Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) is a major centre-left political party founded in 1863. It has shaped German democracy, labor policy, and the modern welfare state.

General German Workers' Association: A German workers’ political organization founded by Ferdinand Lassalle in 1863. Its founding in Leipzig marks the SPD’s institutional origin.
Bundestag: Germany’s federal parliament, whose members are elected by proportional representation with constituency seats. The SPD pursues legislation and forms governing majorities through this elected chamber.
Christian Democratic Union of Germany: A major German centre-right political party founded in 1945. The CDU is the SPD’s principal rival for leadership of federal governments.
Weimar Republic: The German republic that lasted from 1918 until the Nazi seizure of power in 1933. The SPD helped establish the republic and led its first parliamentary government.
Volkspartei: A mass political party that seeks support across social groups and regions. The SPD’s declining electoral reach challenges its historic identity as a broad people’s party.
Social Democratic Workers' Party of Germany: A socialist party founded in Eisenach in 1869 by August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht. Its 1875 merger with the General German Workers’ Association formed the SPD’s predecessor.
German electoral system: Germany’s mixed-member proportional system for electing the Bundestag. Its rules shape SPD representation, coalition arithmetic, and campaign strategy.
The Left (Germany): A German democratic socialist party formed in 2007 from eastern German and western left-wing political currents. It competes with the SPD for voters seeking a more left-wing program.
Nazi seizure of power: The process by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party dismantled German democracy in 1933. The SPD resisted the dictatorship and was banned under Nazi rule.
German reunification: The 1990 process that ended Germany’s postwar division and united the Federal Republic and German Democratic Republic. The SPD’s uneven support across eastern and western Germany remains a political challenge.

Linked from 40 pages