CNBP - Christlich-Nationale Bauern- und Landvolkpartei
Also known as "Landvolk" (Country People)
National Conservative / Christian Democratic / Agrarian
At a Glance
- Type: Agrarian Indeterminate
- Origin: Splinter from RLB and DNVP
- Reichstag Seats: Part of 135 Indeterminate mandates
- Support Base: Small Protestant farmers, rural market towns, countryside
- Stance on Republic: Pragmatic - will work with anyone who helps farmers
- Key Alliance: Member of the Green Front (agrarian coalition)
Who We Are
The CNBP is a splinter from the RLB and DNVP. Our leaders view us as a Protestant counterpart to the Centre Party, with the goal of creating a national mass party grounded in the countryside and market towns.
Why We Split from DNVP
The DNVP under Hugenberg became too focused on Junker aristocrats and ignored small farmers:
- Hugenberg cares about large estates, not family farms
- DNVP protects grain tariffs that help Junkers but not us
- Too focused on nationalism, not enough on agricultural relief
- Hugenberg's autocratic leadership alienated moderate conservatives
- We needed a party that actually represents small farmers
⚠️ The Agricultural Crisis
German agriculture is in desperate crisis:
The problems:
- Cheap imports: American and Argentine grain undercuts German prices
- Debt: Small farmers borrowed during good years, can't repay now
- Foreclosures: Banks seizing farms at record rates
- Urban bias: Government cares about workers and industry, not farmers
- Polish Corridor: Cut off East Prussia; markets disrupted
- Tax burden: Land taxes crushing small farmers
Result: Rural radicalization. Desperate farmers turning to extreme solutions.
Our Vision: Protestant Christian Democracy
We want to build a mass Christian democratic party for Protestants similar to what the Centre Party is for Catholics:
- Christian values applied to modern problems
- Neither reactionary monarchism nor revolutionary socialism
- Protect small property owners (farmers, shopkeepers, artisans)
- Social responsibility within Christian framework
- Decentralized, local control (subsidiarity)
- Corporatist economics (organize by profession, not class)
Core Beliefs
Small Farmer Relief (Our Top Priority)
Everything we do is about saving family farms:
What we demand:
- Debt relief: Forgive or restructure crushing debts
- Protection from foreclosure: Legal barriers preventing bank seizures
- Subsidized credit: Cheap loans to refinance and invest
- Price supports: Government guarantees minimum prices for crops
- Lower taxes on small farms: Property tax relief
- Marketing cooperatives: Help small farmers compete with big producers
Christian Social Teaching
We ground our politics in Protestant Christian principles:
- Human dignity: Every person has worth before God
- Solidarity: Community responsibility for the vulnerable
- Subsidiarity: Local communities solve local problems
- Stewardship: Land is a trust from God, not just property
- Family farms: Foundation of moral society
- Rural values: Countryside morally superior to corrupt cities
Against Both Junkers and Marxists
We reject the extremes of left and right:
Against Junkers (RLB, DNVP right wing):
- Large estates are inefficient and immoral
- Aristocrats care only about themselves
- Grain tariffs help Junkers, hurt small farmers
- Osthilfe subsidies go to estates, not family farms
- Land reform: Break up unproductive estates, redistribute
Against Marxists (SPD, KPD):
- Collectivization destroys family farms
- Atheist socialism rejects Christian values
- Class warfare divides rural communities
- Urban workers don't understand countryside
- Private property (small-scale) is sacred
Our third way: Christian democracy protects small property without Marxism or aristocratic privilege.
Nationalism (But Not Fanatical)
We are nationalist conservatives but pragmatic:
- Oppose Versailles: Lost territories hurt agriculture
- Polish Corridor crisis: Reconnect East Prussia
- Autarky (self-sufficiency): Germany should feed itself
- Protect German farmers: From foreign competition
- But pragmatic: Will work with moderate parties if they deliver for farmers
Flexible on Form of Government
We don't care much about monarchy vs. republic:
- Will work with Republic if it helps farmers
- Will work with monarchists if they help farmers
- Will work with presidential government if it helps farmers
- Bottom line: Whoever delivers agricultural relief gets our support
Key Figures
Martin Luther Schiele
Party Founder; Former DNVP Leader
Long a leader in the DNVP and a member of various cabinets, he took the political gamble of creating a new mass agrarian Christian democratic party because of the overbearing leadership of Hugenberg and his slavish devotion to the Junker class.
