German federal election, July 1932

German federal election, July 1932

31 July 1932

All 608 seats in the Reichstag 305 seats needed for a majority Turnout 70.84%   First party Second party Third party   Leader Adolf Hitler Otto Wels Ernst Thälmann Party NSDAP SPD KPD Leader since 28 July 1921 1919 October 1925 Last election 107 seats, 18.25% 143 seats, 24.53% 77 seats, 13.13% Seats won 230 133 89 Seat change 123 10 12 Popular vote 13,745,680 7,959,712 5,282,636 Percentage 37.27% 21.58% 14.32% Swing 19.02% 2.55% 1.19%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Ludwig Kaas Alfred Hugenberg Heinrich Held Party Centre DNVP BVP Leader since September 1928 1928 27 June 1924 Last election 68 seats, 11.81% 41 seats, 7.03% 19 seats, 3.23% Seats won 75 37 22 Seat change 7 4 3 Popular vote 4,589,430 2,178,024 1,192,684 Percentage 12.44% 5.91% 3.23% Swing 0.63% 1.12% 0.14%

Chancellor before election Franz von Papen Non-partisan Elected Chancellor None (von Papen remained as unelected Chancellor)

Federal elections were held in Germany on 31 July 1932, following the premature dissolution of the Reichstag. They saw great gains by the Nazi Party, which for the first time became the largest party in parliament, though without winning a majority. With the Communists remaining strong, anti-republican parties together now had a majority in the Reichstag (called a "negative majority" by contemporary observers since the two parties would never have allied), making a (majority) government by any union of pro-republican parties impossible.

Background

Campaigning in front of a polling place in Berlin

Since 1929, Germany had been suffering from the Great Depression as unemployment rose from 8.5% to nearly 30% between 1929 and 1932,^[1] while industrial production inside Germany dropped roughly 42%.^[1]

In 1930, the governing grand coalition of the pro-republican parties – Social Democrats, Centre Party and the two liberal parties – had broken apart. President Hindenburg had then appointed a minority government headed by the Centre Party's Heinrich Brüning which could only govern via the President's emergency powers. Shortly afterwards, in the elections of 1930, the democratic parties lost their majority in the Reichstag, making any parliamentary government impossible. These elections also saw Hitler's Nazi Party rise to national prominence, it became the largest anti-democratic party for the first time.^[1] Brüning's policies, implemented via presidential decree and tolerated by parliament, failed to solve the economic crisis while weakening the parliamentary system.

In March 1932, presidential elections pitted the incumbent Field Marshal Hindenburg, supported by pro-republican parties, against Hitler and the Communist candidate Ernst Thälmann. Hitler gained roughly a third of the vote and was thus defeated in the second round in April by Hindenburg, who gained a narrow majority.^[1] However, after this victory Hindenburg increasingly moved towards the political right and at the end of May 1932 was persuaded to dismiss Brüning as Chancellor, replacing him with Franz von Papen (a renegade of the Centre Party) and a non-partisan "Cabinet of Barons". Papen's cabinet had almost no support in parliament and only three days after his appointment, when faced with this opposition, had the President dissolve the Reichstag and called for new elections, to be held on 31 July, so that the Reichstag could not dismiss him immediately.^[2]

The election campaign took place under violent circumstances, as Papen lifted the token ban on the SA, the Nazi paramilitary, which Brüning had banned during the last days of his administration. This inevitably led to clashes with the Communist paramilitary. Note: The SA openly carried unsharpened Holbein style parade daggers to maintain compliance with an existing weapon law, while simultaneously using the appearance of an armed force for intimidation. The main purpose of such a strategy was to use Police manpower as a tool, by diverting their attention toward other partisans who armed themselves with functional weapons in response to the ploy, partly disrupting competitors efforts.

The elections resulted in great gains by the Nazi party, who with 230 seats for the first time became the largest party in parliament. Neither the Nazi Party nor President Hindenburg had a governing majority and the other parties refused cooperation. Neither side had a majority on its own and no coalition could be formed to create a governing majority.^[2] Hence, Papen's minority government continued, leading to another election in November.

