German Catholic Center. — In German parliamentary and political history the name of the German Catholic Center first appeared in 1859, when Catholic deputies in the Prussian Diet formed their own faction, to which they gave the name German Catholic Center, taking into account the position of the seats they occupied in the chamber. Politically this group identified itself, even in its personnel, with the Catholic faction in the Diet which had existed since 1852 and which opposed the decrees of Minister Raumer, which were prejudicial to the personal and religious freedoms guaranteed by the constitution. The program of the Prussian Center was summarized in 1861 in the following points: a broad conception of national unity, condemning Prussian particularism in favor of a “small Germany”; freedom for all confessions, not only the Catholic, from state interference; and the widest possible autonomy in every sphere of social life. The German Catholic Center was therefore, from its origins, not a strictly confessional party in the strict sense of the word, and if it later became so for a time, this was due not so much to a rigid formulation of its political program as to the Kulturkampf unleashed by Bismarck after 1870.
Indeed, during the so-called “constitutional conflict” (1862–66), the deputies of the faction did not form a homogeneous bloc: some voted against the government, others granted Bismarck their confidence. Moreover, this Center was not yet a party in the true sense of the word. Lacking any organizational apparatus and a press of its own to serve as its mouthpiece and link with the electorate, the subsequent elections sealed its temporary disappearance. The publication of the Syllabus (1864), the predominance of Prussia and Protestantism in Germany after the defeat of Austria at Sadowa (1866), and the definition of papal infallibility (1870) had profound repercussions on Prussian domestic politics. The condemnation of liberalism pronounced in the Syllabus caused Catholics to be viewed with suspicion and accused of obscurantism and ultramontanism. On the other hand, with the formation of the North German Confederation under Prussian leadership, Catholics found themselves in a minority in relation to Protestants. They were therefore compelled by circumstances to strengthen their ties for the defense of their rights. Nor did the tension show any signs of diminishing. The dogma of papal infallibility, presented by anti-Catholic circles as a return to the Dictatus papae of Gregory VII and to Unam sanctam of Boniface VIII, overheated the atmosphere, already extremely
The circumstances outlined above led to the formation of the German Catholic Centre Party (C.C.T.), a party that was to play a leading role in German domestic politics for more than half a century. Its date of birth can be fixed as 11 June 1870, with a letter from Peter Reichenberger, one of the most influential members of the Prussian Chamber from 1852 onwards, published in the Kölnische Volkszeitung. Written in the form of a manifesto, this letter was an appeal to Catholics to choose suitable representatives in the imminent elections to defend their freedom to live as Christians, which was being threatened and undermined by the state authorities.
On 28 October 1870, the first political programme of the C.C.T. appeared, known as the Soest Programme, from the West German town where it was drawn up. It consisted of nine points: 1) absolute freedom for the Church; 2) effective equality for recognised denominations; 3) opposition to any attempt to profane marriage; 4) denominational schools; 5) a federal state with wide recognition of the autonomy of the individual Länder; 6) administrative decentralisation; 7) strict control of expenditure, taxes and levies, and their equitable distribution among taxpayers; 8) overcoming the divide between capital and labour by addressing social issues on a strictly legal basis.
The elections to the Prussian Chamber of Deputies held in 1870 returned 48 seats for the C.C.T. The first elections to the German Reichstag after the proclamation of the Empire in 1871 returned 63 representatives of the Centre. It was at a meeting of the parliamentary group in December 1870 that August Reichensperger and Savigny proposed the name C.C.T. for the new party, which was adopted. Its first leaders were Windthorst and Mallinckrodt.
In the Reichstag, the Centre immediately took a stand in favour of the freedom of the Holy See and of German Catholics. During the debate on the address in reply to the Speech from the Throne, the Centre proposed that the address should include a request for diplomatic intervention on behalf of the Holy See (the occupation of Rome by the Kingdom of Italy had taken place a few months earlier), but the proposal was rejected by 243 votes to 63.
More momentous in its consequences was the negative attitude adopted by the non-Catholic parties during the discussion of the new German imperial constitution. The Centre’s representatives pointed out that the draft constitution contained no guarantees whatsoever for the freedom of the Catholic Church. Their efforts to secure recognition of their rights were in vain. The coalition of opposing parties again secured a majority. From then on, anti-Catholic measures followed one after another. Thus began the so-called *Kulturkampf*, which for several years deeply disturbed the patriotism and religious faith of German Catholics.
After 1880, Chancellor Bismarck, who had been the chief instigator of the anti-Catholic campaign, had to acknowledge the futility of the struggle he had begun, and the anti-Catholic laws were repealed. The *Kulturkampf*, however, had strengthened the Centre, and many Catholics who had previously not voted for the party, alarmed by the threat, gave it their support. In this way, the conservative and liberal majority was eroded, and in parliament the Centre became the arbiter of the situation, acting as a balance that could tip the scales one way or the other. This situation enabled the C.C.T. to oppose anti-Catholic policies by the government or parliament, but it did not give it any opportunity to secure positive gains: all in all, its policy was static, giving it great freedom of manoeuvre but preventing it from fulfilling a legislative role on its own programme points.
From the end of the *Kulturkampf* until the First World War, the Centre’s political action retained the above characteristics. When war broke out in 1914, the Centre also voted the required war credits and refrained from any form of opposition for the duration of the conflict. Only in 1917, with the peace motion introduced by the Centre deputy Erzberger, which was also supported by the Social Democrats and Liberals, did the Centre re-emerge into the forefront.
After the Revolution of 1918, the Centre, while remaining faithful to the Catholic platform of its programme, underwent an internal reorganisation that brought the left wing and trade union representatives to the leadership of the party. Tactically, it aligned itself with the other right-wing parties to prevent a socialist majority. In the 1919 elections, including the seats of the Bavarian People’s Party, the Catholic movement in Bavaria, the Centre had 91 deputies in the Constituent Assembly, and was thus able to oppose a form of social republic advocated by the extremist parties.
During the years of the Weimar Republic, the Centre continued to play a major role in German political and parliamentary life, and its representatives several times held the important office of Chancellor (Fehrenbach, June 1920–May 1921; Wirth, May 1921–November 1922; Marx, November 1923–December 1924 and May 1926–May 1928; Brüning, March 1930–May 1932).
After Hitler’s rise to power (January 1933), the C.C.T., under the leadership of Monsignor Kaas and Brüning, granted the National Socialists full powers, deceived by the promise that the fundamental rights of citizens would not be infringed. A few months later, on 5 July, the C.C.T. dissolved itself, and it was not until the German catastrophe in 1945 that it was able to be reconstituted. Its promoters were Dr. Hamacher and Johannes Brockmann. The revived C.C.T., however, lacked a solid electoral base, since this had been absorbed by the new Christian Democratic Union. At the end of 1948, one of the most prominent figures of the C.C.T., Karl Spiecker, a former collaborator of Chancellor Wirth, proposed the merger of the party with the Christian Democratic Union, but his advice was not followed.