Anti-Socialist Laws
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- ''Socialist Law redirects here. For laws under socialism and communism, see Socialist law.
The Anti-Socialist Laws or Socialist Laws (German: Sozialistengesetze) were a series of acts, the first of which was passed on October 19 1878 by the German Reichstag. Passed after two failed attempts to assassinate Kaiser Wilhelm I by the radicals Max Hödel and Karl Nobiling, the laws were meant to curb the growing strength of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which was blamed for influencing the assassins. Although the law (October 19 1878) did not ban the SDP directly, it aimed to cripple the organisation through various means. The banning of any group or meeting of whose aims were to spread socialist principles, the outlawing of trade unions and the closing of 45 newspapers are examples of supression. The laws' main proponent was Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who feared the outbreak of a socialist revolution similar to the one that created the Paris Commune in 1871. Despite the government's attempts to weaken the SPD, the party continued to grow in popularity. After Bismarck's resignation in 1890, the laws were not renewed.
Further reading
- Vernon L. Lidtke, The Outlawed Party: Social Democracy in Germany, 1878-1890 (Princeton University Press, 1966).
See also
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