German Party (Romania)
Encyclopedia
The German Party was a political party
in post-World War I
Romania
, claiming to represent the entire ethnic German community
.
The German Party went through a rather lengthy period of creation. It was founded on the initiative of part of the ethnic German bourgeoisie
at Timişoara
on September 6, 1919, in advance of the November election. Gradually, it extended its organisations into Transylvania
, Banat
, Bukovina
and Bessarabia
, territories with appreciable numbers of Volksdeutsche
. Its leadership organs were elected by general assemblies or by congresses. The party was the political expression of the Union of Romanian Germans (UGR, Uniunea Germanilor din România), which oversaw a wide range of activities (political, cultural, religious, economic). Although it claimed to speak for all local Germans, in reality the party overwhelmingly represented the interests of the wealthiest layer of that national minority.
The programme adopted in 1919 and which, in essence, remained the same for the entire interwar period
, called for the application of the resolution adopted at the Alba Iulia
National Assembly on December 1, 1918 regarding minorities, respect for the rights and liberties guaranteed by Romanian legislation, and the promotion of certain specific interests (cultural rights; maternal-language education; the right to found schools and other institutions maintained through special contributions paid by the German population; the right to associate for religious, cultural, economic, and other purposes). A core motivation was to secure recognition of the UGR by successive governments as a distinct entity within Romania, with the right to speak on behalf of all ethnic Germans. The PGR fought for an ever-larger representation of the German minority in Parliament
as well as on county
and communal councils.
The process of founding the PGR began in 1919 and ended in 1921. At first, Transylvanian Saxons
created their own political parties (the Saxon Party - Partidul Sas, and the National Saxon Party - Partidul Naţional Săsesc), as did the Banat Swabians
(Swabian Party - Partidul Şvab, and the National Swabian Party - Partidul Şvab Naţional). At the September 1921 Cernăuţi
Congress, the UGR was created, led by a National Council and with Rudolf Brandsch as its president. The Saxons, through the January 8, 1919 Mediaş
resolution, and the Swabians, through the August 10, 1919 Timişoara resolution, joined the act of Union of Transylvania and Banat with Romania
.
From a political point of view, the PGR adopted a strategy of collaboration with Romanian governments, no matter their political orientation, calculating that they could more easily achieve their specific demands in this way. The party took part in parliamentary elections on the side of the party in government (except in the 1927 election, when it allied itself with the Magyar Party
), winning between 10 and 15 seats in the lower house every time. It had a significant number of communal and county councillors, and even mayors in localities with a sizeable German component. Brandsch, between April 23, 1931 and October 20, 1932, and Hans Otto Roth, between July 4 and September 4, 1940, were respectively Undersecretary of State and Minister for Minorities. The PGR organised numerous meetings, also editing a large number of newspapers and gazettes through which it promoted its political agenda. It official newspaper was the Siebenbürgisches Deutsches Tageblatt, published from 1919 to 1944.
After 1930, Nazi
ideas began to seep into the party. The man who promoted this trend was Fritz Fabritius, who in September 1932 created the Movement for Reciprocal Assistance of Romanian Germans , with a national-socialist orientation. In May 1933, Fabritius founded the National-Socialist Party of Romanian Germans (PNSGR, Partidul Naţional-Socialist al Germanilor din România), which propagated Nazi ideas and organised youth camps; members of this party wore uniforms and used the swastika
as their symbol. So as not to be dissolved on the basis of the December 9, 1933 journal of the Ion Duca government, the PNSGR took the name Movement of National Renewal of Romanian Germans (NEDR, Mişcarea de Reînnoire Naţională a Germanilor din România). The attempt at evasion did not go undetected and on July 7, 1934, the government decided to ban the work camps and disband the NEDR, as it was undertaking activities "banned by the laws in effect".
