Presidential elections were held in Germany on 29 March 1925, with a runoff on 26 April.[1] They were the first direct elections to the office of President of the Reich (Reichspräsident), Germany's head of state during the 1919–33 Weimar Republic. The first President, Friedrich Ebert, who had died on 28 February 1925, had been elected indirectly, by the National Assembly, but the Weimar Constitution required that his successor be elected by the "whole German people". Paul von Hindenburg was elected as the second president of Germany in the second round of voting.
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Turnout | 68.87% (first round) 77.56% (second round) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Hindenburg was the candidate of a broad coalition of the political right. Many on the right hoped that once in power he would destroy Weimar democracy from the inside and restore the pre-Weimar status quo. The two other candidates who were believed to have a chance of winning were Otto Braun of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Wilhelm Marx of the Centre Party. Both the SPD and Centre were members of the Weimar Coalition, the group of parties regarded as most committed to the Weimar system. Only Marx proceeded to the second round of the election.
The election was important because of the turbulent times in which it occurred and because, under the Weimar Constitution, the head of state wielded considerable power. Hindenburg would be again returned in the 1932 election and would play an important role during the rise to power of the Nazi Party. However, many of Hindenburg's 1925 backers were subsequently disappointed. Although in the years that followed his election many questioned the constitutionality of certain of his actions, Hindenburg never attempted to overthrow the Weimar constitution outright.
Background
editPresident Friedrich Ebert died on 28 February 1925. On 9 March, the Reichstag selected to hold the first round on 29 March and the second round on 26 April. Walter Simons was selected to serve as acting president on 10 March. This was the first direct election of the president.[2]
Electoral system
editDuring the Weimar Republic, the law provided for a modified two-round system, such that if no candidate received an absolute majority of votes (i.e. more than half) in the first round of a presidential election then a second ballot would occur in which the candidate with a plurality of votes would be deemed elected. It was permitted for a group to nominate an alternative candidate in the second round.
Candidates
editFirst round
editThe Communist Party (KPD) was the first party to nominate a candidate. The central committee selected Ernst Thälmann on 3 March. Karl Jarres was nominated as the joint candidate of the German People's Party (DVP) and German National People's Party (DNVP) on 12 March.[3]
Loebell-Ausschutz, a right-wing committee with representatives from the DVP, DNVP, and Bavarian parties, considered supporting the Centre, but only if Adam Stegerwald was nominated. The German Democratic Party (DDP) suggested that Loebell-Ausschutz and Social Democratic Party (SPD) could support Simons. Loebell-Ausschutz invited the DDP and Centre to a conference to discuss the presidential nomination. The right-wing refused to support Simons and Wilhelm Marx while the DDP refused to support Jarres. Otto Gessler was proposed as a compromise candidate, but this failed.[4]
Most right-wing völkisch movement parties supported Jarres as a compromise candidate, but Adolf Hitler had the Nazi Party support Ludendorff. Hitler later supported Hidenburg. Hitler later punished the völkisch parties that opposed his decision and issued an order in May 1925 prohibiting Nazis from working with them.[5]
Otto Braun, the SPD's candidate, was a former Minister-President of Prussia and a well known and respected figure. The Centre Party's candidate, Wilhelm Marx, was the chair of the party and a former chancellor. The other significant candidates was Willy Hellpach of the DDP. The German Völkisch Freedom Party (DVFP) put forward Erich Ludendorff but secured only a negligible share of the vote.
Second round
editThe Centre renominated Marx for the second round and he received the support of the DDP and SPD. Marx was made the candidate of the Volksblock on 3 April.[6]
On 1 April, the DVP's executive committee unanimously endorsed Jarres. Paul von Hindenburg, who twice declined to run, announced his candidacy on 8 April, after being convinced by Alfred von Tirpitz. The Bavarian People's Party endorsed him and strongly promoted his candidacy.[7]
Results
editThe first ballot was held on 29 March, with a turnout of 68.9%. Although Jarres received the most votes in the first round, he was well short of a majority. He subsequently withdrew in favour of Hindenburg, who was a committed monarchist and popular former general. Although Hindenburg had no interest in seeking public office and was especially uneasy with the prospect of becoming Germany's head of state, he reluctantly agreed to stand, supposedly only after first consulting with the deposed Kaiser. His major supporters were the German People's Party (DVP), the German National People's Party (DNVP) and the BVP. The DVP, and especially its leader Gustav Stresemann, had reservations about the idea of a Hindenburg presidency because of its possible repercussions for German foreign policy, but eventually came on board. Hindenburg was also endorsed by the German Völkisch Freedom Party (DVFP), the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) and the Agricultural League (RLB).
