David Blaustein

David Blaustein (1831-1900) was a German politician and banker. Blaustein was a founding member of the Partei für wirtschaftlichen und kolonialen Wohlstand und Entwicklung in 1852, but ended his affiliation with the party in 1875 when he founded the Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands.

Biography
David was born in Frankfurt am Main (Hessen), he grew up in the Jewish community of the Judengasse, his father, a merchant, taught him everything he needed to know about economics. After the death of his father, he left Frankfurt to go to Berlin where he tried to become a successful investor. With the inherited money of his father he wanted to start a business the world hadn’t seen before. He partly succeeded when in 1852, he founded the Preussische Creditanstalt (PCOK) with Wilhelm von Rotstein and Answald Schreiber. That same year, he co-founded the Partei für wirtschaftlichen und kolonialen Wohlstand und Entwicklung with the former to advance their bank's interests in the Reichstag. In 1855, he was elected to the Reichstag. That same year, he was briefly Minister of Foreign Affairs. He remained an active member of the PKW in the Reichstag until 1865, when he no longer stood for re-election. From 1865 till 1870, Blaustein travelled around Europe in search of investors for his bank. During his time abroad, he married his wife. When he returned in 1870, he used the money from his investors to construct a bank building in Berlin. In 1875, his first son, Joachim, was born. That same year, he left the PKW, not liking the direction they had taken. He promptly founded the Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands with Bertram Soosephius. The party quickly became a weird combination of social democrats who had become disillusioned by the SPD, and proto-fascists who believed in a kind of feudal socialism. Their electoral success in the 1875 elections surprised many, especially when rumours about the USPD's talks with the PVP started circulating. As a result, Karl von Birnbaum involved the Kaiser in the coalition process, effectively shutting out the USPD's attempts.

From 1875 to 1880, Blaustein and the USPD were a rather inactive party in the Reichstag. As a result, the party was disbanded in 1880 and David Blaustein retired from politics for good to focus on his bank. In 1900, David Blaustein died at the age of 69 due to a severe infection of his lungs.