WP - Wirtschaftspartei
Reich Party of the German Middle Class
Conservative Liberal / Economic Liberal
At a Glance
- Type: Liberal Indeterminate
- Founded: 1920 (merger of middle-class organizations)
- Reichstag Seats: 25 mandates (part of 135 Indeterminate total)
- Support Base: Home and landowners, artisans, traders, petit bourgeois middle class
- Stance on Republic: Ambiguous - neither principled opposition nor support
- Growth Trajectory: Entered Reichstag 1924 with handful of seats; now 25
Who We Are
In 1920 several medium-sized organizations combined to create the Reich Party of the German Middle Class—the so-called WP (Wirtschaftspartei). Our goal was to protect the economic interests of the petit bourgeois middle classes—especially home- and landowners, artisans, and traders—against continuously rising inflation and state direction of the economy.
We Are NOT an Ideological Party
The WP is not grounded in a specific ideology as such, though we combine aspects of liberal economics and conservative cultural values within a framework of nationalism.
Instead, we look toward specific social and economic policies to protect our constituencies:
- Defending the private sector
- Lowering the tax burden on the middle class
- Reducing state-funded housing construction
- Opposing workers' representation in business and strikes
⚠️ Constitutional Ambiguity
The party has been reluctant to take a clear stance on basic constitutional matters, expressing neither principled opposition to nor support for the Republic.
The WP entered the Reichstag only in 1924, but it has grown from a handful of mandates to twenty-five. Entering the Reichstag, though, has forced the WP to clarify its constitutional, foreign policy, and noneconomic domestic goals.
Many are waiting to see where this small but influential party will ultimately align itself.
Our Growing Influence
We represent the squeezed middle:
| Year | Seats | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| 1924 (May) | 10 | First entry |
| 1924 (Dec) | 17 | Growing |
| 1928 | 23 | Continuing growth |
| Now (1929) | 25 | Small gains |
Unlike traditional parties, we're growing. The middle class feels abandoned by both left (SPD too pro-worker) and right (DNVP too aristocratic). We fill that gap.
Core Beliefs
Protection of Middle-Class Economic Interests
We exist to defend the forgotten middle:
Who we represent:
- Homeowners: Protect property values and rental income
- Small landlords: Oppose rent controls and tenant protections
- Artisans: Master craftsmen, skilled trades
- Small shopkeepers: Independent retailers
- Traders and merchants: Small-scale commerce
- Independent professionals: Doctors, lawyers, accountants in private practice
What threatens us:
- Big business (department stores crush small shops)
- Big labor (unions drive up wages, cut profits)
- Big government (taxes, regulations, housing construction)
Economic Liberalism with Protectionism
We want free markets for us, protection from competition:
- Defend private sector: No nationalization
- Lower middle-class taxes: We're taxed too heavily
- Reduce state housing: Public housing competes with landlords
- Oppose worker codetermination: Business owners should control their businesses
- Anti-union: Strikes hurt small businesses
- BUT protect us from big business: Regulate department stores, chain stores
Yes, this is contradictory - we want free markets AND protection. But that's what our voters want.
Conservative Cultural Values
We are culturally conservative but not reactionary:
- Traditional family: Marriage, children, stable communities
- Order and respectability: Against Weimar's "decadence"
- Nationalism: Germany first, but pragmatic not fanatical
- Protestant values: Thrift, hard work, self-reliance
- Anti-Marxism: Socialism threatens property
- Anti-cosmopolitanism: Suspicious of "rootless" internationalism
Constitutional Indifference
We don't care much about the form of government—monarchy, republic, whatever—as long as it:
- Protects property rights
- Keeps taxes low on the middle class
- Prevents Bolshevism
- Maintains order
- Doesn't interfere too much in the economy
Translation: We'll support whoever protects our economic interests. Democracy, monarchy, authoritarian government—we're flexible.
