The origins of Christian democracy : politics and confession in modern Germany / Maria D. Mitchell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mitchell, Maria D., 1965-

Contributor:

Michigan Publishing (University of Michigan), publisher.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christian democratic parties--Germany--History.

Christian democratic parties.

Christian democracy--Germany--History.

Christian democracy.

Christianity and politics--Germany--History.

Christianity and politics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (360 p.)

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, c2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book is a pioneering contribution to the history of the founding of the West German political system after the Second World War. The political cooperation between Catholics and Protestants that resulted in the formation of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in occupied and early West Germany represented a significant change from a long history of hostility in confessional relations. Given that the CDU went on to dominate politics in West Germany well into the 1960s, Maria D. Mitchell argues that an understanding of what made this interconfessional party possible is crucial to an exploration of German history in the postwar period. She examines the political history of party formation as well as the religious beliefs and motivations that shaped the party's philosophy and positions. She provides an authoritative guide to the complex processes of maneuvering and negotiation that produced the CDU during 1945-46. The full range of political possibilities is discussed, including the suppressed alternatives to the Adenauer/Erhard axis that eventually defined the party's trajectory during the 1950s and the abortive Christian Socialism associated with Jacob Kaiser.

Contents:

Introduction

Confessional conflict in German history

Politics in defeat: the organizational beginnings of Christian democracy

Christian democratic organization beyond the British zone: priests, Protestants, patriarchy

Secularism, materialism, and rechristianization: the construction of a Christian democratic ideology

Antimaterialism applied: ideological positions in the early CDU

Christian democracy in practice: economic discourse and policy

The CDU in council: forging economic and cultural policy

Christian democracy and confessional culture in the Federal Republic

Conclusion.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on information from the publisher.

ISBN:

9781283658539

1283658534

9780472028542

0472028545

OCLC:

813392163

Publisher Number:

10.3998/mpub.323749