The Christian-Socials (Christlich-Soziale) are one of the three major groups within the CDU in addition to the Liberals and the Conservatives.
The CDA was created after the Second World War, by mostly Christian trade unionists in the industrial areas of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The official establishment of the CDA was in 1946 at Kolping House in Herne, Germany.
In the early years the CDA's program concerned mainly issues such as the health and safety of workers and their conditions in the factories.
Since the association adopted the Offenburger Declaration in 1967, its focus moved to wider societal issues.