July 1932 German federal election

July 1932 German federal election

← 1930 31 July 1932 (1932-07-31) November 1932 →

All 608 seats in the Reichstag
305 seats needed for a majority
Registered44,211,216 (Increase 2.9%)
Turnout84.1% (Increase 2.1pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Adolf Hitler 1932 (cropped).jpg
SPD 1932 leadership.jpg
Ernst Thälmann 1932.jpg
Leader Adolf Hitler Otto Wels
Arthur Crispien
Hans Vogel
Ernst Thälmann
Party NSDAP SPD KPD
Last election 18.3%, 107 seats 24.5%, 143 seats 13.1%, 77 seats
Seats won 230 133 89
Seat change Increase 123 Decrease 10 Increase 12
Popular vote 13,745,680 7,959,712 5,282,636
Percentage 37.3% 21.6% 14.3%
Swing Increase 19.0pp Decrease 2.9pp Increase 1.2pp

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Ludwig Kaas, by Erich Salomon, 1930.jpg
AlfredHugenberg1933 (cropped).jpeg
Heinrich Held, 1933 (cropped).jpg
Leader Ludwig Kaas Alfred Hugenberg Heinrich Held
Party Centre DNVP BVP
Last election 11.8%, 68 seats 7.0%, 41 seats 3.0%, 19 seats
Seats won 75 37 22
Seat change Increase 7 Decrease 4 Increase 3
Popular vote 4,589,430 2,178,024 1,192,684
Percentage 12.4% 5.9% 3.2%
Swing Increase 0.6pp Decrease 1.1pp Increase 0.2pp


Government before election

Papen cabinet
Ind.DNVP

Government after election

Papen cabinet
Ind.DNVP

Federal elections were held in Germany on 31 July 1932, following the premature dissolution of the Reichstag.[1] The Nazi Party made significant gains and became the largest party in the Reichstag for the first time, although they failed to win a majority. The Communist Party increased their vote share as well. All other parties combined held less than half the seats in the Reichstag, meaning no majority coalition government could be formed without including at least one of these two parties.

  1. ^ Kerwin 1932, p. 921.