On the left, the Centre Party (Zentrum) refused to support Braun from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), so Braun withdrew. The SPD agreed to support Marx (Centre) as the common candidate to ensure the defeat of Hindenburg. The German Democratic Party also reluctantly withdrew its candidate and supported Marx. As Marx's supporters included both the moderate left and the political centre, he was believed to have a high chance of winning. The three participants in the second round were therefore Hindenburg, Marx, and Thälmann of the Communist Party. The pro-Marx forces styled themselves the Volksblock (People's Bloc) in response to the Reichsblock which supported Hindenburg, comprising the DNVP, DVP, BVP, other bourgeois parties, and right-wing nationalist organisations such as the Stahlhelm.[8][9][10]
The second round was held on 26 April, with a turnout of 77.6%. Hindenburg won on a plurality of the vote, with 48.3% to Marx's 45.3%. Marx's loss was attributed to the fact that the Bavarian People's Party, a sister party of the Centre, endorsed Hindenburg as a protest against the Marx's cooperation with the Social Democrats.[11] Some also attributed Marx's loss to the candidature of Ernst Thälmann of the Communist Party of Germany, who did not drop out in the second round. However, historian Peter Fritzsche rejected this view, calling the claim "far-fetched" and arguing that "given the explicit enmity of this party toward the Weimar "capitalist state," it would have been completely unrealistic to expect the KPD to support the candidate of the Weimar system". Fritsche instead found that the BVP's endorsement of Hindenburg was crucial to Marx's defeat.[12]
Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
Karl Jarres | German People's Party | 10,416,658 | 38.77 | |||
Otto Braun | Social Democratic Party | 7,802,497 | 29.04 | |||
Wilhelm Marx | Centre Party[a] | 3,887,734 | 14.47 | 13,751,605 | 45.31 | |
Ernst Thälmann | Communist Party | 1,871,815 | 6.97 | 1,931,151 | 6.36 | |
Willy Hellpach | German Democratic Party | 1,568,398 | 5.84 | |||
Heinrich Held | Bavarian People's Party[b] | 1,007,450 | 3.75 | |||
Erich Ludendorff | German Völkisch Freedom Party | 285,793 | 1.06 | |||
Paul von Hindenburg | Independent[c] | 14,655,641 | 48.29 | |||
Other candidates | 25,761 | 0.10 | 13,416 | 0.04 | ||
Total | 26,866,106 | 100.00 | 30,351,813 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 26,866,106 | 99.44 | 30,351,813 | 99.29 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 150,654 | 0.56 | 216,061 | 0.71 | ||
Total votes | 27,016,760 | 100.00 | 30,567,874 | 100.00 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 39,226,138 | 68.87 | 39,414,316 | 77.56 | ||
Source: Gonschior |
Results by constituency
editConstituency | First round[13] | Second round[14] | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jarres DVP |
Braun SPD |
Marx Zentrum |
Thälmann KPD |
Hellpach DDP |
Held BVP |
Ludendorff DVFP |
Hindenburg Reichsblock |
Marx Volksblock |
Thälmann KPD | |||||||||||
Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
