Back to Lexicon Entries List Zionist Federation of Germany (ZVfD) The German branch of the World Zionist Movement, founded in 1897. In its first few years, the Federation was typified by a moderate Zionist ideology that avoided confrontation with the liberal majority of German Jews. However, shortly before World War I, when the young generation took over the movement under Kurt Blumenfeld, the Federation took a radical turn, placing a greater emphasis on the intent to emigrate to Palestine and thereby creating a schism with the Liberal organisations, foremost the CV. During World War I, the Zionist Federation became a more significant minority among German Jews; in the Weimar era, it steadily widened its influence in German Jewish politics as an opposition to the Liberal Jewish establishment. The Federation's strength peaked in the first few years of the Nazi tenure, especially among the young, until the Nazis dissolved it late in 1938. Back to top