Background:
- Served in multiple cabinets under DNVP
- Agricultural expert and technocrat
- Broke with Hugenberg over direction of party (1928)
- Founded CNBP to represent small farmers, not aristocrats
Vision: Build a mass Protestant Christian democratic party that unites farmers, shopkeepers, artisans under Christian values. Be the Protestant Centre Party.
Political position: Moderate conservative. Willing to work with liberals and even SPD on agricultural issues. Pragmatic, not ideological.
Key goal: Lead the Green Front (unified agrarian coalition) and force government to prioritize rural relief.
Heinrich von Sybel
Right Wing; Pro-NSDAP
Representing the right wing of the CNBP, he advocates closer cooperation with the agrarian wing of the NSDAP.
Position: More radical than Schiele. Frustrated with slow pace of reform. Sees NSDAP as energetic alternative.
Arguments:
- NSDAP understands rural crisis
- Nazis promise immediate debt relief and foreclosure protection
- Strasser wing of NSDAP is genuinely pro-small farmer
- Need radical solutions, not moderate compromises
- Traditional parties have failed the countryside
Internal tension: Schiele worries von Sybel will pull party toward NSDAP, destroying Christian democratic vision.
Significance: Represents the radicalization of rural voters. Many small farmers desperate enough to turn to Nazis.
The Green Front
Unified Agrarian Coalition (Formed February 1929)
Agricultural groups united under the Green Front, led by Martin Schiele (CNBP).
Members:
- CNBP: Small Protestant farmers
- RLB: Junker estates
- DBP: Bavarian small farmers
- Centre (agrarian wing): Catholic farmers
- NSDAP (agrarian wing): Nazi rural organizers
- Various agricultural interest groups and cooperatives
The Green Front's Demands
Unified platform (though internal tensions exist):
- Exclude socialists from government: SPD doesn't understand agriculture
- Address small farmer needs: Debt relief, foreclosure protection, subsidies
- Protect large farmers: Maintain tariffs and Osthilfe (Junker demand)
- Implement austerity: Cut urban welfare, preserve rural subsidies
- Make cabinet ministers independent of parties: Undermine parliamentary democracy
Translation: The Green Front wants an authoritarian government that prioritizes rural interests over urban workers.
⚠️ If Demands Not Met
Green Front threatens to become a powerful anti-system force:
- Turn rural voters against Republic
- Support NSDAP or DNVP instead of moderate parties
- Escalate Rural People's Movement violence (bombings, protests)
- Demand presidential government to bypass Reichstag
- Countryside becomes base of anti-democratic movement
Internal Tensions in Green Front
CNBP / DBP Position
Small farmers: Need debt relief, foreclosure protection, lower taxes
Willing to: Support land reform (break up Junker estates)
Opposed to: High grain tariffs (help Junkers, hurt us)
RLB Position
Junkers: Need Osthilfe subsidies, grain tariffs, no land reform
Willing to: Support some small farmer relief (if doesn't threaten estates)
Opposed to: Any land reform (confiscation of estates)
The contradiction: Small farmers and Junkers want opposite things. Green Front holds together because they both hate urban workers and want to pressure government. But on specific policies, they clash.
Strategic Position in the Game
You Are Part of a Powerful Bloc
Individually you're small. As Green Front you're formidable:
- CNBP + RLB + DBP + agrarian Centre = significant voting bloc
- Countryside voters can swing elections
- Rural unrest threatens stability
- No government can ignore agricultural crisis
Your Leverage Points
What You Can Demand
Use Green Front unity to extract concessions:
On agricultural relief:
- Debt forgiveness or restructuring
- Moratorium on foreclosures
- Subsidized credit for small farmers
- Price supports for grain, dairy, livestock
- Lower property taxes on small farms
- Marketing cooperatives and infrastructure
On trade policy:
- Tariffs on agricultural imports (protect from cheap foreign grain)
- BUT not so high they only help Junkers
- Bilateral trade agreements favoring German agriculture
On land reform:
- Confiscate unproductive Junker estates
- Redistribute to small farmers
- Settlement programs for landless agricultural workers
Note: Land reform will split Green Front. RLB will oppose. But you represent small farmers, not Junkers.