1 East Prussia | 550,294 | 58.41 | 228,012 | 24.20 | 70,050 | 7.44 | 45,276 | 4.81 | 32,759 | 3.48 | 2,837 | 0.30 | 11,352 | 1.20 | 715,093 | 66.90 | 302,740 | 28.32 | 50,344 | 4.71 |
2 Berlin | 329,003 | 30.13 | 398,510 | 36.50 | 56,638 | 5.19 | 180,734 | 16.55 | 121,390 | 11.12 | 1,357 | 0.12 | 4,010 | 0.37 | 384,361 | 32.47 | 654,487 | 55.29 | 144,879 | 12.24 |
3 Potsdam II | 372,996 | 42.34 | 261,740 | 29.71 | 37,953 | 4.31 | 84,516 | 9.59 | 118,309 | 13.43 | 1,206 | 0.14 | 3,977 | 0.45 | 427,358 | 44.22 | 467,709 | 48.39 | 71,206 | 7.37 |
4 Potsdam I | 394,333 | 45.93 | 287,263 | 33.46 | 26,188 | 3.05 | 84,196 | 9.81 | 58,933 | 6.86 | 1,784 | 0.21 | 5,266 | 0.61 | 464,550 | 49.20 | 403,596 | 42.75 | 75,722 | 8.02 |
5 Frankfurt (Oder) | 439,818 | 56.47 | 227,546 | 29.22 | 51,340 | 6.59 | 23,319 | 2.99 | 27,740 | 3.56 | 1,785 | 0.23 | 6,499 | 0.83 | 532,597 | 61.47 | 307,914 | 35.54 | 25,513 | 2.94 |
6 Pomerania | 530,287 | 63.92 | 213,942 | 25.79 | 10,862 | 1.31 | 33,483 | 4.04 | 26,929 | 3.25 | 2,268 | 0.27 | 10,879 | 1.31 | 656,822 | 71.08 | 224,486 | 24.29 | 42,276 | 4.58 |
7 Breslau | 354,431 | 39.49 | 314,880 | 35.08 | 167,398 | 18.65 | 18,668 | 2.08 | 33,439 | 3.73 | 2,499 | 0.28 | 5,490 | 0.61 | 451,792 | 45.34 | 520,907 | 52.28 | 23,335 | 2.34 |
8 Liegnitz | 240,523 | 42.26 | 204,339 | 35.90 | 48,365 | 8.50 | 11,667 | 2.05 | 59,333 | 10.42 | 1,602 | 0.28 | 2,904 | 0.51 | 321,295 | 50.47 | 298,431 | 46.88 | 16,629 | 2.61 |
9 Oppeln | 145,053 | 30.58 | 46,391 | 9.78 | 220,914 | 46.57 | 45,552 | 9.60 | 8,980 | 1.89 | 2,064 | 0.44 | 4,640 | 0.98 | 224,914 | 39.84 | 293,213 | 51.94 | 46,041 | 8.16 |
10 Magdeburg | 411,748 | 47.74 | 347,615 | 40.30 | 17,734 | 2.06 | 38,670 | 4.48 | 37,901 | 4.39 | 1,511 | 0.18 | 6,677 | 0.77 | 485,357 | 52.21 | 404,361 | 43.50 | 39,584 | 4.26 |
11 Merseburg | 334,877 | 50.00 | 143,680 | 21.45 | 10,836 | 1.62 | 136,951 | 20.45 | 33,195 | 4.96 | 1,446 | 0.22 | 8,395 | 1.25 | 411,234 | 57.41 | 164,671 | 22.99 | 140,153 | 19.56 |
12 Thuringia | 496,699 | 49.07 | 305,481 | 30.18 | 47,224 | 4.67 | 101,681 | 10.05 | 42,234 | 4.17 | 2,159 | 0.21 | 15,857 | 1.57 | 621,652 | 55.21 | 393,621 | 34.96 | 110,108 | 9.78 |
13 Schleswig-Holstein | 373,731 | 53.18 | 231,841 | 32.99 | 10,398 | 1.48 | 37,035 | 5.27 | 41,915 | 5.96 | 1,715 | 0.24 | 5,404 | 0.77 | 478,509 | 59.78 | 283,379 | 35.40 | 38,177 | 4.77 |
14 Weser-Ems | 227,045 | 38.02 | 172,108 | 28.82 | 127,345 | 21.32 | 19,144 | 3.21 | 41,452 | 6.94 | 4,737 | 0.79 | 4,863 | 0.81 | 335,057 | 46.95 | 355,227 | 49.78 | 23,030 | 3.23 |
15 East Hanover | 221,367 | 50.85 | 142,595 | 32.76 | 7,302 | 1.68 | 14,289 | 3.28 | 14,560 | 3.34 | 30,873 | 7.09 | 3,526 | 0.81 | 336,885 | 64.05 | 172,725 | 32.84 | 16,026 | 3.05 |
16 South Hanover–Braunschweig | 386,535 | 41.55 | 379,569 | 40.80 | 53,094 | 5.71 | 28,813 | 3.10 | 36,836 | 3.96 | 35,942 | 3.86 | 8,716 | 0.94 | 540,077 | 50.94 | 488,544 | 46.08 | 31,226 | 2.95 |
17 Westphalia North | 268,355 | 27.97 | 228,155 | 23.78 | 379,875 | 39.60 | 48,625 | 5.07 | 22,613 | 2.36 | 3,852 | 0.40 | 6,892 | 0.72 | 389,507 | 35.44 | 660,770 | 60.13 | 48,267 | 4.39 |
