July 1932 German federal election

July 1932 German federal election

← 1930 31 July 1932 (1932-07-31) Nov 1932 →
All 608 seats in the Reichstag 305 seats needed for a majority
Registered	44,211,216 2.9%
Turnout	37,162,691 (84.1%) 2.1 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Adolf Hitler Otto Wels Arthur Crispien Hans Vogel Ernst Thälmann Party NSDAP SPD KPD Leader since 29 July 1921 1919 October 1925 Last election 18.3%, 107 seats 24.5%, 143 seats 13.1%, 77 seats Seats won 230 133 89 Seat change 123 10 12 Popular vote 13,745,680 7,959,712 5,282,636 Percentage 37.3% 21.6% 14.3% Swing 19.0 pp 2.9 pp 1.2 pp   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 11.8%, 68 seats 7.0%, 41 seats 3.0%, 19 seats Seats won 75 37 22 Seat change 7 4 3 Popular vote 4,589,430 2,178,024 1,192,684 Percentage 12.4% 5.9% 3.2% Swing 0.6 pp 1.1 pp 0.2 pp
Electoral results by constituencies
Chancellor before election Franz von Papen Non-partisan Chancellor after election None (Papen remained as unelected Chancellor)

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Federal elections were held in Germany on 31 July 1932, following the premature dissolution of the Reichstag. The Nazi Party made significant gains and became the largest party in the Reichstag for the first time although they failed to win a majority.

Background[]

Campaigning in front of a polling place in Berlin

Since 1929, Germany had been suffering from the Great Depression; unemployment had risen from 8.5% to nearly 30% between 1929 and 1932,^[1] while industrial production dropped by around 42%.^[1] In March 1930, the governing grand coalition of the pro-republican parties (the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Centre Party and both liberal parties) collapsed. President Paul von Hindenburg appointed a minority government, headed by the Centre Party's Heinrich Brüning, which could only govern by using Hindenburg's emergency powers. The September 1930 elections produced a highly fragmented Reichstag, making the formation of a stable government impossible. The elections also saw the Nazi Party rise to national prominence,^[1] gaining 95 seats.

Brüning's policies, implemented via presidential decree and tolerated by parliament, failed to solve the economic crisis but weakened the parliamentary system. In March 1932, presidential elections pitted the incumbent Hindenburg, supported by pro-democratic parties, against Hitler and the Communist Ernst Thälmann. Hitler received around a third of the vote and was defeated in the second round in April by Hindenburg, who won a narrow majority.^[1] However, at the end of May 1932, Hindenburg was persuaded to dismiss Brüning as chancellor and replaced him with Franz von Papen, a renegade from the Centre Party, and a non-partisan "Cabinet of Barons". Papen's cabinet had almost no support in the Reichstag. Only three days after his appointment, he was faced with the opposition and had Hindenburg dissolve the Reichstag and called for new elections for 31 July so that the Reichstag could not dismiss him immediately.^[2]

Campaign[]

The election campaign took place under violent circumstances, as Papen lifted the token ban on the SA, the Nazi (national socialist) paramilitary, which Brüning had put in place during the last days of his administration. That inevitably led to clashes with the Communist paramilitary.

Results[]

The elections resulted in significant gains by the Nazi Party; with 230 seats, it became the largest party in parliament for the first time, but lacked an overall majority. Neither the Nazi Party nor Hindenburg had a governing majority, and the other parties refused to co-operate, meaning no coalition government with a majority could be formed.^[2] Papen's minority government continued in office, leading to another early election in November.

