German Socialist Labour Party of Poland
Encyclopedia
The German Socialist Labour Party of Poland was a political party
organizing German Social Democrats
in interbellum Poland
.
Nominally, the DSAP was founded at a conference in Chorzów
on August 9, 1925, through the merger of the Silesia
/West Prussia
-based German Social Democratic Party of Poland
(DSPP) and the Łódź-based German Labour Party of Poland (DAP). The merger wasn't fully effective though, and in practice the two parties continued separate existences until the merger was finalized until 1929.
An 'Executive of the DSAP' was formed after the nominal founding of the party, consisting of Siegmund Glücksmann
, Johann Kowoll
, Buchwald, Kociolek, Ludwig Kuk, Klim, Arthur Pankrantz and Emil Zerbe. Kattowitzer Volkswille
was assigned as the central party organ. One of the first actions of the party executive was the publication of the 'Manifesto of the united 'DSAP.
DSAP became the second largest party in the 1927 Lodz city council election, trailing behind the Polish Socialist Party
(PPS). DSAP got 16,643 votes and seven seats in the council. In central Poland the municipal elections showed the strength of the party in the region; in total DSAP had 36 city councilors and 7 magistrate members in the area. In 1928 the party claimed to have 8,406 members, out of whom 2,500 were women. The youth wing of the party had around 1,200 members, out of whom 480 were women. The party had an educational organization, Bund für Arbeiterbildung
(6,000 members) and a children's organization, Kinderfreudegruppen (300 members).
In June 1928 the Bydgoszcz branch of the party had broken away, forming a separate German Social Democratic Party of Poland
.
In Silesia, the situation was somewhat different than in central Poland. In Upper Silesia
, the party did not fare too well in municipal polls. In the 1929 city council election in Katowice
, the party mustered to get two seats. In Bielsko
, the result was better for the party in local elections. In the 1929 city council election the party won eight seats (in alliance with the PPS).
On October 6–7, 1929, a conference was held in Lodz which completed the task of unification of the DSAP set up at Chorzów four years earlier. The conference finally decided to locate the DSAP headquarters to Lodz (an issue that had been a bone of contention for years). Lodzer Volkszeitung was declared as the central party organ. Several representatives of the Labour and Socialist International
and socialist parties participated as guests to the Lodz conference, including the SPD
leader Johannes Stelling, the PPS chairman Herman Diamand, the leader of the Jewish Bund
Henryk Ehrlich
.
In October 1930, DSAP suffered another split, as the leftist Heinrich Scheibler broke away and formed the German Socialist Labour Party in Poland – Left
(DSAP-Linke). Scheibler was able to take parts of the party organization in the Łódź area with him.
DSAP was fiercely opposed to the pro-National Socialist Young German Party (JdP), which had its base in Bielsko. The rise in popularity of National Socialism amongst the Germans in Poland would prove disastrous for the DSAP. In Upper Silesia, support for the party rapidly eroded after the 1933 Machtübernahme.
In September-October 1933 DSAP joined the call initiated by the Bund
for boycott of goods from Germany, in protest of the Hitler regime. The boycott call became controversial within DSAP, and some members (such as
Arthur Kronig, Otto Heike, Ludwig Kuk and Gustav Ewald) left the party as a result.
In 1932 the DSAP had 5,429 members in Upper Silesia. By 1937 the number had declined to 560. As of early 1936, the party had only three functioning branches in Upper Silesia, Katowice, Chorzów and Bielszowice. The Bielszowice branch went defunct before the end of the year, though. By March 1937, the remainder of the DSAP branch in Chorzów joined the PPS.
On August 26, 1939, DSAP signed the joint statement of socialist parties in Poland, calling for the people to fight against Hitlerism (other signatories included the Bund).
The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International
between 1923 and 1940.
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...
organizing German Social Democrats
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
in interbellum Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Nominally, the DSAP was founded at a conference in Chorzów
Chorzów
Chorzów is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central districts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metropolis with a population of 2 million...
on August 9, 1925, through the merger of the Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
/West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
-based German Social Democratic Party of Poland
German Social Democratic Party of Poland
German Social Democratic Party was a political party in Poland, founded on March 26, 1922.-Foundation:The party emerged out of a fusion of the Oberschlesien organizations of the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Teschener-Schlesien...
(DSPP) and the Łódź-based German Labour Party of Poland (DAP). The merger wasn't fully effective though, and in practice the two parties continued separate existences until the merger was finalized until 1929.
An 'Executive of the DSAP' was formed after the nominal founding of the party, consisting of Siegmund Glücksmann
Siegmund Glücksmann
Siegmund Glücksmann was a German-Jewish socialist politician. In the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most prominent figures of the German minority socialist movement in Poland, functioned as its 'party ideologue' and represented the more Marxist oriented wing of the movement.-Student life and...
, Johann Kowoll
Johann Kowoll
Johann Kowoll was a German socialist politician.In his young years, Kowoll had several jobs; as stenographer, office assistant, journalist, cottage worker and machine operator. In 1906 he joined the Free Trade Unions...
