Alfred Von Tirpitz - Fatherland Party

Fatherland Party

In 1917, Grand Admiral Tirpitz was co-founder of the Pan-Germanic and nationalist Fatherland Party (Deutsche Vaterlandspartei). The party was organised jointly by Heinrich Claß, Conrad Freiherr von Wangenheim, Tirpitz as chairman and Wolfgang Kapp as his deputy. The party attracted opponents of a negotiated peace and organised opposition to the parliamentary majority seeking peace negotiations. It sought to bring together outside parliament all parties on the political right, which had not previously been done. At its peak in summer 1918 it had around 1,250,000 members. It proposed both Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg and General Erich Ludendorff as 'people's emperors' of a military state whose legitimacy was based upon war and war aims instead of parliamentary government of the empire. Internally there were calls for a coup against the state, to be led by Hindenburg and Ludendorff, even against the Emperor if necessary. Tirpitz' experience with the Navy League and mass political agitation convinced him that the means for a coup was ready.

Tirpitz considered one of the main aims of the war must be annexation of territory in the west to allow Germany to develop as a world power. This meant holding the Belgian ports of Zeebrugge and Ostend, with an eye to the main enemy, Great Britain. He proposed a separate peace treaty with Russia giving them access to the ocean. Germany would be a very great continental state but could maintain its world position only by expanding world trade and continuing the fight against Great Britain. He complained of indecision and ambiguity in German policy, humanitarian ideas of self-preservation, a policy of appeasement of neutrals at the expense of vital German interests and begging for peace. He called for vigorous warfare without regard for diplomatic and commercial consequences and supported the most extreme use of weapons (unrestricted submarine warfare). The policies had a curious mixture of hatred, admiration, envy and imitation of the British Empire.

From 1908 to 1918, Tirpitz was a member of the Prussian House of Peers. After Germany's defeat he supported the right-wing Deutschnationale Volkspartei (DNVP, German National People Party) and sat for it in the Reichstag from 1924 until 1928.

Tirpitz died in Ebenhausen, near Munich, on 6 March 1930.