Kurt Schumacher (SPD)
In the election to the first Bundestag in 1949, the SPD headed up with Kurt Schumacher. He played a key role in rebuilding the SPD after 1945. During the time of National Socialism he was locked up as a political prisoner in concentration camps for many years. With Schumacher, the party reached 29.2 percent and landed just behind the Union in second place, which achieved 31 percent. The picture shows Schumacher in a London hotel at the end of 1946.
Erich Ollenhauer was not only chairman of the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag for nine years, but also the Social Democrats’ candidate for chancellor. Ollenhauer competed twice against Konrad Adenauer (CDU) without success. In 1953 he got 28.8 percent of the vote, in 1957 it was 31.8 percent. Here he gives a speech in March 1958 at the rally "Fight against nuclear death" in Frankfurt am Main.
The SPD chancellor candidates since the founding of the Federal Republic
Willy Brandt led the SPD four times in the federal election campaign: 1961 (36.2 percent), 1965 (39.3 percent), 1969 (42.7 percent), 1972 (45.8 percent). In 1961 the Lord Mayor of Berlin failed against Adenauer, in 1965 against Ludwig Erhard. In 1969 Brandt was promoted from Vice Chancellor of the Grand Coalition to Chancellor of a social-liberal alliance. In 1972 he defended his chancellorship from office.