That eventually clashed with the autonomist aspirations of Alsatian cadres and led to a split in 1934. The party expelled the refugee group, which retaliated by expelling the party from the International Communist Opposition. In September 1935, the name "Alsatian Workers and Peasants Party" was adopted, and autononism was confirmed as the party's primary ideological position. Die Neue Welt was frequently quoted in the German media as expressing the feelings of the Alsatian people. Die Neue Welt and Elsass-Lothringissche Zeitung (the organ of the Landespartei) were merged in April 1939. In July 1939, the party merged with the Autonomist Landespartei. Membership As of 1932, the party had around 1,300 members, primarily concentrated in Bas-Rhin. Membership declined from then onwards, and by 1935, only a few hundred members had remained. References Alsace independence movement German diaspora political parties Political parties established in 1929 Political parties disestablished in 1939 Communist parties in France Right Opposition