German federal election, 1928

German federal election, 1928

20 May 1928

All 491 seats in the Reichstag 246 seats needed for a majority Turnout 75.6%   First party Second party Third party   Leader Otto Wels Kuno von Westarp Wilhelm Marx Party SPD DNVP Centre Leader since 1919 1924 1922 Last election 131 seats 103 seats 69 seats Seats won 153 73 61 Seat change 22 30 8 Popular vote 9,152,979 4,381,563 3,712,152 Percentage 29.8% 14.2% 12.1% Swing 3.8% 6.3% 1.5%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Ernst Thälmann Gustav Stresemann Erich Koch-Weser Party KPD DVP DDP Leader since October 1925 1919 1924 Last election 45 seats 51 seats 32 seats Seats won 54 45 25 Seat change 9 6 7 Popular vote 3,264,793 2,679,703 1,479,374 Percentage 10.6% 8.7% 4.8% Swing 1.6% 1.4% 1.5%

Electoral map (in German)

Chancellor before election Wilhelm Marx Centre Resulting Chancellor Hermann Müller SPD

Federal elections were held in Germany on 20 May 1928.^[1] The Social Democratic Party (SPD) remained the largest party in the Reichstag after winning 153 of the 491 seats.^[2] Voter turnout was 75.6%.^[3]

The only two parties to gain significantly were the SPD, who polled almost a third of votes, and the Communist Party of Germany, completing a thorough victory of the left-wing. However, although the SPD now had 153 seats, they still failed to gain a clear majority, resulting in another coalition government led by Hermann Müller.^[4] Following his appointment, Müller, who had already been Germany's Chancellor for 4 months in 1920, created a Grand Coalition of members of the SPD, German Democratic Party, Centre Party and the German People's Party. The coalition was plagued by internal divisions right from the beginning, with each party more concerned with their self-interest than the interest of the government and eventually Müller asked President Paul Von Hindenburg for emergency powers. When Hindenburg refused, Müller resigned, marking the end of the 'last genuinely democratic government of the Weimar Republic' on 27 March 1930.^[5]

The recently reformed Nazi Party contested the elections after the ban on the party was lifted in 1925. However, the party received less than 3% of the vote and won just 12 seats in the Reichstag. This was due to the fact that Hitler, who had been incarcerated in Landsberg prison for his involvement in the Beer Hall Putsch until Christmas 1924,^[6] had concentrated on re-establishing himself as the leader of the Nazi Party following his release rather than on the party's electability.

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Social Democratic Party	9,152,979	29.8	153	+22
German National People's Party	4,381,563	14.2	73	−30
Centre Party	3,712,152	12.1	61	−8
Communist Party of Germany	3,264,793	10.6	54	+9
German People's Party	2,679,703	8.7	45	−6
German Democratic Party	1,479,374	4.8	25	−7
Reich Party of the German Middle Class	1,387,602	4.5	23	+11
Bavarian People's Party	945,644	3.1	17	−2
National Socialist German Workers Party	810,127	2.6	12	−2
Christian-National Peasants' and Farmers' Party	571,891	1.9	9	New
Reich Party for Civil Rights and Deflation	509,471	1.7	2	New
German Farmers' Party	481,254	1.6	8	New
Patriotic-National Bloc	266,370	0.9	0	New
Agricultural League	199,548	0.7	3	−5
German-Hanoverian Party	195,555	0.6	4	0
Saxon Peasants	127,700	0.4	2	New
Christian Social Reich Party	110,704	0.4	0	New
Left Communists	80,405	0.3	0	New
Old Social Democratic Party of Germany	65,775	0.2	0	New
Polish People's Party	64,753	0.2	0	0
Evangelical Party of Germany	52,488	0.2	0	New
German Social Party	46,047	0.2	0	0
General People's Party	37,373	0.1	0	New
German House and Property Owners' Party	35,846	0.1	0	New
Independent Social Democratic Party	20,815	0.1	0	0
Evangelical Community Spirit	10,709	0.0	0	New
Christian National Middle Class Party	9,957	0.0	0	New
Pastor Greber Party	9,527	0.0	0	New
Aufwertungs- und Aufbaupartei	8,562	0.0	0	New
Deutscher Reichsblock der Geschädigten	7,437	0.0	0	New
Reichspartei für Handwerk, Handel und Gewerbe	6,614	0.0	0	New
People's Welfare Party	6,071	0.0	0	New
Franconian Peasants	3,417	0.0	0	New
Wendish People's Party	3,111	0.0	0	0
Party for Justice and Tenant Protection	2,831	0.0	0	New
Schleswig Club	2,435	0.0	0	0
German Christian Folk Party	901	0.0	0	New
Lebensinteressen der Ledigen	873	0.0	0	New
Masurian People's Party	295	0.0	0	New
Lithuanian People's Party	289	0.0	0	New
Friesland	286	0.0	0	New
Invalid/blank votes	412,542	–	–	–
Total	31,165,789	100	491	–2
Registered voters/turnout	41,224,678	75.6	–	–
Source: Gonschior.de

Popular Vote
SPD			29.76%
DNVP			14.25%
Zentrum			12.07%
KPD			10.62%
DVP			8.71%
DDP			4.81%
WP			4.51%
BVP			3.07%
NSDAP (NSFP)			2.63%
CNBL			1.89%
Other			7.66%

Reichstag seats
SPD			31.16%
DNVP			14.87%
Zentrum			12.42%
KPD			11.00%
DVP			9.16%
DDP			5.09%
WP			4.68%
BVP			3.46%
NSDAP (NSFP)			2.44%
CNBL			1.83%
Other			3.87%

See also

• Members of the IV. German Reichstag (Weimar Republic)

References

1. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p762 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
2. Nohlen & Stöver, p790
3. Nohlen & Stöver, p777
4. Evans, D. & Jenkins, J. (1999), Years of Weimar & the Third Reich, London: Hodder & Stoughton Educational, p. 83, ISBN 0-340-70474-8.
5. Evans & Jenkins 1999, p. 88.
6. Broszat, M. (1987), Hitler and the Collapse of Weimar Germany, Oxford: Berg Publishers, p. 9, ISBN 0-85496-509-2.