Federal elections were held in Germany on 6 November 1932.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p762 The Nazi Party saw its vote share fall by four percentage points, while there were slight increases for the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...

and the national conservative German National People's Party. The results were a great disappointment for the Nazis, who lost 34 seats and again failed to form a coalition government in the Reichstag. The elections were the last free and fair all-German election before the Nazi seizure of power in 1933.

Background

Previously Chancellor

Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German conservative politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany i ...

, a former member of the Catholic Centre Party, had governed without parliamentary support by relying on legislative decrees promulgated by President Paul von Hindenburg under

Article 48 Article 48 of the constitution of the Weimar Republic of Germany (1919–1933) allowed the President, under certain circumstances, to take emergency measures without the prior consent of the '' Reichstag''. This power was understood to include t ...

of the

Weimar Constitution The Constitution of the German Reich (german: Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (''Weimarer Verfassung''), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933). The c ...

. However, on 12 September 1932 Papen had to ask Hindenburg to dissolve parliament in order to pre-empt a motion of no confidence introduced by the Communist Party, which was expected to pass since the Nazis were also expected to support it due to their desire for fresh elections.

Results

Aftermath

After the election, Papen urged Hindenburg to continue to govern by emergency decree. However, on 3 December, he was replaced by Defence Minister Kurt von Schleicher, who held talks with the left wing of the Nazi Party led by Gregor Strasser in an attempt at a Third Position (''Querfront'') strategy. The plans failed when Hitler disempowered Strasser and approached Papen for coalition talks. Papen obtained Hindenburg's consent to form the

Hitler cabinet The Hitler cabinet was the government of Nazi Germany between 30 January 1933 and 30 April 1945 upon the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of the German Reich by president Paul von Hindenburg. It was originally contrived by the national ...

on 30 January 1933. The elections were the last free and fair all-German election before the

Nazi seizure of power Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

on 30 January 1933 since the elections in March 1933 saw massive suppression, especially against Communist and

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

politicians. The next free national elections were not held until

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

in West Germany and

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

in East Germany. The next free all-German elections took place in December 1990, after reunification two months earlier.

References

{{Authority control 1932 11 1932 11 Germany 1932 elections in Germany November 1932 events