Memel Agricultural Party or MLP was the largest and most influential pro-German political party

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 the Klaipėda Region

Klaipėda Region

The Klaipėda Region or Memel Territory was defined by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920 when it was put under the administration of the Council of Ambassadors...

 (Memel Territory) from 1925 to 1934. Leaders of the party were Heinrich Conrad, Konrad von Dressler and James Gubba. Together with the Memel People's Party

Memel People's Party

The Memel People's Party or MVP was a pro-German political party in the Klaipėda Region , autonomous region of Lithuania, from 1925 to 1938...

, the party was established on June 13, 1925, by the Memel Cultural Union (Memelländischer Kultubund) in preparation for the first elections to the local county councils and the Parliament of the Klaipėda Region

Parliament of the Klaipėda Region

The Parliament of the Klaipėda Region was the parliament of the Klaipėda Region , an autonomous region of Lithuania. The parliament was established by the Klaipėda Convention of 1924 and the first elections took place in October 1925. In all elections pro-German parties more than 80% of the vote...

. The party represented farmers, war veterans, fishermen, and some clerks. It published Memel Rundschau, Lietuviška ceitunga, Memeler Dampfboot and controlled several agricultural and credit institutions, including Agraria, Landschaftsbank, Vereinsbank, and Raiffeisenbank. MLP was able to offer discounts to its members and thus gained significant influence in the region. In May 1926, the party won three seats (out of 85) in the Third Seimas of Lithuania

Third Seimas of Lithuania

The Third Seimas of Lithuania was the third parliament democratically elected in Lithuania after it declared independence on February 16, 1918. The elections took place on May 8-10, 1926. For the first time Lithuanian Christian Democrats were forced to remain in opposition. The coalition...

 (August Mielbrecht, Johann Schuischel and George Waschkies). After the Nazi seizure of power in Germany

Machtergreifung

Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...

 in 1933, MLP became increasingly right-wing and encouraged its members to join the pro-Nazi Socialist National Community (Sozialistische Volksgemeinschaft or SOVOG). For their anti-Lithuanian activities SOVOG and MLP were outlawed in 1934. Some of MLP members were arrested and tried in the Neumann–Sass case. The party ceased its activities; its former members ran in later elections under the unified German list (Memelländische Einheitsliste in 1935 and Memeldeutsche Einheitsliste in 1938).

Election results

Summary of the Memel Agricultural Party election results

To the Parliament of the Klaipėda Region Parliament of the Klaipėda Region The Parliament of the Klaipėda Region was the parliament of the Klaipėda Region , an autonomous region of Lithuania. The parliament was established by the Klaipėda Convention of 1924 and the first elections took place in October 1925. In all elections pro-German parties more than 80% of the vote...				To local county councils of...
Date	Votes	%	Seats (Total: 29)	Date	...Klaipėda Klaipeda Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County.... (Total seats: 20)	...Šilutė Šilute Šilutė is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County, Lithuania. The city was part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. Šilutė was the interwar capital of Šilutė County and is currently the capital of Šilutė district municipality.-Name:... (Total seats: 21)	...Pagėgiai Pagegiai Pagėgiai is a city in the south western Lithuania. It is located in the region of the former prussian tribe of Skalvians. It is the capital of Pagėgiai municipality, and as such it is part of Tauragė County.-Name:... (Total seats: 21)
1925-10-19	23,824	38.0	11	1925-07-10	10	8	12
1927-08-30	18,776	34.3	10	1928-06-11	8	10	10
1930-10-10	15,810	31.8	10	1931-06-22	12	11	11
1932-05-04	24,468	37.2	11	1932-07-22 1933-03-14	11	–	–