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Nazi Party	13,745,680	37.27	+19.02	230	+123
	Social Democratic Party	7,959,712	21.58	−2.95	133	−10
	Communist Party of Germany	5,282,636	14.32	+1.19	89	+12
	Centre Party	4,589,430	12.44	+0.63	75	+7
	German National People's Party	2,178,024	5.91	−1.12	37	−4
	Bavarian People's Party	1,192,684	3.23	+0.20	22	+3
	German People's Party	436,002	1.18	−3.33	7	−23
	German State Party	371,800	1.01	−2.77	4	−16
	Christian Social People's Service	364,543	0.99	−1.49	3	−11
	Reich Party of the German Middle Class	146,876	0.40	−3.50	2	−21
	German Farmers' Party	137,133	0.37	−0.60	2	−4
	Agricultural League	96,851	0.26	−0.29	2	−1
	German Country People	90,554	0.25	−2.92	1	−18
	Socialist Workers' Party of Germany	72,630	0.20	New	0	New
	German-Hanoverian Party	46,927	0.13	−0.28	0	−3
	People's Justice Party	40,825	0.11	–0.67	1	+1
	Poland List	33,436	0.09	New	0	New
	Kleinrentner, Inflationsgeschädigte und Vorkriegsgeldbesitzer	14,816	0.04	New	0	New
	Worker and Farmer Party of Germany/Christian Radical People's Front	13,950	0.04	New	0	New
	Free Economy Party of Germany	12,247	0.03	New	0	New
	Farmers, House and Property Owners	9,465	0.03	New	0	New
	Radical Middle Class	8,637	0.02	New	0	New
	Workers' and Farmers' Struggle Community	4,551	0.01	New	0	New
	Interessengemeinschaft der Kleinrentner und Inflationsgeschädigten	2,932	0.01	New	0	New
	National Socialist People's Alliance for Truth and Justice	2,436	0.01	New	0	New
	Handwerker, Handels- und Gewerbetreibende	2,221	0.01	New	0	New
	Kriegsteilnehmer, Kriegsbeschädigte und Kriegshinterbliebene	2,213	0.01	New	0	New
	Enteigneter Mittelstand	2,186	0.01	New	0	New
	Gerechtigkeitsbewegung für Parteienverbot – gegen Lohn-, Gehalts- und Rentenkürzungen – für Arbeitsbeschaffung	2,035	0.01	New	0	New
	German Free Economy Party	1,916	0.01	New	0	New
	Deutsche Einheitspartei für wahre Volkswirtschaft, Unterstützungsempfänger- Partei Deutschlands	1,709	0.00	New	0	New
	Schleswig Home	1,511	0.00	New	0	New
	Partei der Unzufriedenen	1,341	0.00	New	0	New
	Höchstgehalt der Beamten 5000 M. Für die Arbeitslosen und bis jetzt abgewiesenen Kriegsbeschädigten	1,141	0.00	New	0	New
	German Socialist Struggle Movement	947	0.00	New	0	New
	Liste gegen Kürzung der Invaliden-, Sozial- und Kriegsbeschädigtenrenten	887	0.00	New	0	New
	Unemployed Front	853	0.00	New	0	New
	Kampfbund gegen Hauszinssteuer	790	0.00	New	0	New
	German People's Community	618	0.00	New	0	New
	Schmalix Greater German List	610	0.00	–0.08	0	0
	Schlesiens Handwerk und Gewerbe	598	0.00	New	0	New
	Der ernste evangelisch-lutherische Christ (Gerechtigkeits-Bewegung)	587	0.00	New	0	New
	Bund Bayerisches Handwerk und Gewerbe, Haus- und Grundbesitz und Landwirtschaft	577	0.00	New	0	New
	Schicksalsgemeinschaft deutscher Erwerbslosen	555	0.00	New	0	New
	Kampfgemeinschaft der Rentner, Sparer und Inflationsgeschädigten	532	0.00	New	0	New
	Nationale Rentner, Sparer und Inflationsgeschädigte	522	0.00	New	0	New
	Party of the Unemployed for Work and Bread	492	0.00	New	0	New
	Freiheitliche National-Soziale Deutsche Mittelstandsbewegung	480	0.00	New	0	New
	National Freedom Party of Germany	392	0.00	New	0	New
	National-soziale Partei gegen die Hauszinssteuer	376	0.00	New	0	New
	Kampfgemeinschaft für Handwerk, Gewerbe, Hausbesitz und Landwirtschaft	334	0.00	New	0	New
	General Social-National Unity Worker Party of Germany	277	0.00	New	0	New
	Freiwirtschaftsbewegung für Freiland, Freigeld, Festwährung	270	0.00	New	0	New
	German Workers' Party	257	0.00	New	0	New
	Nationaler Bürger- und Wirtschaftsblock	226	0.00	New	0	New
	Kampfbund der Lohn- und Gehaltsabgebauten und Auslandsgeschädigten	177	0.00	New	0	New
	Radical Party	154	0.00	New	0	New
	Kampfgemeinschaft der Lohn- und Gehaltsabgebauten	128	0.00	New	0	New
	Unitarianist Union of Germany	81	0.00	New	0	New
	Mieter- und Volks-Reichspartei	69	0.00	New	0	New
	German Social Monarchist Party	66	0.00	New	0	New
	German Reform Party	59	0.00	New	0	New
Total		36,882,964	100.00	–	608	+31
Valid votes		36,882,964	99.25
Invalid/blank votes		279,727	0.75
Total votes		37,162,691	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		44,211,216	84.06
Source: Gonschior.de

See also[]

• Oskar Daubmann

References[]