Zentrum

Zentrum, in full Zentrumspartei, the Roman Catholic party in the Prussian Diet and in the Reichstag after 1871. It was founded in Prussia shortly before the outbreak of war in 1870. It became conspicuous as the opposition party during the Kulturkampf. It continued as a significant minority party, drawing support from all parts of Germany but especially the south, until the dissolution of all political parties except the NSDAP in 1933.

The first leader of the party was Ludwig Windthorst (1812-91), who in the 1860s had been minister of justice under George V, then king of Hanover. Windthorst became a formidable leader of the opposition against Bismarck in the Reichstag. The party's last leader was H. Brüning.