Coalition Options
Support Centre-Led Coalition
Allies: Centre, DVP, BVP (maybe DDP)
Benefits: Christian democracy; Centre understands rural issues; moderate and stable
Costs: May not provide enough relief; Centre balances urban and rural
Support Right Coalition
Allies: DNVP, Centre, DVP, RLB
Benefits: Conservative; anti-SPD; pro-agriculture
Costs: DNVP serves Junkers not small farmers; Hugenberg radical
Support Presidential Government
Allies: Hindenburg, Camarilla
Benefits: Bypass SPD; Hindenburg is Junker (understands agriculture); authoritarian stability
Costs: End democracy; Hindenburg may favor Junkers over small farmers
Ally with NSDAP
Allies: NSDAP (Strasser wing), DNVP
Benefits: Nazis promise radical debt relief; energetic movement; anti-Marxist
Costs: Nazis violent and unpredictable; may betray farmers once in power; von Sybel pushing this
End-Game Alliance Requirement
At the start of the final session, you must declare alliance with a major party:
- Centre (most likely): Christian democratic values; moderate; trustworthy
- DNVP: Conservative nationalist; pro-agriculture (but pro-Junker)
- NSDAP: Promises radical relief; von Sybel wants this; dangerous
- Camarilla: Presidential government; bypass parliament
- SPD: Unlikely unless they make massive concessions to farmers
Relationships with Other Factions
| Faction | Relationship | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Centre | Natural allies | Protestant version of Centre; Christian democracy; share many values; best coalition partner |
| DBP | Allied | Both small farmers; Green Front partners; share most goals |
| RLB | Complicated allies | Green Front partners; both agrarian; but they serve Junkers, we serve small farmers; clash on land reform |
| CSVD | Potential partners | Protestant Christian democrats; similar vision; could unite |
| BVP | Workable | Catholic but both Christian democratic, agrarian, particularist |
| DNVP | Complicated | We split from them; they serve Junkers; Hugenberg autocratic; BUT share conservativism, nationalism |
| NSDAP | Dangerous temptation | Promise debt relief; energetic; rural organizers effective; von Sybel wants alliance; BUT violent and radical |
| SPD | Suspicious | Urban workers don't understand countryside; welfare state drains resources from agriculture; BUT could work together on some issues |
| KPD | Enemies | Bolsheviks want to collectivize farms; atheist Marxists; existential threat |
Playing the CNBP
Your Position
You represent desperate small farmers in crisis:
- Debt crushing you
- Banks foreclosing on farms
- Cheap imports undercutting prices
- Government ignores countryside
- Traditional parties (DNVP) serve aristocrats, not you
You need relief NOW or your voters will radicalize.
Internal Party Tension
Schiele vs. von Sybel
Martin Luther Schiele (moderate):
- Build Christian democratic movement
- Work with Centre, moderates
- Patient, pragmatic reform
- Maintain Green Front but lead it moderately
Heinrich von Sybel (radical):
- Traditional parties have failed
- NSDAP offers radical solutions
- Need immediate action
- Time for desperate measures
Will you hold together or split between moderates and radicals?
Key Decisions
- Grain tariffs: High (Junker demand) or moderate (small farmer interest)?
- Land reform: Support breaking up Junker estates (splits Green Front)?
- Small farmer relief: Demand as top priority in all negotiations
- Coalition choice: Centre (moderate), DNVP (conservative), or NSDAP (radical)?
- Green Front unity: Hold together or split with RLB over Junker interests?
- NSDAP temptation: Resist or embrace (von Sybel's path)?
Remember
You are Christian democrats trying to save family farms through moderate reform. But your voters are desperate and radicalizing.
If traditional parties fail to deliver relief, rural Germany may turn to the NSDAP. The countryside could become the base of fascism.
Can you save small farmers while preserving democracy? Or will desperation drive you toward extremism?