9. Cultural recovery and revival of the German people. Freedom of speech – both written and oral – in the press and radio.
Intellectual, scientific, and artistic purity are an absolute cultural imperative.
10. Freedom of religion. Respect for and protection of all religious sites is self-evident for us. The state and people have their own laws, which are separate from those of the church and religion.
11. Education of our youth to become adults who, through their personality, their moral upbringing, their professional or occupational skills, and their open-minded attitude toward their people and humanity, are qualified to serve their fatherland and all of humanity.
12. Renewal of the educational system, especially at the university level, so that the talented may advance unhindered, regardless of their social background.
13. The basic foundation of our communal life is the family. To restore and preserve it as such – this is an essential precondition for any German recovery.
14. Simplification of the state bureaucracy, reestablishment of an independent, productive, professional civil service as well as honorary offices.
15. The ordering of communal life is unimaginable without the rule of law. Thus, creation of a state based on the rule of law, in which every individual is protected against violence and injustice.
An independent judiciary is the body called upon to protect the law and to ensure just process.
16. The communal life of our nation requires representative bodies to express the will of the people. We desire a parliament elected on the basis of universal, equal suffrage and by secret ballot.
On the basis of these ideas, we, who come from all strata of Germany’s working population, want to work to create a new German people and a new German state.
We recognize, of course, the necessity of cooperating with the other anti-fascist parties.
We are united by our liberal worldview and our belief in democratic government. Whoever shares these beliefs and rejects fascism is welcome to join us.
Source: Aufruf der LDPD vom 5. Juli 1945 [Proclamation by the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany, July 5, 1945], reprinted in Ossip Kurt Flechtheim, Die Parteien der Bundesrepublik Deutschland [The Parties of the Federal Republic of Germany]. Hamburg, 1973, pp. 192-94.
Translation: Jeffrey Verhey
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