1925 German presidential election

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1925 German presidential election
← 1919 29 March 1925 (first round)
26 April 1925 (second round)		 1932 →
Turnout68.87% (first round)
77.56% (second round)
 
Candidate Paul von Hindenburg Wilhelm Marx Ernst Thälmann
Party Independent
Supported by:
Reichsblock
 Centre
Supported by:
Volksblock
 KPD
Popular vote 14,655,641 13,751,605 1,931,151
Percentage 48.29% 45.31% 6.36%
President before election

Friedrich Ebert
SPD

Elected President

Paul von Hindenburg
Independent

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.

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

President 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

During 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

First round

The 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 Jares. 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

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

The 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

The 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

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%. The BVP's support of Hindenburg, rather than Marx (even though Marx represented the BVP's sister party), and Thälmann's participation splitting the left-wing vote, provided Hindenburg the margin of victory.[11]

CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Karl JarresGerman People's Party10,416,65838.77
Otto BraunSocial Democratic Party7,802,49729.04
Wilhelm MarxCentre Party[a]3,887,73414.4713,751,60545.31
Ernst ThälmannCommunist Party1,871,8156.971,931,1516.36
Willy HellpachGerman Democratic Party1,568,3985.84
Heinrich HeldBavarian People's Party1,007,4503.75
Erich LudendorffGerman Völkisch Freedom Party285,7931.06
Paul von HindenburgIndependent[b]14,655,64148.29
Other candidates25,7610.1013,4160.04
Total26,866,106100.0030,351,813100.00
Valid votes26,866,10699.4430,351,81399.29
Invalid/blank votes150,6540.56216,0610.71
Total votes27,016,760100.0030,567,874100.00
Registered voters/turnout39,226,13868.8739,414,31677.56
Source: Gonschior

Results by constituency

Constituency First round[12] Second round[13]
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 Opole 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-Brunswick 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 Hessen-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 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 Hessen-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

Further reading

  • 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,
    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

  1. ^ Supported by SPD, Centre, DDP in the second round
  2. ^ Supported by DNVP, DVP, BVP, NSDAP, WP, BB, DHP

References

  1. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Graper 1925, p. 592-593.
  3. ^ Graper 1925, p. 593-594.
  4. ^ Graper 1925, p. 594-595.
  5. ^ Orlow 1969, p. 61.
  6. ^ Graper 1925, p. 597.
  7. ^ Graper 1925, p. 597-598.
  8. JSTOR 4546173
    . Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  9. JSTOR 4546174
    . Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Reich President change". deutschegeschichten.de (in German). Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  11. ISBN 0-7139-9648-X
    .
  12. ^ Schröder, Valentin (27 July 2014). "Ergebnisse des 1. Wahlgangs am 29.3.1925 in den Wahlkreisen". Wahlen in Deutschland.
  13. ^ Schröder, Valentin (27 July 2014). "Ergebnisse des 2. Wahlgangs am 26.4.1925 in den Wahlkreisen". Wahlen in Deutschland.

Works cited

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