Anti-Versailles (But Not Fanatical)
We oppose Versailles because it hurts the economy:
- Reparations drain capital from domestic investment
- Lost territories = lost markets
- Allied occupation is expensive
- Treaty damages German pride (bad for business confidence)
But we're pragmatic. If compliance gets us economic stability, fine. If defiance works better, fine. We care about results, not principles.
Key Figures
Johann Bredt
Party Leader; Middle-Class Champion
He personifies the attitudes of his party and sees the creation of a large party built around the middle classes as the only possible means to resolve Germany's crises.
Vision: Expand WP into a mass middle-class party that can compete with SPD (workers) and DNVP (aristocrats). Unite shopkeepers, artisans, homeowners, professionals into a powerful bloc.
Ideology: Pragmatic economic self-interest. Neither left nor right but middle.
Strategy: Demand concessions for our votes. We're the swing vote—make us pay for our support.
Georg Best
Leading Jurist; Conservative Wanderer
A leading jurist, he has moved through a number of conservative parties—the DNVP, various völkisch groups close to the NSDAP, the Reich Party for Civil Rights and Deflation—before settling into a sometimes uneasy collaboration inside the WP.
Background: Represents the WP's right wing. More nationalist and völkisch than Bredt. Has flirted with more extreme parties.
Significance: Shows WP's ideological flexibility. Could pull party toward DNVP/NSDAP if circumstances change.
Internal tension: Best's past with völkisch groups makes some WP members uncomfortable. But he brings nationalist credibility.
The Middle-Class Squeeze
⚠️ Our Constituents Are Desperate
The German middle class is being crushed from above and below:
From above (big business):
- Department stores undercut small shops
- Chain stores drive independents out of business
- Mass production makes artisan goods obsolete
- Large landlords outcompete small property owners
From below (workers/state):
- Unions demand higher wages (squeeze profits)
- Welfare state raises taxes on middle class
- Rent controls limit landlord income
- Public housing competes with private rentals
- Worker protections make firing difficult
Result: Small business owners, artisans, landlords feel abandoned. SPD cares about workers. DNVP cares about aristocrats. Who cares about us?
The Radicalization Threat
NSDAP Targets Our Voters
The Nazis are appealing to desperate middle-class voters with promises of:
- Protect small business from Jewish department stores
- Eliminate Marxist unions
- Restore order and stability
- Strong leadership to end chaos
- Preserve traditional values
Our voters are vulnerable. If WP can't deliver relief, they may turn to extremists.
Strategic Position in the Game
You Are the Ultimate Pragmatists
With 25 seats, you're small but potentially decisive:
- Not big enough to lead coalitions
- Big enough to break coalitions
- No ideological commitment to any alliance
- Will work with anyone who protects middle-class interests
Your Leverage Points
What You Can Demand
Other parties need your votes. Make them pay:
From the Left (SPD, DDP):
- Lower taxes on small business
- Reduce state housing construction
- Limit rent controls
- Restrict union power
- Oppose nationalization
From the Right (DNVP, Centre, DVP):
- Regulate department stores (protect small shops)
- Limit chain store expansion
- Protect artisan guilds from deregulation
- Prevent big business monopolies
From anyone:
- Middle-class tax relief
- Small business subsidies
- Credit for shopkeepers and artisans
- Protection from foreclosure
Coalition Options
Support Grand Coalition (Status Quo)
Allies: SPD, Centre, DDP, DVP, BVP
Benefits: Stable government; parliamentary democracy preserved
Costs: SPD welfare state continues; taxes remain high; unions powerful
Our leverage: Demand economic concessions to stay
Support Right Coalition
Allies: Centre, DVP, DNVP, BVP
Benefits: Conservative economics; lower taxes; weaker unions
Costs: DNVP too aristocratic; may ignore middle class; unstable
Our leverage: Bridge between moderate Centre/DVP and radical DNVP
Support Presidential Government
Allies: Hindenburg, Camarilla
Benefits: Strong leadership; bypass Reichstag gridlock; stability
Costs: End of democracy; authoritarian government; uncertain future
Our leverage: Parliamentary support for emergency decrees
Flirt with NSDAP
Allies: NSDAP, DNVP
Benefits: Promises to protect middle class; destroy Marxism; strong order
Costs: Nazis are radical, violent, unpredictable; may destroy everything
Danger: Georg Best's past with völkisch groups could pull party this direction
End-Game Alliance Requirement
At the start of the final session, you must declare alliance with a major party:
- SPD: Support left coalition (unlikely unless they make big concessions)
- Centre: Moderate conservative coalition (most natural fit)
- DVP: United liberal-bourgeois front
- DNVP: Right-wing coalition (possible if desperate)
- Camarilla: Support presidential government (pragmatic if democracy fails)
- NSDAP: Dangerous but possible if see them as middle-class champions
You will choose whoever protects middle-class interests best.
