Gustaf von Holtz was the leader of the Germanic Confederation's Democratic Party in the 1930s. In the German legislative elections of 5 November 1937, the opposition Deutschland Party captured control of the legislatures of Baden-Baden and Bavaria, and increased its majority in the Prussian Diet. Von Holtz had been a leading peace advocate, and the legislative defeats his party suffered in the 1937 elections were seen as a mandate for the pro-war policy of Chancellor Karl Bruning.