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Czech National Socialist Party

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The Czechoslovak National Socialist Party (1897-1918 Czech National Socialist Party, 1918-1926 Czechoslovak Socialist Party) was a liberal, nationalist party started in 1897 when a faction under the leadership of Vaclav Klofáč, Jiri Stříbrný and Emil Franke seceded from the Social Democrat Czech party and formed the Národně Socialistická Strana Česká (the Czech National Socialist Party) or NSSC. Its party platform rested on the religious and social traditions of Hussitism and Taboritism. (1) Ideologically the party had nothing to do with the German variant of National Socialism, particularly since it was formed over 20 years before the German Nazi Party. Despite the name, the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party was in fact a nearly centrist party. Still, it did hold several radical ideas. 1918, Dr. Edvard Benes took party leadership and changed its name from Czech National Socialist Party to the Czechoslovak Socialist Party, and then in 1926 to the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party.

From 1921, the party was part of most Czechoslovak government coalitions. Its newspaper was the České slovo. In 1938, a part of the Czech membership entered into the Party of National Unity led by Rudolf Beran, while a part of the Slovak members joined the Hlinka Slovak People's Party led by Josef Tiso.

Under German occupation, it was forcibly merged into the German Nazi Party, but in fact most of its members where active in the resistance. After 1945, the party resurfaced, again under the leadership of Dr. Benes, as one of the parties in the Czech National Front.

After Czechoslovakia became a communist state in 1948, the party was again renamed the Czechoslovak Socialist Party, and it became part of the National Front. After the return to democracy in 1990, the party regained its independence and switched back to its original liberal profile. It soon renamed itself the Liberal National Social Party (Liberalní Strana Národně Sociálni), but failed to gather any significant support and was reduced to minor party status. This led in 1995 to a merger with the Free Democrats, to form the Free Democrats-Liberal National Social Party.

Reference

1. Leftism Revisited, Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Regnery Gateway, Washington D.C., 1990. pp 145-146.
2. Malá encyklopédia Slovenska, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava 1987

Bibliography

• The Political Parties of Czechoslovakia, Karel Hoch.

See also

• Timeline of liberal parties in the Czech lands