Relationships with Other Factions
| Faction | Relationship | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Centre | Potential partners | Both moderate, pragmatic; share cultural conservatism; natural coalition partners |
| DVP | Natural allies | Both represent business; economic liberals; could merge or form tight alliance |
| BVP | Potential partners | Both conservative, particularist; could work together |
| DNVP | Complicated | Share conservativism, nationalism; but they represent aristocrats not middle class; Best has ties |
| CSVD | Potential partners | Protestant conservatives; similar social base; could ally |
| NSDAP | Dangerous attraction | Promise to protect middle class; anti-Marxist; BUT radical and violent; Best sympathetic |
| SPD | Opposed | Welfare state threatens our interests; unions hurt small business; too pro-worker |
| KPD | Enemies | Bolsheviks want to confiscate property; existential threat |
| DDP | Skeptical | Too liberal, too intellectual, too cosmopolitan; don't understand middle-class concerns |
Playing the WP
Your Position
You are purely transactional:
- No ideology beyond middle-class self-interest
- No commitment to democracy or any form of government
- Will ally with anyone who delivers
- Expect clear concessions for your votes
- Free to shift alliances without explaining yourselves
How to Play
Negotiating Strategy
Every vote is for sale - make them bid:
1. Identify the issue:
- How does this affect middle-class property owners?
- How does this affect small business?
- How does this affect artisans and shopkeepers?
2. Demand concessions:
- "We'll vote for your Young Plan IF you cut small-business taxes"
- "We'll support austerity IF you exempt homeowners from cuts"
- "We'll join your coalition IF you regulate department stores"
3. Play both sides:
- Tell SPD you'll vote with them (for a price)
- Tell DNVP you'll vote with them (for a different price)
- See who offers more
4. No shame:
- Flip-flopping is fine - you represent constituents, not principles
- Vote with KPD one day, DNVP the next if it benefits middle class
- Other parties will call you opportunists - wear it as a badge of honor
Key Decisions
- Austerity crisis: Support cuts (help DVP) or protect middle-class benefits?
- Young Plan: Support (economic stability) or oppose (nationalism)?
- Grain tariffs: High (protect small farmers?) or low (lower food costs)?
- Nationalization debates: Always oppose (threatens property)
- Union rights: Always oppose (threatens business)
- End-game: Which major party protects middle class best?
The NSDAP Temptation
⚠️ Will You Fall for Nazi Promises?
The NSDAP is courting middle-class voters with appealing promises:
- "We'll protect small business from Jewish department stores"
- "We'll crush Marxist unions"
- "We'll restore order and traditional values"
- "We'll put Germany first, not international finance"
Georg Best is sympathetic. Some voters are turning to NSDAP.
Do you:
- Ally with NSDAP (short-term gains, long-term catastrophe)?
- Resist their appeal (but what alternative protects middle class)?
- Use threat of NSDAP alliance as leverage with other parties?
Remember
You represent the squeezed middle - shopkeepers watching department stores steal customers, landlords crushed by rent controls, artisans undercut by mass production, professionals taxed to fund welfare for workers.
Your voters are desperate. They don't care about democracy, ideology, or principles. They care about survival.
Will you find a way to protect them within the Republic? Or will you turn to authoritarians who promise to save the middle class?