German Centre Party (Rhineland)

The German Centre Party (German: Deutsche Zentrumspartei or Zentrum) was a political party in the Rhenish Republic. It emerged after the party congress of the German Centre Party on 15 February 1921, in which the majority of the Rhenish branch, led by Konrad Adenauer, broke with the Baden-Württemberger branch to form the Christian People's Party (CVP). A minority of the Rhenish branch led by Rudolf Amelunxen opposed the split and sought to maintain the Catholic-centric politics and ties with the Baden-Württemberger Centre Party. Despite this, the Rhenish branch soon developed into a functionally separate party as the two regions evolved into separate states.
The party participated in the first Rhenish elections in 1924, securing 5.1% of the vote and 7 seats, being well overshadowed by the victory of the CVP. In the subsequent formation of a government led by Adenauer the Centre Party was approached as a coalition partner, which a majority of the membership voted in favor of. A party merge was rejected at the time under the reasoning that the Centre Party would offer a voice for disaffected Catholics uninterested in Adenauer's platform. In the 1929 elections the party suffered a loss of more than half their votes and seats, with a large portion of its voter base shifting to the CVP. This defeat, combined with an increasing tide of church support for Adenauer's party, prompted a party congress in which the majority voted to dissolve and merge into the CVP.
Category:Conservative political parties
Category:Rhenish political parties