18 Westphalia South | 320,109 | 27.50 | 320,581 | 27.55 | 350,105 | 30.08 | 108,686 | 9.34 | 52,245 | 4.49 | 3,083 | 0.26 | 8,157 | 0.70 | 461,725 | 35.67 | 737,311 | 56.97 | 94,922 | 7.33 |
19 Hesse-Nassau | 383,931 | 36.11 | 347,647 | 32.70 | 193,695 | 18.22 | 43,924 | 4.13 | 80,484 | 7.57 | 4,022 | 0.38 | 8,576 | 0.81 | 546,580 | 44.96 | 622,037 | 51.17 | 46,502 | 3.83 |
20 Cologne-Aachen | 140,202 | 17.50 | 142,960 | 17.84 | 429,945 | 53.66 | 51,675 | 6.45 | 25,661 | 3.20 | 3,861 | 0.48 | 6,259 | 0.78 | 212,795 | 22.84 | 670,238 | 71.94 | 48,278 | 5.18 |
21 Koblenz-Trier | 100,172 | 21.29 | 57,996 | 12.33 | 280,929 | 59.72 | 12,420 | 2.64 | 11,466 | 2.44 | 2,561 | 0.54 | 3,998 | 0.85 | 166,151 | 30.59 | 362,622 | 66.76 | 14,015 | 2.58 |
22 Düsseldorf East | 296,687 | 34.06 | 160,616 | 18.44 | 227,266 | 26.09 | 151,676 | 17.41 | 24,782 | 2.85 | 1,872 | 0.21 | 7,273 | 0.84 | 410,664 | 41.07 | 441,654 | 44.16 | 147,527 | 14.75 |
23 Düsseldorf West | 174,808 | 25.58 | 115,614 | 16.92 | 304,263 | 44.52 | 67,603 | 9.89 | 13,351 | 1.95 | 2,489 | 0.36 | 4,931 | 0.72 | 252,830 | 32.83 | 455,808 | 59.19 | 61,165 | 7.94 |
24 Upper Bavaria–Swabia | 200,085 | 23.52 | 183,845 | 21.61 | 11,461 | 1.35 | 25,562 | 3.00 | 20,965 | 2.46 | 372,778 | 43.81 | 33,890 | 3.98 | 630,348 | 65.42 | 306,161 | 31.77 | 26,549 | 2.76 |
25 Lower Bavaria–Upper Palatinate | 36,481 | 10.66 | 44,754 | 13.08 | 10,175 | 2.97 | 7,300 | 2.13 | 6,431 | 1.88 | 227,215 | 66.41 | 8,738 | 2.55 | 260,721 | 67.98 | 113,543 | 29.60 | 8,736 | 2.28 |
26 Franconia | 355,635 | 36.69 | 278,354 | 28.72 | 13,835 | 1.43 | 23,318 | 2.41 | 36,512 | 3.77 | 227,950 | 23.52 | 32,399 | 3.34 | 673,243 | 58.69 | 447,529 | 39.01 | 25,769 | 2.25 |
27 Palatinate | 90,074 | 29.26 | 87,512 | 28.43 | 39,771 | 12.92 | 23,575 | 7.66 | 19,777 | 6.43 | 43,099 | 14.00 | 3,674 | 1.19 | 166,873 | 45.29 | 179,232 | 48.64 | 22,188 | 6.02 |
28 Dresden–Bautzen | 396,242 | 43.44 | 366,081 | 40.14 | 17,557 | 1.92 | 36,636 | 4.02 | 88,088 | 9.66 | 2,099 | 0.23 | 5,079 | 0.56 | 511,213 | 51.49 | 416,036 | 41.90 | 65,148 | 6.56 |
29 Leipzig | 267,707 | 40.05 | 275,551 | 41.23 | 6,501 | 0.97 | 67,663 | 10.12 | 44,424 | 6.65 | 1,884 | 0.28 | 4,346 | 0.65 | 332,075 | 48.04 | 276,464 | 39.99 | 82,206 | 11.89 |
30 Chemnitz–Zwickau | 360,616 | 44.29 | 292,761 | 35.96 | 7,380 | 0.91 | 99,864 | 12.26 | 36,733 | 4.51 | 2,301 | 0.28 | 14,228 | 1.75 | 490,277 | 53.63 | 284,600 | 31.13 | 138,647 | 15.16 |
31 Württemberg | 348,640 | 34.72 | 206,518 | 20.57 | 241,525 | 24.05 | 56,521 | 5.63 | 137,059 | 13.65 | 3,971 | 0.40 | 9,023 | 0.90 | 544,104 | 45.73 | 588,027 | 49.42 | 57,056 | 4.80 |
32 Baden | 241,357 | 27.62 | 198,494 | 22.71 | 295,183 | 33.78 | 39,152 | 4.48 | 88,091 | 10.08 | 3,744 | 0.43 | 6,508 | 0.74 | 375,272 | 35.63 | 635,787 | 60.36 | 41,578 | 3.95 |
33 Hesse-Darmstadt | 188,108 | 33.26 | 210,545 | 37.22 | 98,491 | 17.41 | 20,951 | 3.70 | 42,351 | 7.49 | 1,689 | 0.30 | 3,271 | 0.58 | 274,384 | 41.33 | 366,321 | 55.18 | 22,998 | 3.46 |