On November 22, 1933, Otto Fritz Jikeli, who continued Fabritius' ideas, was elected president of the National Saxon Council (Consiliul Naţional Săsesc), whereupon he declared himself a follower of the national-socialist conception. Some leaders challenged Jikeli, so that Fabritius personally took control of the National Saxon Council on April 30, 1935. On October 22 of that year Fabritius was elected president of the UGR, then of the PGR too. Dissent continued within the PGR: in April 1935, Alfred Bonfert founded the German People's Party
, accusing Fabritius of having a conciliatory attitude toward the democratic leaders of the PGR. In the 1937 election
, the German Party formed an electoral alliance with the governing National Liberals
, and then, in advance of the 1938 election (which never took place), with the governing National Christian Party
.
The German Party, along with all other parties extant in Romania, was dissolved on March 30, 1938. However, it continued its activity at the cadre level, using the cover of the Romanian German Community (Comunitatea Germanilor din România), which joined the National Renaissance Front
on January 10, 1939. On October 27, 1938, following orders from Nazi Germany
, the PPGR and the PGR merged. On November 21, 1940, during the National Legionary State
, when many thousands of German troops were on Romanian soil, the Ethnic German Group of Romania (GEGR, Grupul Etnic German din România) was founded and declared a "Romanian juridical person of public right". All Romanian citizens of German origin were officially inducted into the organisation; the representative of the "national will of the Ethnic German Group of Romania" was the National Socialist German Workers Party
(NSDAP). After the Legionnaires' Rebellion
was crushed in January 1941, NSDAP remained the sole legal political organisation in Romania until the King Michael Coup of August 23, 1944. The head of the GEGR and of the local NSDAP was Andreas Schmidt, named directly by Berlin, whose interests he represented. Some members of GEGR called for including Transylvania and Banat into a separate state – Donauland – which would be a protectorate of the Third Reich
. The GEGR, which used terror against ethnic Germans who did not share its Nazi ideology, was disbanded by the decree-law of October 7, 1944.
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 post-World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, claiming to represent the entire ethnic German community
Germans of Romania
The Germans of Romania or Rumäniendeutsche were 760,000 strong in 1930. They are not a single group; thus, to understand their language, culture, and history, one must view them as independent groups:...
.
The German Party went through a rather lengthy period of creation. It was founded on the initiative of part of the ethnic German bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
at Timişoara
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
on September 6, 1919, in advance of the November election. Gradually, it extended its organisations into Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
, Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
and Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
, territories with appreciable numbers of Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche - "German in terms of people/folk" -, defined ethnically, is a historical term from the 20th century. The words volk and volkische conveyed in Nazi thinking the meanings of "folk" and "race" while adding the sense of superior civilization and blood...
. Its leadership organs were elected by general assemblies or by congresses. The party was the political expression of the Union of Romanian Germans (UGR, Uniunea Germanilor din România), which oversaw a wide range of activities (political, cultural, religious, economic). Although it claimed to speak for all local Germans, in reality the party overwhelmingly represented the interests of the wealthiest layer of that national minority.
The programme adopted in 1919 and which, in essence, remained the same for the entire interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
, called for the application of the resolution adopted at the Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,747, located on the Mureş River. Since the High Middle Ages, the city has been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese. Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania...
National Assembly on December 1, 1918 regarding minorities, respect for the rights and liberties guaranteed by Romanian legislation, and the promotion of certain specific interests (cultural rights; maternal-language education; the right to found schools and other institutions maintained through special contributions paid by the German population; the right to associate for religious, cultural, economic, and other purposes). A core motivation was to secure recognition of the UGR by successive governments as a distinct entity within Romania, with the right to speak on behalf of all ethnic Germans. The PGR fought for an ever-larger representation of the German minority in Parliament
Parliament of Romania
The Parliament of Romania is made up of two chambers:*The Chamber of Deputies*The SenatePrior to the modifications of the Constitution in 2003, the two houses had identical attributes. A text of a law had to be approved by both houses...
as well as on county
Counties of Romania
The 41 judeţe and the municipality of Bucharest comprise the official administrative divisions of Romania. They also represent the European Union' s NUTS-3 geocode statistical subdivision scheme of Romania.-Overview:...
and communal councils.
