July 1932 German federal election

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]

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

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	+/–
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
German 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

• Oskar Daubmann