34 Hamburg | 214,200 | 36.86 | 214,888 | 36.98 | 12,368 | 2.13 | 67,566 | 11.63 | 65,415 | 11.26 | 1,504 | 0.26 | 4,603 | 0.79 | 294,156 | 45.63 | 281,312 | 43.64 | 68,718 | 10.66 |
35 Mecklenburg | 224,509 | 52.07 | 164,113 | 38.06 | 3,768 | 0.87 | 15,104 | 3.50 | 16,045 | 3.72 | 1,691 | 0.39 | 5,493 | 1.27 | 275,170 | 59.55 | 170,142 | 36.82 | 16,633 | 3.60 |
Total | 10,416,658 | 38.77 | 7,802,497 | 29.04 | 3,887,734 | 14.47 | 1,871,815 | 6.97 | 1,568,398 | 5.84 | 1,007,450 | 3.75 | 285,793 | 1.06 | 14,655,641 | 48.29 | 13,751,605 | 45.31 | 1,931,151 | 6.36 |
See also
editFurther reading
edit- Cary, Noel D. (1990), "The Making of the Reich President, 1925: German Conservatism and the Nomination of Paul von Hindenburg", Central European History, 23 (2–3): 179–204, doi:10.1017/S0008938900021348, S2CID 145119910.
- Falter, Jürgen W. "The Two Hindenburg Elections of 1925 and 1932: A Total Reversal of Voter Coalitions" Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung. Supplement, No. 25, (2013), pp. 217–232 online
- Zeender, John K. “The German Catholics and the Presidential Election of 1925.” The Journal of Modern History 35, no. 4 (1963): 366–81. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1899040.
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p762 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
- ^ Graper 1925, p. 592-593.
- ^ Graper 1925, p. 593-594.
- ^ Graper 1925, p. 594-595.
- ^ Orlow 1969, p. 61.
- ^ Graper 1925, p. 597.
- ^ Graper 1925, p. 597-598.
- ^ Cary, Noel D. (Jun–Sep 1990). "The Making of the Reich President, 1925: German Conservatism and the Nomination of Paul von Hindenburg". Central European History. 23 (2/3): 179–204. doi:10.1017/S0008938900021348. JSTOR 4546173. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ Fritzsche, Peter (Jun–Sep 1990). "Presidential Victory and Popular Festivity in Weimar Germany: Hindenburg's 1925 Election". Central European History. 23 (2/3): 205–224. doi:10.1017/S000893890002135X. hdl:2142/2288. JSTOR 4546174. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ "Reich President change". deutschegeschichten.de (in German). Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ Hansen, Martin Ejnar; Debus, Marc (2012). "The behaviour of political parties and MPs in the parliaments of the Weimar Republic". Party Politics. 18 (5). SagePub: 717. doi:10.1177/1354068810389645.
- ^ Fritzsche, Peter (1990). "Presidential Victory and Popular Festivity in Weimar Germany: Hindenburg's 1925 Election". Central European History. 23 (2–3): 233. doi:10.1017/s000893890002135x. hdl:2142/2288.
- ^ Schröder, Valentin (27 July 2014). "Ergebnisse des 1. Wahlgangs am 29.3.1925 in den Wahlkreisen". Wahlen in Deutschland.
- ^ Schröder, Valentin (27 July 2014). "Ergebnisse des 2. Wahlgangs am 26.4.1925 in den Wahlkreisen". Wahlen in Deutschland.
Works cited
edit- Orlow, Dietrich (1969). The History of the Nazi Party: 1919-1933. University of Pittsburgh Press. SBN 822931834.
- Graper, Elmer (1925). "The German Presidential Election". American Political Science Review. 19 (3). American Political Science Association: 592–600. doi:10.2307/2939137. JSTOR 2939137.