina. After the Anschluß of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Hacker called on all BdL members to join SdP. The situation in BdL became more and more chaotic. On March 22, 1938, Hacker proclaimed himself as the 'plenipotenary' of BdL, and went on to declare the party to merged into SdP. The Spina-led fraction tried to regroup, but failed to reconstruct the BdL.