# Naumann Circle
The **Naumann Circle** (Naumann-Kreis) was the reform-oriented liberal circle that formed around the German Protestant theologian and politician [Friedrich Naumann](https://www.edgepedia.org/friedrich-naumann) (1860–1919) in Wilhelmine Germany, gathering a generation of bourgeois reformers who carried his blend of social reform, Protestant ethics, and liberal democracy into German politics.[1](https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/wilhelmine-germany-and-the-first-world-war-1890-1918/friedrich-naumann-what-does-christian-social-mean-1894) • [2](https://scholarworks.indianapolis.iu.edu/bitstreams/ad27e890-1652-463c-82c6-0b6709ab4dbe/download)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Central figure | Friedrich Naumann (1860–1919), Protestant theologian and politician who sought to reconcile Christian values, an industrial economy, and liberal democracy[1](https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/wilhelmine-germany-and-the-first-world-war-1890-1918/friedrich-naumann-what-does-christian-social-mean-1894) |
| Formation | From 1895 Naumann became the center of a reform-oriented liberal circle that increasingly opposed the political conservatism of Adolf Stoecker's movement[3](https://brockhaus.de/ecs/enzy/article/naumann-friedrich) |
| Organizational base | The Nationalsozialer Verein (founded 1896) and the weekly *Die Hilfe* (founded 1895), after which Naumann left his ministry and moved to Berlin[4](https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/friedrich-naumann) |
| Intellectual influence | Max Weber's influence on the Nationalsozialer Verein, which advocated democratization, social policy, and an expansive German foreign policy[4](https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/friedrich-naumann) |
| Historiography | The name "Naumann circle" is associated with the historian Ursula Krey, author of "Von der Religion zur Politik: Der Naumann-Kreis zwischen Protestantismus und Liberalismus"[5](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/church-history/article/abs/religious-sonderweg-reflections-on-the-sacred-and-the-secular-in-the-historiography-of-modern-germany/8238AC74131B9DD1AD50FEEB3970A9A4) |
| Political legacy | Members' causes fed into the Fortschrittliche Partei (1910) and the Deutsche Demokratische Partei (1918), two of Germany's leading liberal parties[1](https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/wilhelmine-germany-and-the-first-world-war-1890-1918/friedrich-naumann-what-does-christian-social-mean-1894) |
## Origins
The circle grew out of the Protestant social reform movement of the early 1890s. In 1890 Naumann became the spokesman of a liberal-minded Christian-social grouping at the newly founded Evangelisch-Sozialer Kongress (Protestant-Social Congress), standing against the political conservatism of the theologian Adolf Stoecker.[4](https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/friedrich-naumann) The Brockhaus encyclopedia records that within this milieu Naumann became the center of a reform-oriented liberal circle that, from 1895 onward, increasingly positioned itself against the political conservatism of Stoecker's movement.[3](https://brockhaus.de/ecs/enzy/article/naumann-friedrich)
**Organizational base.** In 1895 Naumann founded the weekly *[Die Hilfe](https://www.edgepedia.org/die-hilfe)* as a political and cultural magazine, and in 1896 he founded the Nationalsozialer Verein (National Social Association) as a political party, leaving the pastorate and moving to Berlin.[4](https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/friedrich-naumann) • [6](https://www.freiheit.org/sites/default/files/import/2019-08/19493-friedrichnaumannbooklet.pdf) Under the influence of [Max Weber](https://www.edgepedia.org/max-weber), the association advocated democratization, social policy, and an expansive German foreign policy.[4](https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/friedrich-naumann) The association failed in two Reichstag elections and was dissolved in 1903, when Naumann and most of his like-minded followers joined the left-liberal Freisinnige Vereinigung.