German political parties in Moravia (1890–1918). Ideas – Political programs – Personalities

The book deals with the development of German political parties in Moravia in the years 1890–1918. The theoretical chapter that deals with the actual state of exploration in the political parties of the Czech lands and Habsburg Monarchy is followed by the author dealing in an analytical-synthetic manner with individual German political parties active in Moravia: the German-Liberal (from 1896 the German Progressive) Party, the German National Party (from 1895 the German People’s Party), Free All Germans (from 1907 the German Radical) Party, the Social Democratic Party of Austria, the Christian Social Party, the German Labour Party and the German Agrarians. In the final chapters the author focuses on the acting of the squirearchal parties in Moravia and on the fates of the German political parties in Moravia during World War I and in the first weeks of the Czechoslovak Republic. In each of the chapters, the author concentrated on the intraparty development, on the main individualities, and on the activities of the municipal government and those of the Austrian Parliament. The thesis mainly follows the relations between the Moravian Germans and Czechs, as well as the engagement of politicians active in Moravia in the all-Austrian political structures. The book is mostly based on the study of archive sources and contemporary press.