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| ==History== | ==History== | ||
| The DKP was formed in ] in ], in order to fill the place of the ] (KPD), which had been banned by the ] in ]. At the end of the 1960s, the West German authorities were liberalizing the attitude towards the communist bloc and East Germany in particular. | |||
| The foundation of the German Communist Party followed the talks between two functionaries of the |
The foundation of the German Communist Party followed the talks between two functionaries of the former ] with ] (minister of justice), who rejected the possiblity of lifting the ban of the ], but suggested that a new party be formed to enable communists to operate legally.<ref>Helmut Bilstein u. a., Organisierter Kommunismus in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Opladen 1977, S. 16.</ref> At the time, the line of Soviets and their allies was that Germany was divided into three separate entities (FRG, GDR and West Berlin). Now, each entity would have a separate communist party: the Socialist Unity of Germany in GDR, ] in ] and the German Communist Party in FRG. | ||
| The party remained on the political fringe, never winning more than 0.3% of the total votes in federal elections.<ref></ref> It had relatively greater localized support in the 1970s; it managed to get up to 2.2% in elections in the city state of ], up to 3.1% in elections in the city state in ], and up to 2.7% in elections in ]. | The party remained on the political fringe, never winning more than 0.3% of the total votes in federal elections.<ref></ref> It had relatively greater localized support in the 1970s; it managed to get up to 2.2% in elections in the city state of ], up to 3.1% in elections in the city state in ], and up to 2.7% in elections in ]. | ||
Revision as of 11:39, 10 August 2010
For other uses, see Communist Party of Germany (disambiguation). Political party in Germany| German Communist Party Deutsche Kommunistische Partei | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Heinz Stehr |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Headquarters | Hoffnungstraße 18, 45127 Essen |
| Newspaper | unsere Zeit |
| Youth wing | Socialist German Workers Youth |
| Ideology | Communism, Marxism-Leninism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| European affiliation | Party of the European Left (Observer), European Anticapitalist Left |
| European Parliament group | None |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colours | Red |
| Website | |
| http://www.dkp.de/ | |
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The German Communist Party (Template:Lang-de, DKP) is a Marxist-Leninist communist party in Germany.
History
The DKP was formed in West Germany in 1968, in order to fill the place of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), which had been banned by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1956. At the end of the 1960s, the West German authorities were liberalizing the attitude towards the communist bloc and East Germany in particular. The foundation of the German Communist Party followed the talks between two functionaries of the former Communist Party of Germany with Gustav Heinemann (minister of justice), who rejected the possiblity of lifting the ban of the Communist Party of Germany, but suggested that a new party be formed to enable communists to operate legally. At the time, the line of Soviets and their allies was that Germany was divided into three separate entities (FRG, GDR and West Berlin). Now, each entity would have a separate communist party: the Socialist Unity of Germany in GDR, Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin in West Berlin and the German Communist Party in FRG.
The party remained on the political fringe, never winning more than 0.3% of the total votes in federal elections. It had relatively greater localized support in the 1970s; it managed to get up to 2.2% in elections in the city state of Hamburg, up to 3.1% in elections in the city state in Bremen, and up to 2.7% in elections in Saarland.
During the Cold War, the DKP received most of its funds through covert transfers from the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), the East German ruling party. Following German reunification, the DKP entered a steady decline. As of 2008, its membership has dropped to some 4,000, less than a tenth of its pre-Unification strength.
Many members of the DKP left the party after the re-unification of Germany and joined the newly formed Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), a descendant of the SED. For the 2005 federal elections, the DKP endorsed the ticket of the Left Party, successor to the PDS.
The DKP received national public attention in early 2008 when Christel Wegner, elected to the parliament of Lower Saxony on the list of the Left Party as the first DKP member of a state (Land) parliament, appeared to endorse the Berlin Wall, the Stasi and other aspects of the East German state in an interview. This caused embarrassment to the national Left Party leadership. Wegner was subsequently expelled from the party's parliamentary group and denied having made the controversial endorsements a few days later.
Media
The party operates a weekly newspaper, unsere Zeit.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Björn Hengst, Philipp Wittrock (19 February 2008). "Linke zeigt Kommunisten die Rote Karte" (in German). Spiegel Online.
- Helmut Bilstein u. a., Organisierter Kommunismus in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Opladen 1977, S. 16.
- Deutsche Welle - Wahl 2005
- Aktuell
External links
- 30 Year history, a speech
- Documents of the foundation
- Unsere Zeit (UZ) Socialist Weekly Newspaper
- 50,000 People Attend German Communist Party Media Fair People's Weekly World, June 22 2009
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