Pan-German League (ADV)

The Pan-German League (General German League until 1894) was founded in Berlin in 1891 under the leadership of the politician and publicist Carl Peters. Established notables from the bourgeoisie and the military were thus pursuing the strengthening of German national consciousness and the enforcement of an imperialist colonial policy to promote German interests abroad. These goals were eloquently advertised in the bi-weekly Alldeutsche Blätter, the association's press outlet. Under the leadership of Heinrich Claß (1908-1939), the association became radicalized, adopting increasingly anti-semitic and expansionist views. As early as 1913, the ADV advocated for the expulsion of all Jews from the Third Reich. The ADV saw itself as a facilitator and pioneer for other national organizations. The ADV reached its peak in 1922 with around 52,000 members.

The Munich Local Group included the publisher Julius Friedrich Lehmann, who was also a member of the national executive board; Ernst Pöhner (1919-1921 Munich Police President, 1921-1924 councilor at the Bavarian Higher District Court); and Paul Tafel, chairman of the Bavarian Order Block (BOB) since 1920, who were among the well-known representatives and multipliers in the ethnic-chauvinist nationalist network. The Munich local group actively promoted the rise of the Nazi Party and in particular Hitler in Munich until 1923. After the ‘Hitler putsch,’ which the Pan-Germans rejected as not in accordance with the constitution, the ADV increasingly lost influence. An open break occurred in 1932 when the ADV executive committee spoke out against the Nazi Party. Although the ADV continued to exist after the seizure of power until its forced self-dissolution in 1939, it had no significant political influence.