German Racial Freedom Party

(Deutschvolkische Freiheitspartei, DVFP)

   Instituted in Berlin* on 17 December 1922 by members of the DNVP, the DVFP had its roots in the Deutschvolkische Partei (German Racial Party). It was founded by Albrecht von Graefe, Wilhelm Henning, Reinhold Wulle, and the publisher Ernst zu Reventlow—all of whom were disillusioned with the DNVP's refusal to sharpen its anti-Semitic* position. Soon after the Beerhall Putsch* trial, the DVFP conducted a vigorous campaign with Erich Ludendorff,* Gregor Strasser,* and other Nazis as part of the so-called Volk-ischer-Block, a fleeting anti-Semitic electoral alliance. Taking aim at the Re-public's sweeping fiscal reforms, the Block capitalized on the frustration of social groups injured by monetary policy. In the May 1924 Reichstag* elections, with Hitler* imprisoned and the NSDAP outlawed, the Block gained nearly two million votes and won thirty-two Reichstag* seats (nine were later claimed by the National Socialist Freedom Movement [NSFB]). However, the DNVP-NSFB union, plagued by infighting and inept at exploiting discontent amidst growing economic stability, retained only fourteen mandates after the December 1924 elections. In February 1925, two months after his release from prison, Hitler reestabli-shed the NSDAP. Although the DVFP maintained a separate existence until 1928, most of its members shifted to the more attractive Nazis. Credit for the shift was owed largely to Strasser. A leader of the 1924 electoral alliance, Stras-ser endorsed Hitler's leadership of the volkisch movement; any rationale for standing in opposition to the NSDAP was thus erased for most anti-Semites.

   REFERENCES:Hertzman, DNVP; Noakes, "Conflict and Development"; Tyrell, "Gott-fried Feder and the NSDAP."