, Buchwald, Kociolek, Ludwig Kuk, Klim, Arthur Pankrantz and Emil Zerbe. Kattowitzer Volkswille
Kattowitzer Volkswille
Kattowitzer Volkswille , generally called just Volkswille, was a German-language Social Democratic newspaper published from Kattowitz . The newspaper was founded in 1916 by the Social Democratic Party of Germany politician Otto Braun...
was assigned as the central party organ. One of the first actions of the party executive was the publication of the 'Manifesto of the united 'DSAP.
DSAP became the second largest party in the 1927 Lodz city council election, trailing behind the Polish Socialist Party
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
(PPS). DSAP got 16,643 votes and seven seats in the council. In central Poland the municipal elections showed the strength of the party in the region; in total DSAP had 36 city councilors and 7 magistrate members in the area. In 1928 the party claimed to have 8,406 members, out of whom 2,500 were women. The youth wing of the party had around 1,200 members, out of whom 480 were women. The party had an educational organization, Bund für Arbeiterbildung
Bund für Arbeiterbildung
Bund für Arbeiterbildung was a German educational organization in interbellum Poland. It was the educational association of the German Socialist Labour Party in Poland . The organization had around 6,000 members...
(6,000 members) and a children's organization, Kinderfreudegruppen (300 members).
In June 1928 the Bydgoszcz branch of the party had broken away, forming a separate German Social Democratic Party of Poland
German Socialist Party
The German Socialist Party was a German far-right, nationalist party during the early years of the Weimar Republic. Founded in 1918, its declared aim was an ideology that would combine both völkisch and socialist elements...
.
In Silesia, the situation was somewhat different than in central Poland. In Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
, the party did not fare too well in municipal polls. In the 1929 city council election in Katowice
Katowice
Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
, the party mustered to get two seats. In Bielsko
Bielsko
Bielsko was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that town....
, the result was better for the party in local elections. In the 1929 city council election the party won eight seats (in alliance with the PPS).
On October 6–7, 1929, a conference was held in Lodz which completed the task of unification of the DSAP set up at Chorzów four years earlier. The conference finally decided to locate the DSAP headquarters to Lodz (an issue that had been a bone of contention for years). Lodzer Volkszeitung was declared as the central party organ. Several representatives of the Labour and Socialist International
Labour and Socialist International
The Labour and Socialist International was an international organization of socialist and labour parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The LSI was a forerunner of the present-day Socialist International....
and socialist parties participated as guests to the Lodz conference, including the SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
leader Johannes Stelling, the PPS chairman Herman Diamand, the leader of the Jewish Bund
General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland
The General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland was a Jewish socialist party in Poland which promoted the political, cultural and social autonomy of Jewish workers, sought to combat antisemitism and was generally opposed to Zionism.-Creation of the Polish Bund:...
Henryk Ehrlich
Henryk Ehrlich
Henryk Ehrlich was an activist of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party , member of the Petrograd Soviet, Warsaw City Council and member of the executive committee of the Second International...
.
In October 1930, DSAP suffered another split, as the leftist Heinrich Scheibler broke away and formed the German Socialist Labour Party in Poland – Left
German Socialist Labour Party in Poland – Left
The German Socialist Labour Party in Poland – Left was a political party in Poland. The party was founded on October 3, 1930, as a leftist split from the German Socialist Labour Party in Poland in Łódź....
(DSAP-Linke). Scheibler was able to take parts of the party organization in the Łódź area with him.
DSAP was fiercely opposed to the pro-National Socialist Young German Party (JdP), which had its base in Bielsko. The rise in popularity of National Socialism amongst the Germans in Poland would prove disastrous for the DSAP. In Upper Silesia, support for the party rapidly eroded after the 1933 Machtübernahme.
In September-October 1933 DSAP joined the call initiated by the Bund
General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland
The General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland was a Jewish socialist party in Poland which promoted the political, cultural and social autonomy of Jewish workers, sought to combat antisemitism and was generally opposed to Zionism.-Creation of the Polish Bund:...
for boycott of goods from Germany, in protest of the Hitler regime. The boycott call became controversial within DSAP, and some members (such as
Arthur Kronig, Otto Heike, Ludwig Kuk and Gustav Ewald) left the party as a result.
In 1932 the DSAP had 5,429 members in Upper Silesia. By 1937 the number had declined to 560. As of early 1936, the party had only three functioning branches in Upper Silesia, Katowice, Chorzów and Bielszowice. The Bielszowice branch went defunct before the end of the year, though. By March 1937, the remainder of the DSAP branch in Chorzów joined the PPS.
On August 26, 1939, DSAP signed the joint statement of socialist parties in Poland, calling for the people to fight against Hitlerism (other signatories included the Bund).
The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International
Labour and Socialist International
The Labour and Socialist International was an international organization of socialist and labour parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The LSI was a forerunner of the present-day Socialist International....
between 1923 and 1940.