Anti-Socialist Laws
In contrast to the National Liberal Party, the party stood in staunch opposition against the policy of Otto von Bismarck from the establishment of the German Empire. The party put the liberal notion of liberty above the prospect of a German unification led from above. The party was highly critical of the Prusso-German monarchy and advocated the separation of church and state. Still, it rejected Bismarck's Kulturkampf against the Catholic Church as well as the Anti-Socialist Laws. The German People's Party was the most leftist among non-Marxist parties and closest to the social democracy. It was the sole liberal party to cooperate with the socialists in the Reichstag.