Liberal Democratic Party of Germany
Which political party did Wilhelm Külz belong to from 1945 to 1946?
Wilhelm Külz Wilhelm Külz ( 18 February 1875 – 10 April 1948 ) was a German liberal politician of the National Liberal Party , the German Democratic Party ( DDP ) and later the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany ( LDPD ) . He held public office both in the German Empire and in the Weimar Republic . In 1926 , he served as interior minister of Germany in the cabinets of chancellors Hans Luther and Wilhelm Marx . Early life . Külz was born on 18 February 1875 at Borna near Leipzig in the Kingdom of Saxony . He was the son of Otto Külz ( 1839–1921 ) , a Protestant priest , and his wife Anna ( 1849–1914 , née Paschasius ) . He had a sister , Käthe ( 1878–1924 ) and a twin brother , Ludwig ( 1875–1938 ) . From a conservative family , Wilhelm studied law at the University of Leipzig . He then served in the military ( as Reserveleutnant ) . Külz married Erna Freymond ( 1881–1963 ) in 1901 . They had one son , Helmut . Also in 1901 , he was awarded a doctorate at the Staatswissenschaftliche Fakultät of the University of Tübingen with a thesis on the peacetime strength of the army . He then joined the civil service , working at various courts and as city councillor at Leipzig , Hainichen , Zittau and Meerane . In 1904 , he became mayor of Bückeburg and president of the Landtag of the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe . As an expert in administration , the Reichskolonialamt ( the Imperial ministry for the colonies ) made him Reichskommissar of the colony German South-West Africa , where he worked on establishing self-government in 1907 to 1908 . After returning to Bückeburg , Külz was a Reichstag candidate for the National Liberals in 1912 but was not elected . The same year , he was elected Oberbürgermeister ( mayor ) of Zittau , an office that he held until 1923 . During World War I , Külz served as Hauptmann ( captain ) and Kompanieführer . Weimar Republic . In 1919 , he joined the German Democratic Party ( DDP ) , which he represented first in the Weimar National Assembly and then from 1922 to 1932 in the Reichstag . In 1923 , he was elected as 2 . Bürgermeister of Dresden . In 1926 to 1927 , Külz served as Reichsminister des Innern ( interior minister ) in the second cabinet of Hans Luther and the third cabinet of Wilhelm Marx . Elected as Oberbürgermeister ( mayor ) of Dresden in 1931 , Külz was removed from office by the Reichskommissar for Saxony in March 1933 , after he had refused to hoist a flag with the Nazi swastika over city hall . Until 1945 , he was active as a private entrepreneur . Postwar . After 1945 , he took a leading role in establishing the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany ( LDPD ) . He founded the Berlin branch of the LDPD in the summer of 1945 and acted as LDPD chairman from November 1945 after the first leader , Waldemar Koch , had been deposed by Soviet orders . On 17 March 1947 , in a conference in Rothenburg ob der Tauber Külz and Theodor Heuss were elected co-chairmen of the planned Democratic Party of Germany ( DPD ) , aimed at uniting liberals of both the Soviet and the Western occupation zones . The plans were never realised since Wilhelm Külz , unlike the East German CDU leader , Jakob Kaiser , participated in SED-dominated Deutscher Volkskongress ( German Peoples Congress for Unity and True Peace ) that took place on 6 December 1947 . That brought about internal confrontations both within the LDPD as well as between the East and West German partners in the DPD . Although the LDPD leadership criticised that participation , it was unable to take any further steps demanded by the West German liberals . During a session of the united leadership of the DPD that took place on 18 January 1948 and Külz refused to attend , Heuss argued that the Liberal Democrats unwillingness to take any measures against Külz proved their commitment to the Russian conception of German unity . Arthur Lieutenant , the spokesman of the LDPD on the matter , declared that under those circumstances and considering reproaches laid against East German liberals , no further co-operation was possible . That was in fact the end of DPD . Together with Otto Nuschke ( CDU ) and Wilhelm Pieck ( SED ) , Wilhelm Külz led the German Peoples Council ( Deutscher Volksrat ) , forerunner of Volkskammer of GDR . From 1945 on , Külz was the publisher of the LDPD daily Der Morgen . In March 1948 , Külz once again was the representative of the LDPD at the Deutscher Volkskongress , organized at the behest of the Soviet authorities and the SED . On the morning of 10 April 1948 , Külz was found by his party deputy , Arthur Lieutenant , to have died in the night at his Berlin apartment , apparently from a heart attack . Legacy . Although he was mostly unknown in West Germany and still is in Germany , Külz was viewed in East Germany as a prime example of a bourgeois but upright citizen who found his way to socialism . He was seen as one of the founding fathers of East Germany . Wilhelm-Külz-Stiftung , a foundation close to the Free Democratic Party , is named after him . External links . - Wilhelm Külz Stiftung