Page 91 - The Making of the German Post-war Economy

64 THE MAKING OF THE GERMAN POST-WAR ECONOMY

had 700,000 members. Thus the, at that time, relatively unknown Kurt
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Schumacher soon became the dominant figure within the SPD. Having
already been elected authorised party representative for the western zones
of occupation in October 1945, Schumacher became party chairman at the
first party convention taking place in Hanover between 9 and 11 May
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1946. There he explicitly emphasised the significance and mandate of the
SPD in post-war Germany:

Germany must never again be object of capitalist exploitation but be
subject of socialist organisation; [...] either the Social Democratic
Party will be the decisive and formative factor in the political and
economic reorganisation of post-war Germany, or it will refuse to
cooperate.
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Accordingly, the political principles adopted at the party congress
reflected this demand for political leadership:

Social Democracy is not content with the historical legitimation given
by its great history in the struggle for freedom. It wants to perennially
justify its claim as a guiding political force in German politics by its
positive achievements for state and people, by its honesty, sincerity,
and practicality of its policy.
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Furthermore, this statement provides an indication of Schumacher’s
intended socio-political and economic direction of the post-war SPD. By
referring to the labour party’s glorious past and previous achievements,
the party chairman aimed to establish a link with the pre-war SPD and to
revive the old reform-oriented labour movement. Furthermore,
Schumacher also aspired to the pluralistic opening of the SPD. By
‘winning the middle classes as historical mission’ the party leader hoped
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to enlarge the party’s social basis without losing cohesion and
conviction. Thus one can observe both reconstruction of the old labour
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party and rebirth of a socialist Volkspartei; even though academic literature
provides numerous and different interpretations of the SPD’s political
restart in 1945. However, Schumacher’s intention to form a uniform
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democratic socialist mass party was based on a historical continuity but
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emerged from the social and political context of the immediate post-war
years. Through his politically motivated programmatic speeches, the party
chairman aimed to gain political influence and public support. In order
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to form a social democratic Volkspartei, the pragmatic Marxist was
prepared to abandon Marxism as dogma whereas Marxism as applicable
method remained incontestable. For Kurt Schumacher, who clearly
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