Editing German Democratic Party (section)

=== Renaming to the German State Party ===
In July 1930, the DDP united with the People's National Reich Association (VNR) to form the [[German State Party]], initially for the upcoming Reichstag elections. This brought fierce conflicts within the party, as the VNR was the political arm of [[Artur Mahraun|Artur Mahraun's]] national liberal Young German Order.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winkler |first=Heinrich August |title=Der lange Weg nach Westen. Deutsche Geschichte 1806–1933 |publisher=C.H. Beck |year=2002 |isbn=9783893314638 |location=Bonn |pages=487 |language=de |trans-title=The Long Road to the West. German History 1806–1933}}</ref> After the merger, many members of the left wing, including [[Ludwig Quidde]] and Hellmut von Gerlach, left the party and founded the Radical Democratic Party in 1930, which was largely unsuccessful politically. The Young German Order broke away from the DDP immediately after the Reichstag elections,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brauers |first=Christof |title=Die FDP in Hamburg 1945 bis 1953 |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2007 |location=Munich |pages=75 ff |language=de |trans-title=The FDP in Hamburg 1945 to 1953}}</ref> but the DDP nevertheless formally reorganized itself the German State Party (DStP) on 8 November 1930.{{sfn|Frye|1985|p=176}}

The party received 1.3 million votes and 20 seats in the 1930 election. Its electoral performance continued to decline in the 1930s. Its seat total declined by sixteen in the [[July 1932 German federal election|July 1932 election]], where it received 371,000 votes. [[Hermann Dietrich]] called for the party to be dissolved after these results. Its seat total fell to two after the [[November 1932 German federal election|November 1932 election]]. [[Hermann von Richthofen]], [[Peter Reinhold]], and others left the party after failing to convince its leadership to dissolve it. It gained three seats in the [[March 1933 German federal election|March 1933 election]], but its share of the vote declined. The DStP obtained these five seats with the help of a combined list with the SPD.{{sfn|Frye|1985|pp=183-187}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 June 2011 |title=Die Deutsche Demokratische Partei (DDP) |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/innenpolitik/ddp |access-date=20 November 2022 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum}}</ref>

The DStP deputies, as opposed to the SPD, voted for the Nazi-sponsored [[Enabling Act of 1933|Enabling Act]], which effectively disempowered the Reichstag.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reichstag – 2. Sitzung. Donnerstag den 23. März 1933 S. 25 S. 45 |url=https://www.reichstagsprotokolle.de/Blatt2_w8_bsb00000141_00049.html |access-date=2022-11-20 |website=Verhandlungen des deutschen Reichstags}}</ref> Their "yes" to the Enabling Act was justified by the deputy [[Reinhold Maier]]. The final sentence of his speech read: "In the interest of the people and the Fatherland and in the expectation of lawful developments, we will put aside our serious misgivings and agree to the Enabling Act."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reichstag – 2. Sitzung. Donnerstag den 23. März 1933 S. 25 |url=https://www.reichstagsprotokolle.de/Blatt2_w8_bsb00000141_00029.html |access-date=2022-11-20 |website=Verhandlungen des deutschen Reichstags}}</ref>

The DStP deputies in the [[Landtag of Prussia]] were removed as they worked with the SDP in their election{{sfn|Frye|1985|p=188}} and was banned from engaging in political activity in Prussia in June.{{sfn|Frye|1985|p=190}} Since the mandates of the DStP’s Reichstag deputies had been won by means of nominations from the Social Democratic Party, they expired in July 1933 based on a provision of the [[Gleichschaltung|Gleichschaltung Law]] of 31 March 1933.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reichsgesetzblatt, Jahrgang 1933 S. 462 |url=https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno-plus?apm=0&aid=dra&datum=19330004&seite=00000462&zoom=2 |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=ALEX Historische Rechts- und Gesetzestexte}}</ref> The self-dissolution of the DStP, forced by the Nazis, took place on 28 June 1933. The law against the formation of new parties enacted on 14 July codified the existence of a single party in the Nazi state and any activity on behalf of other parties was made a punishable offense.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gesetz gegen die Neubildung von Parteien vom 14. Juli 1933 |trans-title=Law against the formation of new parties of 14 July 1933 |url=http://www.verfassungen.de/de/de33-45/parteien33.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221214838/http://www.verfassungen.de/de/de33-45/parteien33.htm |archive-date=21 December 2008 |access-date=19 November 2022 |website=Verfassungen der Welt}}</ref>