How the CDU in Goslar became a federal party

The beginnings of the CDU lie directly after the end of the Second World War, initially in regional groups. At the first federal party conference in Goslar in 1950, the great merger and a common statute were confirmed.

by Janine Kuehl

It is October 20, 1950. In the large hall of the Odeon Theater in Goslar, music by Ludwig van Beethoven heralds the first federal party conference of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). When the melody of the Egmont Overture has faded away, Konrad Adenauer steps up to the lectern. In his opening speech, the Federal Chancellor implored the delegates to stick to the "path to freedom". He warns of the "ruthless exploitation by a small upper class in the form of a totalitarian state, slavery, concentration camps, persecution of Christianity" by the Soviet Union.

Adenauer sees the challenge of the time in the struggle between freedom and Western Christian thinking on the one hand and slavery and anti-Christian thinking beyond the Iron Curtain on the other. Accordingly, the topic of his speech is "Germany's position and task in the world". The then 73-year-old is committed to the unification of Europe and the restoration of German unity after the founding of the GDR in 1949.

Motto of the party congress:"Unity and justice and freedom"

On the evening of October 20, the first national party conference of the party that will decisively shape the fate of the Federal Republic of Germany in the decades to come begins. 386 delegates and around 600 guests - including representatives of Christian Democratic parties from neighboring countries and the Bavarian CSU - are ceremonially welcomed by Lower Saxony's CDU chairman Adolf Cillien. He then asks those gathered to sing the third verse of the Deutschlandlied, which is not yet the national anthem at this time. Nevertheless, the delegates come together under the motto of the event "Unity and Justice and Freedom" borrowed from the song in order to finally give their party an organizational superstructure.

Formation of the parties after 1945

How is it that the CDU politician Adenauer has been the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany since September 15, 1949, but the CDU does not yet have a federal chairman? After the end of World War II, the victorious powers take control of Germany. Political and economic structures must be rebuilt. The Allied Potsdam Agreement of August 2, 1945 provides for the formation of local self-government based on democratic structures in the occupied territories. In the summer of 1945, it was the Soviets who first allowed the founding of political parties again. The British, Americans and French will follow shortly afterwards.

CDU unites Catholics and Protestants

In the post-war period, many Germans who were interested in politics got involved in the rebuilding of the parties. While the SPD and KPD can build on old traditions from the Weimar Republic and the newly founded FDP unites the former left and right-wing liberals, the CDU and in Bavaria the CSU are completely new parties. The associations unite - initially on a regional level - former Catholic politicians, Christian trade unionists, Protestants and representatives of all classes. On June 26, 1945, the Berlin founding appeal of the CDU was published, calling for the formation of a large, non-denominational party. At the Reich Conference from December 14 to 16, 1945 in Bad Godesberg, the regional groups agree on the name "Christian Democratic Union" for the new party. The Bavarian group, which was founded in October 1945, keeps its name "Christlich Soziale Union".

In 1946, the Cologne zone liaison committee in the British-occupied zone (BBZ) and the Berlin Reich leadership for the CDU in the Soviet-occupied zone (SBZ) were formed as the superordinate body of the regional party associations. Konrad Adenauer became a defining figure in the Rhineland and soon throughout the western zones. In the east, Jakob Kaiser heads the CDU before finally going west. There, a working group based in Frankfurt am Main is trying to bring together the skills of the independent state associations. The working group organized the election campaign for the first federal election in August 1949, from which the CDU emerged as the strongest party with 31 percent of the vote.

Goslar:Little destruction and proximity to the GDR

But without a strong overarching body, it is becoming increasingly difficult to lead the ruling party. Last but not least, the chancellor complains about this. In Goslar, in October 1950, a party statute, the draft of which has existed since 1948, is finally to be passed and a party chairman to be elected. Goslar in Lower Saxony was chosen as the venue for various reasons:After the war, many German cities lay in ruins. But Goslar is almost undamaged, so that a conference venue and enough hotel rooms are available. In addition, the proximity to the zone border should show the connection to the citizens of the GDR. Last but not least, Adenauer's good relationship with Lower Saxony's Economics Minister Otto Fricke may have drawn attention to the town in the Harz Mountains.

Foundation of the CDU Lower Saxony

In Goslar not only the federal party gets a superordinate structure. Even at the state level, the CDU is not yet centrally organized everywhere. A few hours before the official start of the federal party conference, the CDU Lower Saxony was founded on the afternoon of October 20th. The three state associations of Braunschweig, Hanover and Oldenburg agree to act jointly on questions of Lower Saxony politics. Adolf Cillien from the Hanover State Association will chair the meeting.

Source of the video is the YouTube channel of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, onlinekas.

Adenauer is elected CDU chairman

After the festive introduction to the opening of the party congress, the elections are on the agenda for October 21. First, the delegates unanimously accept the statute of the CDU. They then elect the party chairman and his deputies. The only candidate for the federal presidency is Konrad Adenauer. He gets 302 out of 368 votes. The delegates elected Friedrich Holzapfel (297 votes) and Jakob Kaiser (304 votes) as his deputies.

Topics:Western ties, Europe, social market economy

After the elections, the delegates addressed the goals and convictions of the CDU in numerous speeches. The commitment to parliamentary democracy is fundamental. Externally, the demarcation from communism is the central theme. The party also agrees that Germany should play an active role in shaping Europe. Within Germany, there is a clear demarcation from the SPD on the grounds that revolution and Christianity are incompatible.

The emphasis on the social mission of the CDU is stronger than in later years. Federal Minister of Economics Ludwig Erhard, the so-called father of the German economic miracle after the war, also emphasizes the importance of the social market economy. At a time when millions of refugees are looking for a new home, the CDU also sees the need to take the concerns of those displaced seriously. In addition, the delegates express the hope that the people in the East will succeed in freeing themselves from communist rule.

Long-term goal of German unity

With the acceptance of the party statute, the CDU forms a unit on the territory of the Federal Republic - the beginning of a success story. It quickly developed into a people's party. In the federal elections of 1957, the CDU, together with its sister party CSU, achieved 50.2 percent, the best result to date. In addition, until its 70th anniversary, it has been in government for longer than any other German party since 1949. With the party statute, however, the CDU 1950 also recognizes the - long-delayed - separation from the CDU in East Germany. Nevertheless, the unification of the two newly founded German states of the Federal Republic and the DDR remains a goal of the CDU, which committed itself to "All Germany as a task" in its final rally.

When the later Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke as party leader on October 20, 2000 in Goslar on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the CDU, reunification had already been completed ten years ago.

The current crisis-ridden party in Goslar is celebrating its 70th birthday a year late due to Corona.