The process of founding the PGR began in 1919 and ended in 1921. At first, Transylvanian Saxons
Transylvanian Saxons
The Transylvanian Saxons are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania from the 12th century onwards.The colonization of Transylvania by Germans was begun by King Géza II of Hungary . For decades, the main task of the German settlers was to defend the southeastern border of the...
created their own political parties (the Saxon Party - Partidul Sas, and the National Saxon Party - Partidul Naţional Săsesc), as did the Banat Swabians
Banat Swabians
The Banat Swabians are an ethnic German population in Southeast Europe, part of the Danube Swabians. They emigrated in the 18th century to what was then the Austrian Banat province, which had been left sparsely populated by the wars with Turkey. This once strong and important ethnic Banat Swabian...
(Swabian Party - Partidul Şvab, and the National Swabian Party - Partidul Şvab Naţional). At the September 1921 Cernăuţi
Chernivtsi
Chernivtsi is the administrative center of Chernivtsi Oblast in southwestern Ukraine. The city is situated on the upper course of the River Prut, a tributary of the Danube, in the northern part of the historic region of Bukovina, which is currently divided between Romania and Ukraine...
Congress, the UGR was created, led by a National Council and with Rudolf Brandsch as its president. The Saxons, through the January 8, 1919 Mediaş
Medias
Mediaș is the second largest city in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania.-Geographic location:Mediaș is located in the middle basin of Târnava Mare River, at 39 km from Sighișoara and 41 km from Blaj. The health resort Bazna, officially recognized for the first time in 1302, is...
resolution, and the Swabians, through the August 10, 1919 Timişoara resolution, joined the act of Union of Transylvania and Banat with Romania
Union of Transylvania with Romania
Union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia.The national holiday of Romania, the Great Union Day occurring on December 1, commemorates this event...
.
From a political point of view, the PGR adopted a strategy of collaboration with Romanian governments, no matter their political orientation, calculating that they could more easily achieve their specific demands in this way. The party took part in parliamentary elections on the side of the party in government (except in the 1927 election, when it allied itself with the Magyar Party
Magyar Party (Romania)
The Magyar Party was a political party in post-World War I Romania.The party had a heterogeneous structure, including bourgeois and landowners, peasants, workers, intellectuals and city-dwellers...
), winning between 10 and 15 seats in the lower house every time. It had a significant number of communal and county councillors, and even mayors in localities with a sizeable German component. Brandsch, between April 23, 1931 and October 20, 1932, and Hans Otto Roth, between July 4 and September 4, 1940, were respectively Undersecretary of State and Minister for Minorities. The PGR organised numerous meetings, also editing a large number of newspapers and gazettes through which it promoted its political agenda. It official newspaper was the Siebenbürgisches Deutsches Tageblatt, published from 1919 to 1944.
After 1930, Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
ideas began to seep into the party. The man who promoted this trend was Fritz Fabritius, who in September 1932 created the Movement for Reciprocal Assistance of Romanian Germans , with a national-socialist orientation. In May 1933, Fabritius founded the National-Socialist Party of Romanian Germans (PNSGR, Partidul Naţional-Socialist al Germanilor din România), which propagated Nazi ideas and organised youth camps; members of this party wore uniforms and used the swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
as their symbol. So as not to be dissolved on the basis of the December 9, 1933 journal of the Ion Duca government, the PNSGR took the name Movement of National Renewal of Romanian Germans (NEDR, Mişcarea de Reînnoire Naţională a Germanilor din România). The attempt at evasion did not go undetected and on July 7, 1934, the government decided to ban the work camps and disband the NEDR, as it was undertaking activities "banned by the laws in effect".
