Foundation
The history of the party dates back to June 1946, when a group led by Waldemar Koch took the initiative in refounding German Democratic Party. At first there were some speculation of forming a united liberal party with the Christian Democrats, but the idea was abandoned soon and on July 5, 1946, the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany was officially founded.
It was first of all aimed at uniting Weimar Republic-era members of the German Democratic Party, German People's Party and German National People's Party. Unlike the CDU, the Liberal Democratic Party was firmly for private ownership and opposed to nationalization of important private enterprises. Among the new anti-fascist parties, Liberal Democratic Party was the most anti-communist at the time.
After internal fighting and under pressure from Soviet authorities, the first chairman Waldemar Koch was replaced with pro-Soviet Wilhelm Külz in November 1945.
In the last free election, of 1946, the Liberal Democrats finished third, behind the SED and the CDU. At the end of 1948, during the culmination of their opposition to the SED seizure of power, Liberal Democratic Party had more than 200,000 members, 23% of whom were younger than 25.
Read more about this topic: Liberal Democratic Party Of Germany
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