Why did Hitler try to execute the Jews ...?

The German Social Democratic Party (SDP) was established in 1875 with the publication of its Gotha programme. The programme was a mixture of the ideas of Karl Marx and Ferdinand Lasselle. Its originally leaders included Ferdinand Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht.

In the 1877 General Election in Germany the SDP won 12 seats. This worried Otto von Bismarck, and in 1878 he introduced an anti-socialist law which banned Social Democratic Party meetings and publications.

After the anti-socialist law ceased to operate in 1890, the SDP grew rapidly and in 1912 the party won 110 seats in the Reichstag. Led by Ferdinand Bebel, Karl Kautsky, Friedrich Ebert, and Eduard Bernstein, the SDP was now the largest political party in Germany. During the First World War a group of members led by Kurt Eisner left to form the Independent Socialist Party (USPD).

In October, 1918, Max von Baden invited right-wing members of the SDP to join his coalition government. On 9th November Friedrich Ebert took power and during the German Revolution he called in the German Army and the Freikorps to deal with the extreme left. Ebert was now condemned as a traitor by the Independent Socialist Party and the German Communist Party.

On 11th February, 1919, Friedrich Ebert was elected as the first chancellor of the Weimar Republic. Ebert, preoccupied with economic problems and a fear of further revolution, remained in office until his death in Berlin on 28th February, 1925.

Political Parties in the Reichstag June 1920 May 1924 Dec. 1924 May 1928 Sep. 1930 July 1932 Nov. 1932 Mar. 1933 Communist Party (KPD) 4 62 45 54 77 89 100 81 Social Democratic Party (SDP) 102 100 131 153 143 133 121 120

Catholic Centre Party (BVP) 65 81 88 78 87 97 90 93

Nationalist Party (DNVP) 71 95 103 73 41 37 52 52 Nazi Party (NSDAP) - - - 12 107 230 196 288 Other Parties 98 92 73 121 122 22 35 23

The Social Democratic Party continued to be the largest party in the Weimar Republic until July 1932 when the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) won 230 seats to the SDP's 133.

The SDP voted against the Enabling Act in March, 1933, which gave Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers. The Nazi Party banned the SDP in June 1933 and most of its leaders were arrested and sent to concentration camps.

The SDP was re-formed in 1959 and has taken part in several coalition governments in Germany in recent years.