On November 22, 1933, Otto Fritz Jikeli, who continued Fabritius' ideas, was elected president of the National Saxon Council (Consiliul Naţional Săsesc), whereupon he declared himself a follower of the national-socialist conception. Some leaders challenged Jikeli, so that Fabritius personally took control of the National Saxon Council on April 30, 1935. On October 22 of that year Fabritius was elected president of the UGR, then of the PGR too. Dissent continued within the PGR: in April 1935, Alfred Bonfert founded the German People's Party
German People's Party (Romania)
The German People's Party was a political party that operated in Romania between 1935 and 1938, claiming to represent the ethnic German community....
, accusing Fabritius of having a conciliatory attitude toward the democratic leaders of the PGR. In the 1937 election
Romanian general election, 1937
General elections were held in Romania on 20 and 22 December 1937. It was Romania's last election before King Carol II dissolved Parliament and instituted a royal dictatorship the following February. By the next elections under the 1923 Constitution, Romania had passed through two dictatorships and...
, the German Party formed an electoral alliance with the governing National Liberals
National Liberal Party (Romania)
The National Liberal Party , abbreviated to PNL, is a centre-right liberal party in Romania. It is the third-largest party in the Romanian Parliament, with 53 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 in the Senate: behind the centre-right Democratic Liberal Party and the centre-left Social...
, and then, in advance of the 1938 election (which never took place), with the governing National Christian Party
National Christian Party
The National Christian Party was a Romanian political party, the product of a union between Octavian Goga's National Agrarian Party and A. C. Cuza's National-Christian Defense League; a prominent member of the party was the philosopher Nichifor Crainic...
.
The German Party, along with all other parties extant in Romania, was dissolved on March 30, 1938. However, it continued its activity at the cadre level, using the cover of the Romanian German Community (Comunitatea Germanilor din România), which joined the National Renaissance Front
National Renaissance Front
The National Renaissance Front was a fascist Romanian political party created by King Carol II in 1938 as the single monopoly party of government following his decision to ban all other political parties and suspend the 1923 Constitution, and the passing of the 1938 Constitution of Romania...
on January 10, 1939. On October 27, 1938, following orders from Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, the PPGR and the PGR merged. On November 21, 1940, during the National Legionary State
National Legionary State
The National Legionary State was the Romanian government from September 6, 1940 to January 23, 1941. It was a single-party regime dictatorship dominated by the overtly fascist Iron Guard in uneasy conjunction with the head of government and Conducător Ion Antonescu, the leader of the Romanian...
, when many thousands of German troops were on Romanian soil, the Ethnic German Group of Romania (GEGR, Grupul Etnic German din România) was founded and declared a "Romanian juridical person of public right". All Romanian citizens of German origin were officially inducted into the organisation; the representative of the "national will of the Ethnic German Group of Romania" was the National Socialist German Workers Party
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
(NSDAP). After the Legionnaires' Rebellion
Legionnaires' Rebellion and Bucharest Pogrom
The Legionnaires' rebellion and the Bucharest pogrom occurred in Bucharest, Romania, between 21 and 23 January 1941.As the privileges of the Iron Guard were being cut off by Conducător Ion Antonescu, members of the Iron Guard, also known as the Legionnaires, revolted...
was crushed in January 1941, NSDAP remained the sole legal political organisation in Romania until the King Michael Coup of August 23, 1944. The head of the GEGR and of the local NSDAP was Andreas Schmidt, named directly by Berlin, whose interests he represented. Some members of GEGR called for including Transylvania and Banat into a separate state – Donauland – which would be a protectorate of the Third Reich
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. The GEGR, which used terror against ethnic Germans who did not share its Nazi ideology, was disbanded by the decree-law of October 7, 1944.
Notable members
- Rudolf Brandsch (president, 1919-1935)
- Fritz Fabritius (president, 1935-1938)
- Hans Otto Roth
- Fritz Konnerth
- Franz Krauter