In 1875 the ADAV joined with the Social Democratic Workers' Party ("Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei") (SDAP), which was founded in 1869 in Eisenach by August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht.
The new name was the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany ("Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands") (SAP).
In the autumn of 1890 it took its present name.
In the years between 1875 and 1890 it was made illegal by Otto von Bismarck.
The Social democrats wanted to support the rights of workers.
In 1914 the SPD was split into two. Most members of the party supported the Kaiser and his plans for war. The other members formed the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany ("Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschland") (USPD). They were against the war.
After the monarchy fell, the SPD led some governments of the Weimar Republic.
Later the SPD was the only party in the Reichstag who voted against the Enabling Act,("Ermächtigungsgesetz") which allowed Hitler to become dictator.
Afterwards, the Nazis banned the SPD and arrested the leading Social Democrats. Many were sent to Nazi concentration camps. Others moved away to towns where they were not known. Friedrich Kellner, an organizer for the SPD in Mainz from 1920 to 1932, moved to Laubach. He wrote entries in a secret diary about the crimes of the Nazis.
After World War II, the SPD was reformed.
In the GDR (East Germany) the Soviet Union forced the SPD to join with the communist party to make the Socialist Unity Party of Germany ("Sozialistische Einheitspartei"). In Western Germany the SPD continued as the largest center-left party.
First chief of the SPD after WWII was Kurt Schumacher.
The SPD led some state governments in West Germany, but was always the leading opposition party in the Bundestag (federal parliament).
Under its parliamentary party leader Herbert Wehner the SPD joined the federal government led by chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU) with the CDU and the CSU in 1966. Party chief Willy Brandt became foreign secretary and vice chancellor.
In 1969 Willy Brandt became federal chancellor. The SPD lead a coalition government with the FDP as its partner. In 1974 Helmut Schmidt became chancellor.
In 1982 the SPD lost the power of government.
Between 1998 and 2005 the SPD led the government under chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Its partner this time was The Greens.
In November 2005 the SPD became the junior partner in a coalition with the CDU and CSU under Angela Merkel.
The SPD is traditionally the party of the workers in Germany.
In 1959 the SPD adopted the "Godesberger Programm", named after the town of Bad Godesburg in North Rhine-Westphalia. The SPD formally abandoned Marxism, and accepted the market economy (which means people and companies can make money and keep it themselves), but wanted to have a social balance (which means people would get help from the government if they had no job, were sick or too old to work, instead of relying on savings or charity). Companies might get subsidies to help keep people in work.
Many people thought that the government of Chancellor Schröder (1998 - 2005) changed the idea of social balance, making people rely more on savings or charity. The SPD lost a lot of members. Now there is a discussion in the SPD about new social balance policies.
Pension
A pension is a steady income given to someone. If pensions are part of a system of social security, the recipient of the pension is usually retired or disabled. They either have worked a long time during their life, or they are physically unable to do so. A pension is usually paid until a certain date (or event) occurs. In the case of social security plans, pensions are usually linked to the life of the person who receives the pension.
A defined Benefit pension defines the benefit to the worker based on salary basis, years worked, and a multiplier. An example might be 2@55 final 3, meaning that the annuity is the highest 3-year average salary times years worked times 2% (if age 55). A worker with 30 years service would receive 2*30 or 60% of their salary. Some systems allow a worker to receive more than 100% salary by various maneuvers to alter the final salary basis.
A defined Contribution pension defines the contribution, without constraining or promising a certain benefit. For example, a company might contribute 10% of a worker's salary to a pension account of the worker's choice, with final benefit received linked to the performance of the investment chosen.
Many pension systems are underfunded and likely unsustainable based on independent financial analysis. Pension reform is a popular topic since about 2009, with pension debt seen as a contributing factor in the deficits at all levels of government.
Role
A role (sometimes spelled rôle) or a social role can be described as an expected behaviour of an individual.
More precisely one could say it is a set of connected behaviours, rights and duties that a person has to follow in a social situation. It depends on social status.
"Role confusion" is a situation where an individual has trouble to decide which role he/she should play. For example, one could be a student who would attend a meeting of a particular recreational interest and find her teacher there. They would be in conflict between behaving as a student and as an enthusiast who shares the same interest as the teacher.
Aeneas
Aeneas was a Trojan prince and hero. His father was Anchises, his mother was the Greek goddess Aphrodite (Venus in the case of Roman sources). Both Homer and Vergil mention him in their stories. Vergil wrote a whole series of books about him. These books are called Aeneis in their original Latin. The usual English translation of the title is "Aeneid".
The books are the story of ""pious Aeneas". and about how the city of Rome came to be.
The tale starts with Aeneas carrying his father out of the burning Troy, and end with Romulus and Remus founding Rome (after Aeneas landed on the coast, after sailing the Mediterranean Sea for a long time). Aeneas also appears in Book 5 of the "Iliad" written by Homer.
William Shakespeare also wrote a story mentioning Aeneas. Christopher Marlowe wrote a play about Aeneas and Dido, the queen who fell in love with him. There is also an opera about Dido and Aeneas, written by Henry Purcell.
Palace
A palace is a place with a grand and imposing building that is the official residence of a king or queen, a head of state such as a president, or a high-ranking aristocrat or church dignitary.
Besides, it can mean a large building for entertainment: a large public or private building with an imposing ornate style, used for entertainment or exhibitions and large events.
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism is a Jewish religious movement that was started by Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, known as "Baal Shem Tov". It began in Eastern Europe in the middle of the 18th century, and there are now Hasidic communities all over the world. The followers of Hasidism are called Hasidim.
Hasidism teaches about the importance of serving God with happiness and believes in Jewish mysticism. While Hasidim study the same books of Torah as the rest of Judaism, they focus on learning the hidden aspects of the text as well. Hasidic study also includes many of the teachings of Kabbalah.
Hasidism has strict laws about physical contact between the genders, Hasidic men will not even shake hands or make any physical contact with unrelated members of the opposite gender and Hasidic women will not make any physical contact with unrelated members of the opposite gender and also limit conversation.
Each Hasidic group has a leader who is called the Rebbe (Rabbi). The Rebbe is a man who is a Rabbi and is chosen by the Hasidim to be their leader. Some of the jobs that he does are giving lectures on Torah and Hassidic-matters and taking part in the different events of his Hasidim, like weddings and Brit milahs.