Democratic Bloc (East Germany) Explained

Democratic Bloc of Parties and Mass Organizations
Native Name:Demokratischer Block der Parteien und Massenorganisationen
Foundation:1945
Dissolution:1950
Leader:Wilhelm Pieck
Otto Grotewohl
Successor:National Front
Position:Far-left
Headquarters:East Berlin, German Democratic Republic
Country:East Germany

The Democratic Bloc of Parties and Mass Organisations (German: Demokratischer Block der Parteien und Massenorganisationen) was a national popular front of political parties and organizations in Soviet-occupied East Germany and the first years of the German Democratic Republic.

History

In parallel with the working staff of the CPSU European Advisory Commission commissioned in early 1944 to develop the exiled Communist Germany own political concept.[1] A first draft was on 6 March 1944 on a working session of the exiled Communist Party presented by Wilhelm Florin.[2] The guidelines developed by the Soviet concept of the future Communist Party saw as a government. After the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht on 8 May 1945 and the Berlin Declaration of the Commander in Chief of the four victorious powers of 5 June 1945 all political activity was prohibited in all zones of occupation. After consultation by Anton Ackermann, and Walter Ulbricht Gustav Sobottka on 4 June 1945 in Moscow allowed the Order № 2[3] of 10 of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany in June 1945, the formation and activity of anti-fascist parties[4] in the Soviet Occupation Zone. With its call of 11 June 1945, the Communist Party came to Berlin as first advertised to the public and for cooperation:

In addition to the block at the zone level corresponding blocks were set up at the country level. In Brandenburg, the existing three members from the four-party anti-fascist came together to comprise the democratic unit block of Brandenburg on 28 November 1945.[5] In Thuringia, the antifascist-democratic bloc of Thuringia was formed on 17 August 1945.[6] In Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt was founded on 29 August 1945.[7]

In 1950 it was succeeded by the National Front.

Electoral history

Deutscher Volkskongress elections

Notes and References

  1. Hinter den Kulissen des Nationalkomitees: Das Institut 99 in Moskau und die Deutschlandpolitik der UdSSR 1943–1946
  2. Die Lage und die Aufgaben in Deutschland bis zum Sturz Hitlers", vorgetragen am 6. März 1944 auf der Arbeitssitzung der Exil-KPD; Peter Erler, Horst Laude, Manfred Wilke, Peter Erler: „Nach Hitler kommen wir": Dokumente zur Programmatik der Moskauer KPD-Führung 1944/45 für Nachkriegsdeutschland, Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1994,, S. 153
  3. Web site: Befehl Nr. 2 des Obersten Chefs der Sowjetischen Militärischen Administration . 2012-08-11 . 2008-01-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080125214821/http://www.dhm.de/lemo/objekte/pict/Nachkriegsjahre_befehlSMADNummer2/index.html . dead .
  4. http://www.documentarchiv.de/ddr/smad_bef02.html Wortlaut des Befehls Nr. 2 der SMAD
  5. SBZ-Handbuch, Seite 88 ff.
  6. SBZ-Handbuch, Seite 176 ff. und Seite 618
  7. SBZ-Handbuch, Seite 618