November 1933 German parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Germany on 12 November 1933. They were the first since the Nazi Party seized complete power with the enactment of the Enabling Act in March. All opposition parties had been banned by the Law Against the Formation of Parties (14 July 1933), and voters were presented with a single list containing Nazis and 22 non-party "guests" (Gäste) 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 parliamentary election

12 November 1933 (1933-11-12)

All 661 seats in the Reichstag
331 seats needed for a majority
Registered45,178,701 (Increase1.1%)
Turnout95.3% (Increase6.6pp)
  Majority party
 
Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0703-506, Adolf Hitler vor Rundfunk-Mikrofon retouched.jpg
Leader Adolf Hitler
Party NSDAP
Leader since 29 July 1921
Last election 43.9%, 288 seats
Seats won 661
Seat change Increase 373
Popular vote 39,655,224
Percentage 92.1%
Swing Increase48.2pp

Government before election

Hitler cabinet
NSDAP

Government after election

Hitler cabinet
NSDAP

This election set the tone for all further elections and referendums 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 One People, One Leader, One "Yes".

Results

Party Votes % Seats
Nazi Party and guests39,655,22492.11661
Against3,398,2497.89
Invalid/blank votes
Total votes43,053,473100.00661
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. Vol. 2. Bonn. pp. 32–33. ISBN 3-89331-575-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • "All Germans rounded up to vote". The Guardian. 13 November 1933.
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