[4](https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/friedrich-naumann) • [6](https://www.freiheit.org/sites/default/files/import/2019-08/19493-friedrichnaumannbooklet.pdf)
## Character and members
Historians treat the circle as a key node in the reform politics of the Kaiserreich. A generation of reformers joined the Naumann circle at the turn of the century, and scholarship on associational life describes it as a key moment in the broader process of bourgeois reform.[2](https://scholarworks.indianapolis.iu.edu/bitstreams/ad27e890-1652-463c-82c6-0b6709ab4dbe/download) The term "Naumann circle" itself is associated with the historian Ursula Krey, whose essay "Von der Religion zur Politik: Der Naumann-Kreis zwischen Protestantismus und Liberalismus" examines the group's path from [Protestantism](https://www.edgepedia.org/protestantism) to liberalism.[5](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/church-history/article/abs/religious-sonderweg-reflections-on-the-sacred-and-the-secular-in-the-historiography-of-modern-germany/8238AC74131B9DD1AD50FEEB3970A9A4)
The circle's reach extended into cultural and organizational life beyond party politics. Naumann was a co-founder of the [Deutscher Werkbund](https://www.edgepedia.org/deutscher-werkbund) in 1907, the association of artists and industrialists, and his network there included the young [Theodor Heuss](https://www.edgepedia.org/theodor-heuss), who served as his election campaign leader in the 1907 Reichstag campaign in [Heilbronn](https://www.edgepedia.org/heilbronn) and later published a biography of Naumann in 1937.[4](https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/friedrich-naumann) • [6](https://www.freiheit.org/sites/default/files/import/2019-08/19493-friedrichnaumannbooklet.pdf)
## Legacy
The circle's political program outlived its original organizations. Naumann went on to help form the Fortschrittliche Partei (Progressive Party) in 1910 and the Deutsche Demokratische Partei ([German Democratic Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/german-democratic-party)) in 1918, two of Germany's leading liberal parties, and he became the DDP's first leader in 1919.[1](https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/wilhelmine-germany-and-the-first-world-war-1890-1918/friedrich-naumann-what-does-christian-social-mean-1894) • [4](https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/friedrich-naumann) In 1958, German liberals led by Theodor Heuss established the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, which carries his name and his ideal of freedom into civic education today.[7](https://escholarship.org/content/qt7bt808vx/qt7bt808vx_noSplash_42cc71f23d786740f0b6278d3ec02202.pdf) • [6](https://www.freiheit.org/sites/default/files/import/2019-08/19493-friedrichnaumannbooklet.pdf)
## References
1. [Friedrich Naumann, "What Does Christian-Social Mean?" (1894), German History in Documents and Images](https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/wilhelmine-germany-and-the-first-world-war-1890-1918/friedrich-naumann-what-does-christian-social-mean-1894)
2. [The Praxis of Civil Society: Associational Life, the Politics of Reform (IUPUI ScholarWorks)](https://scholarworks.indianapolis.iu.edu/bitstreams/ad27e890-1652-463c-82c6-0b6709ab4dbe/download)
3. [Naumann, Friedrich, Brockhaus Enzyklopädie](https://brockhaus.de/ecs/enzy/article/naumann-friedrich)
4. [LeMO Biografie: Friedrich Naumann, Deutsches Historisches Museum](https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/friedrich-naumann)
5. [A Religious Sonderweg? Reflections on the Sacred and the Secular in the Historiography of Modern Germany, Church History (Cambridge Core)](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/church-history/article/abs/religious-sonderweg-reflections-on-the-sacred-and-the-secular-in-the-historiography-of-modern-germany/8238AC74131B9DD1AD50FEEB3970A9A4)
6. [Friedrich Naumann: The Life and Works of Friedrich Naumann 1860–1919, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom](https://www.freiheit.org/sites/default/files/import/2019-08/19493-friedrichnaumannbooklet.pdf)
7. [National Socialism Before Nazism: Friedrich Naumann and Theodor Fritsch, 1890–1914 (eScholarship)](https://escholarship.org/content/qt7bt808vx/qt7bt808vx_noSplash_42cc71f23d786740f0b6278d3ec02202.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Historical methods and broad narratives › Historiography of specific events, wars, and figures*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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