The
German Centre Party ( or just ) is a lay Catholic political party in
Germany during the
Kaiserreich and the
Weimar Republic. In English it is often called the
Catholic Centre Party. Formed in 1870, it battled the
Kulturkampf which the
Prussian government launched to reduce the power of the
Catholic Church. It soon won a quarter of the seats in the
Reichstag (Imperial Parliament), and its middle position on most issues allowed it to play a decisive role in the formation of majorities.