Council for a Democratic Germany
Encyclopedia
The Council for a Democratic Germany (CDG) was founded on 3 May 1944 in New York City
. Its founding was a reaction to the founding of the National Committee for a Free Germany
in Moscow
in July 1943. Some of the founding members brought experiences of previous similar organizations with them, such as the Lutetia-Kreis. The Council saw itself as representing all German exiles in the United States.
Its membership included socialists, social democrats, communists, middle-class democrats, former members of the Centre Party
, writers, artists, and scientists. This gathering of exiles was to serve as a platform for opinion-shaping and exerting political influence. The chairman was Paul Tillich
, a Protestant theologian at the Union Theological Seminary
in New York. He gave the Council its specific political-theological shape. No other exile organization brought together a similarly wide spectrum of figures in politics and the arts.
on 6 June 1944". In different committees, detailed plans for the reconstruction of society after the war were discussed.
On the whole, it must be said that international developments did not conform to the CDG's declaration.
It called for:
The international developments that went against the CDG's plans were:
Unresolvable differences between bourgeois and left-wing members over the Potsdam Agreement
and its political and economic consequences signalled the end of the CDG in autumn 1945. It was never formally dissolved.
Elisabeth Hauptmann
functioned as "Executive secretary".
Thomas Mann
had been involved in the plans for the CDG, but did not become a member. Although he agreed with large parts of the declaration, he felt its publication was too early. He also felt that the CDG should adopt a more critical approach to their home country, and to the crimes committed by Germans.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Its founding was a reaction to the founding of the National Committee for a Free Germany
National Committee for a Free Germany
The National Committee for a Free Germany was a German anti-Nazi organization that operated in the Soviet Union during World War II.- History :...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in July 1943. Some of the founding members brought experiences of previous similar organizations with them, such as the Lutetia-Kreis. The Council saw itself as representing all German exiles in the United States.
Its membership included socialists, social democrats, communists, middle-class democrats, former members of the Centre Party
Centre Party (Germany)
The German Centre Party was a Catholic political party in Germany during the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic. Formed in 1870, it battled the Kulturkampf which the Prussian government launched to reduce the power of the Catholic Church...
, writers, artists, and scientists. This gathering of exiles was to serve as a platform for opinion-shaping and exerting political influence. The chairman was Paul Tillich
Paul Tillich
Paul Johannes Tillich was a German-American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. Tillich was one of the most influential Protestant theologians of the 20th century...
, a Protestant theologian at the Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
in New York. He gave the Council its specific political-theological shape. No other exile organization brought together a similarly wide spectrum of figures in politics and the arts.
Work
The CDG commented on current events of the war and political developments. One example is the "Declaration of the Council for a Democratic Germany after the Allied invasion in NormandyNormandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
on 6 June 1944". In different committees, detailed plans for the reconstruction of society after the war were discussed.
On the whole, it must be said that international developments did not conform to the CDG's declaration.
It called for:
- A right of national self-determination, also for Germany
- Cooperation between the Western powers and Russia, for which the intellectual groundwork had been prepared through the cooperation in the CDG between bourgeois and communist figures
The international developments that went against the CDG's plans were:
- The Allied demand for German unconditional surrenderUnconditional surrenderUnconditional surrender is a surrender without conditions, in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. In modern times unconditional surrenders most often include guarantees provided by international law. Announcing that only unconditional surrender is acceptable puts psychological...
meant that, for the foreseeable future, national self-determination would not apply to Germany - The increasing distance and hostility between the Western Allies and the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, which developed into the Cold War
Unresolvable differences between bourgeois and left-wing members over the Potsdam Agreement
Potsdam Agreement
The Potsdam Agreement was the Allied plan of tripartite military occupation and reconstruction of Germany—referring to the German Reich with its pre-war 1937 borders including the former eastern territories—and the entire European Theatre of War territory...
and its political and economic consequences signalled the end of the CDG in autumn 1945. It was never formally dissolved.
Founding members
The 19 members of the founding committee were:- Paul TillichPaul TillichPaul Johannes Tillich was a German-American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. Tillich was one of the most influential Protestant theologians of the 20th century...
, Siegfried Aufhäuser (SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
) - Horst W. Baerensprung (Social Democrat)
- Friedrich Baerwald (Centre PartyCentre Party (Germany)The German Centre Party was a Catholic political party in Germany during the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic. Formed in 1870, it battled the Kulturkampf which the Prussian government launched to reduce the power of the Catholic Church...
) - Felix Boenheim (Communist Party of GermanyCommunist Party of GermanyThe Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
) - Bertolt BrechtBertolt BrechtBertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
(writer) - Hermann Budzislawski (Socialist)
- Frederik J. Forell (Confessing ChurchConfessing ChurchThe Confessing Church was a Protestant schismatic church in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to nazify the German Protestant church.-Demographics:...
) - Kurt Gläser (Revolutionäre Sozialisten Deutschlands)
- Albert GrzesinskiAlbert GrzesinskiAlbert Carl Grzesinski was a German SPD politician and Minister of the Interior of Prussia from 1926 to 1930. Grzesinski was born the illegitimate son of a maid in Berlin and grew up with grandparents...
(SPD) - Karl Frank (Neu BeginnenNeu BeginnenNeu Beginnen was a fringe opposition group on the socialist wing of SPD, which was greatly influenced by the ideas of Lenin. It was formed in 1929. After the Machtübernahme in 1933, the members of the small group discussed what the future of Germany should be after the National Socialist movement...
) - Paul Hertz (SPD)
- Hans HirschfeldHans HirschfeldHans Hirschfeld was a Dutch economist and a founder member of the Council for a Democratic Germany....
(Social Democrat) - Joseph Kaskell (Deutsche Blätter (a German exile newspaper))
- Julius Lips (left-wing Social Democrat)
- Alfons A. Nehring (linguist)
- Otto Pfeiffenberger (lawyer)
- Albert Schreiner (Communist Party of Germany)
- Jacob Walcher (Socialist Workers' Party of GermanySocialist Workers' Party of GermanyThe Socialist Workers' Party of Germany was a political party in Germany. It was formed by a left-wing party with around 20,000 members which split off from the SPD in the autumn of 1931. In 1931 the remnants of USPD merged into the party, and in 1932 some Communist Party dissenters joined the...
)
Elisabeth Hauptmann
Elisabeth Hauptmann
Elisabeth Hauptmann was a German writer who worked with Bertolt Brecht....
functioned as "Executive secretary".
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
had been involved in the plans for the CDG, but did not become a member. Although he agreed with large parts of the declaration, he felt its publication was too early. He also felt that the CDG should adopt a more critical approach to their home country, and to the crimes committed by Germans.