The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Germany, founded shortly after World War II's end in 1945. The party attracted members of the former Center Party of Germany (a centrist Catholic party), the German Democratic Party (a center-left liberal party), the German National People's Party (DNVP; a national conservative praty), the German People's Party (a right-wing liberal party), and several former members of the German Resistance, but many anti-communist former Nazi Party members such as Hans Globke and Theodor Oberlander joined the party during the 1960s. The CDU's goal was to create a union of democratic parties to prevent a return to Nazism and authoritarianism, and it became a catch-all party of the center-right of German politics. The party would form the CDU/CSU alliance with the Christian Social Union in Bavaria to unite the Christian democratic parties of Germany, forming a major electoral bloc. Polls conducted during various election cycles indicated that over 60% of CDU voters identified themselves as conservative, 20-30% as liberal, and fewer than 5% as left-wing.
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