Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union was an East German political party founded in 1945. It was part of the National Front with the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) until 1989.
It contended the free elections in 1990 as an arm of the West German Christian-Democratic Union of Germany, which it merged into after German Reunification.
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Party politics
The CDU was primarily made up of middle class Christians, that officially embraced socialism after its Sixth Party Congress in 1952, declaring that socialist society affords the best opportunities for Christians to practise their religion, a curious contradition to Karl Marx's thoughts on religion.
It should be noted, however, that the dominance of the SED was a major factor in the CDU's sudden embrace of socialism; by the early 1950s, the CDU was effectively an arm of the SED designed to appeal to Christians.
In 1950s the leader of the CDU was Otto Nuschke, a former member of German Democratic Party during the Weimar Republic. He was a close ally of the Communists. In 1966 Gerald Goetting was elected as Chairman. Before that he was the party's General Secretary. Like Nuschke, Goetting was a loyal ally of the Communists.
Goetting remained Chairman untill 2 November 1989, when he was replaced. In December 1989 Lothar de Maizière, a lawyer and deputy chairman of the Evangelical Church Synod of East Germany, was elected chairman. From that point the party renounced socialism.
In March 1990 the CDU won the first, free general elections and became the biggest party in the People's Chamber. In April De Maizìere became Prime Minister of the GDR.
In October 1990 the East German CDU merged with the West German CDU
Chairmen
| Andreas Hermes | 1945 |
| Jakob Kaiser | 1945-1947 |
| Otto Nuschke | 1948-1957 |
| August Bach | 1957-1966 |
| Gerald Goetting | 1966-1989 |
| Wolfgang Heyl | 1989 (acting) |
| Lothar de Maizière | 1989-1990 |
General Secretaries
| Georg Dertinger | 1946-1949 |
| Gerald Goetting | 1949-1966 |
| Martin Kirchner | 1989-1990 |
East German CDU Politicians
- Ernst Lemmer (co-chairman of the CDU in 1947)
- Heinrich Toeplitz (Supreme Court of the GDR)
- Luitpold Steidle (Minister of Health Care)
- Karl Grobbel (Co-founder of the Berlin Conference of European Catholic's)
- Emil Fuchs (Theologican)
- Herbert Schirmer (Minister of Culture 1990)
- Heinz Winkler (Minister of Reconstruction)
- Hubertus Guske (General Secretary of the Berlin Conference of European Catholics)
- Max Sefrin (Deputy Prime Minister)
- Sabine Bergmann-Pohl (Last Chief of State of the GDR)
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