All-German People's Party
The All-German People's Party (German: Gesamtdeutsche Volkspartei, GVP) was a minor political party in West Germany active between 1952 and 1957. It was a Christian, pacifist, centre-left party that opposed the re-armament of West Germany because it believed that the remilitarisation and NATO integration would make German reunification impossible, deepen the division of Europe and pose a danger to peace.
All-German People's Party Gesamtdeutsche Volkspartei | |
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1953 election poster by the party, pushing their anti-re-armament message | |
| Leader | Gustav Heinemann |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Dissolved | 1957 |
| Split from | Christian Democratic Union and Centre Party |
| Merged into | Social Democratic Party of Germany |
| Ideology | Centrism Christian democracy Christian left Pacifism Neutralism |
| Political position | Centre to centre-left |
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Most members were dissidents from the Christian Democratic Union or German Centre Party who disagreed with the foreign and intra-German policy of Konrad Adenauer's government. The party failed to win broader public support, only gaining 1.2% in the federal election. The party dissolved and many members joined the Social Democratic Party (SPD), with a number of former GVP activists rising to high-ranking positions, including two Presidents of Germany, Gustav Heinemann and Johannes Rau.