November 1933 German parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections in Germany took place on 12 November 1933. They were the first since the Nazi Party seized complete power with the passage of the Enabling Act in March. All opposition parties had been banned by this time, and voters were presented with a single list containing Nazis and 22 non-party "guests" of the Nazi Party. These "guests", who included the likes of Alfred Hugenberg, still fully supported the regime of Adolf Hitler in any event.[1]

November 1933 German election

12 November 1933

All 661 seats in the Reichstag
331 seats needed for a majority
Turnout95.30% 6.56 pp
  Majority party
 
Leader Adolf Hitler
Party NSDAP
Leader since 29 July 1921
Last election 288 seats, 43.91%
Seats won 661
(Sole legal party)
Seat change 373
Popular vote 39,655,224
Percentage 92.11%
Swing 48.20%

Reichstag composition

Chancellor before election

Adolf Hitler
NSDAP

Subsequent Chancellor

Adolf Hitler
NSDAP

This election set the tone for all further elections and referenda held in the Nazi era. Official results showed 92 percent of the voters approved the Nazi list, on a turnout of 96 percent. The vote was held in far-from secret circumstances; many voters feared that anyone who voted "no" would be detected and punished for doing so. In some communities, voters were threatened with reprisals if they dared to vote no, or even if they simply failed to vote at all.[2] Nonetheless, 3.3 million voters submitted 'invalid' ballots.

These elections were held on the same day as a separate referendum on Hitler's decision to pull Germany out of the League of Nations, which passed with similar numbers. The new Reichstag, exclusively composed of NSDAP members and sympathisers, convened on 12 December to elect a Presidium headed by President of the Reichstag Hermann Göring.

Election poster with the slogan a People, a Leader, a "Yes".

Results

Party Votes % Seats
National Socialist German Workers Party39,655,22492.11661
Against3,398,2497.89
Invalid/blank votes
Total43,053,473100661
Registered voters/turnout45,178,70195.30
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

References

  1. Read, Anthony (2004). The Devil's Disciples: The Lives and Times of Hitler's Inner Circle. London: Pimlico. p. 344. ISBN 0-7126-6416-5.
  2. William Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (Touchstone Edition) (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990)

Further reading

  • Schulz, Gerhard (1982). Deutschland seit dem Ersten Weltkrieg 1918–1945. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 144–145. ISBN 3-525-33472-9.
  • Winkler, Heinrich August (2005). Der lange Weg nach Westen. 2. Bonn. pp. 32–33. ISBN 3-89331-575-6.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.