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
National Socialist German Workers Party	13,745,680	37.27	230	+123
Social Democratic Party of Germany	7,959,712	21.58	133	–10
Communist Party of Germany	5,282,636	14.32	89	+12
Centre Party	4,589,430	12.44	75	+7
German National People's Party	2,178,024	5.91	37	–4
Bavarian People's Party	1,192,684	3.23	22	+3
German People's Party	436,002	1.18	7	–23
German State Party	371,800	1.01	4	–16
Christian Social People's Service	364,543	0.99	3	–11
Reich Party of the German Middle Class	146,876	0.40	2	–21
German Farmers' Party	137,133	0.37	2	–4
Agricultural League	96,851	0.26	2	–1
German Country People	90,554	0.25	1	–18
Socialist Workers' Party of Germany	72,630	0.20	0	New
German-Hanoverian Party	46,927	0.13	0	–3
People's Justice Party	40,825	0.11	1	+1
Poland List	33,436	0.09	0	New
Nationalsozialistische Kleinrentner, Inflationsgeschädigte und Vorkriegsgeldbesitzer	14,816	0.04	0	New
Worker and Farmer Party of Germany/Christian Radical People's Front	13,950	0.04	0	New
Free Economy Party of Germany	12,247	0.03	0	New
Farmers, House and Property Owners	9,465	0.03	0	New
Radical Middle Class	8,637	0.02	0	New
Kampfgemeinschaft der Arbeiter und Bauern	4,551	0.01	0	New
Interessengemeinschaft der Kleinrentner und Inflationsgeschädigten	2,932	0.01	0	New
National Socialist People's Alliance for Truth and Justice	2,436	0.01	0	New
Nationalsozialistische Handwerker, Handels- und Gewerbetreibende	2,221	0.01	0	New
Nationalsozialistische Kriegsteilnehmer, Kriegsbeschädigte und Kriegshinterbliebene	2,213	0.01	0	New
Nationalsozialistischer enteigneter Mittelstand	2,186	0.01	0	New
Gerechtigkeitsbewegung für Parteienverbot – gegen Lohn-, Gehalts- und Rentenkürzungen – für Arbeitsbeschaffung	2,035	0.01	0	New
German Free Economy Party	1,916	0.01	0	New
Deutsche Einheitspartei für wahre Volkswirtschaft, Unterstützungsempfänger- Partei Deutschlands	1,709	0.00	0	New
Schleswig Home	1,511	0.00	0	New
Partei der Unzufriedenen	1,341	0.00	0	New
Höchstgehalt der Beamten 5000 M. Für die Arbeitslosen und bis jetzt abgewiesenen Kriegsbeschädigten	1,141	0.00	0	New
German Socialist Struggle Movement	947	0.00	0	New
Liste gegen Kürzung der Invaliden-, Sozial- und Kriegsbeschädigtenrenten	887	0.00	0	New
Unemployed Front	853	0.00	0	New
Kampfbund gegen Hauszinssteuer	790	0.00	0	New
German People's Community	618	0.00	0	New
Greater Germany Schmalix List	610	0.00	0	0
Schlesiens Handwerk und Gewerbe	598	0.00	0	New
Der ernste evangelisch-lutherische Christ (Gerechtigkeits-Bewegung)	587	0.00	0	New
Bund Bayerisches Handwerk und Gewerbe, Haus- und Grundbesitz und Landwirtschaft	577	0.00	0	New
Kampfgemeinschaft der Rentner, Sparer und Inflationsgeschädigten	532	0.00	0	New
Nationale Rentner, Sparer und Inflationsgeschädigte	522	0.00	0	New
Party of the Unemployed for Work and Bread	492	0.00	0	New
Freiheitliche National-Soziale Deutsche Mittelstandsbewegung	480	0.00	0	New
National Freedom Party of Germany	392	0.00	0	New
National-Soziale Partei gegen die Hauszinssteuer	376	0.00	0	New
Nationalsoziale Kampfgemeinschaft für Handwerk, Gewerbe, Hausbesitz und Landwirtschaft	334	0.00	0	New
General Social-National Unity Worker Party of Germany	277	0.00	0	New
Freiwirtschaftsbewegung für Freiland, Freigeld, Festwährung	270	0.00	0	New
German Workers Party	257	0.00	0	New
Nationaler Bürger- und Wirtschaftsblock	226	0.00	0	New
Kampfbund der Lohn- und Gehaltsabgebauten und Auslandsgeschädigten	177	0.00	0	New
Radical Party	154	0.00	0	New
Kampfgemeinschaft der Lohn- und Gehaltsabgebauten	128	0.00	0	New
Unitarianist Union of Germany	81	0.00	0	New
Mieter- und Volks-Reichspartei	69	0.00	0	New
German Social Monarchist Party	66	0.00	0	New
German Reform Party	59	0.00	0	New
Invalid/blank votes	279,727	–	–	–
Total	37,162,081	100	608	+31
Registered voters/turnout	44,211,216	–	84.1	–
Source: Gonschior.de

Popular Vote
NSDAP			37.27%
SPD			21.58%
KPD			14.32%
Zentrum			12.44%
DNVP			5.90%
BVP			3.23%
DVP			1.18%
DStP			1.01%
Other			3.06%

Reichstag seats
NSDAP			37.83%
SPD			21.88%
KPD			14.64%
Zentrum			12.34%
DNVP			6.09%
BVP			3.62%
DVP			1.15%
DStP			0.66%
Other			1.81%

See also

• Oskar Daubmann

References

1. The Holocaust Chronicle PROLOGUE: Roots of the Holocaust. 2002.
2. Hornberger, Jacob G. How Hitler became a Dictator. 2004.