stresemann briefly joined the german democratic party after the war, but was expelled for his association with the right wing. he then gathered most of the right wing of the old national liberal party into the german people's party (, dvp), with himself as chairman. most of its support came from middle class and upper class protestants. the dvp platform promoted christian family values, non-religious education, lower tariffs, opposition to welfare spending and agrarian subsides and hostility to "marxism" (that is, the communists, and also the social democrats).