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The Weimar Era German Elections Ephemera Collection comprises three boxes and one
folder of
leaflets, broadsides, periodical issues, and periodical issue reprints issued on behalf
of
several political parties seeking representation in the German political system, or
by
groups named or unnamed in opposition to specific political interests. Most of these
publications address specific points of political action and are not generalized statements
of policy or political theory. The materials are in German and the physical condition
is on
the whole very good, particularly remarkable considering that nearly all of the items
present were printed on newsprint. Some of the larger posters are in multiple pieces. |
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This material is related to the Prussian state Landtag or Parliament election of 20
February 1921 and four elections held in Germany in the year 1932. These were the
presidential election (13 March and 10 April 1932), the election to the Prussian state
Landtag (24 April 1932), and the two elections to the German Reichstag (31 July and
6
November 1932). |
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These latter four elections are significant in German history as they were held in
the
final year of representative government under the Weimar constitution. The role of
the Nazi
party in German political life grew tremendously during 1932 as the political reaction
to
economic dislocation and political instability increasingly showed the inability of
German
representative government to resist the demands by the Nazis for effective control
of
Germany's political and economic life. |
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Election to the Prussian state Landtag, 20 February 1921. This
election was the first contested by the Communist Party of Germany, which won 31 seats.
The
governing liberal coalition lost one-third of its seats, but held on to a majority
over
conservative gains. |
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The German presidential election, 13 March and 10 April 1932.
This was the third presidential election under the Weimar constitution, and pitted
the
incumbent Paul von Hindenburg against Adolf Hitler (Nazi) and Ernst Thälmann (Communist)
in
the first round and Hindenburg and Hitler in the April runoff. Hindenburg, who at
age 84 had
wanted to stand down as the president at the end of his term which began in 1925,
permitted
his name to be placed in nomination in a successful endeavor to keep Hitler from the
office. |
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The Weimar constitution granted, via its Article 48, emergency executive powers of
great
magnitude to the president, including the power to dismiss and appoint chancellors.
Hindenburg had increasingly made use of his executive powers in the face of the inability
to
govern that the Reichstag demonstrated as the depression deepened and opposition to
political moderation and traditional parliamentary government grew. This collection
includes
fifteen items relating to the 1932 presidential election, six of them pro-Hindenburg,
eight
pro-Hitler, and one Thälmann-related. |
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Election to the Prussian state Landtag, 24 April 1932. In the
election for seats in the Prussian Landtag the Nazis increased their representation
from
nine seats to 162, making them the largest party in the body, despite which plurality
they
fell short of a voting majority. As Prussia represented nearly 62% of the land area
of
Weimar Germany this legislative success was perceived as a bellwether by the victorious
Nazis. |
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The collection contains twenty-eight items relating to the Prussian election. Of these,
eight were issued on behalf of the Social Democratic Party, with most of the rest
from
several small parties. None of this material is of Nazi origin, although two were
issued on
behalf of the Communist party. |
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The German Reichstag election, 31 July 1932. In Germany's
continuing parliamentary crisis President Hindenburg dissolved the seated Reichstag
in June
1932 after appointing Franz von Papen as chancellor. Von Papen now headed a conservative
(and essentially anti-democratic) coalition which, as a "presidential government"
was to
govern via Article 48 and President Hindenburg's continuing sufferance. Von Papen
initially
counted on Hitler throwing his support behind the von Papen government, but the strength
of
the Nazi party in the vote of 31 July 1932 was such (230 seats won, largest in the
Reichstag
at 37% of the total) that Hitler, on 13 August 1932 refused to join any coalition
government. Hitler further demanded the chancellorship for himself. |
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After Hindenburg absolutely turned down Hitler's demands the stage was set for a very
brief
life for the Reichstag elected on 31 July. When the Reichstag convened in September
1932 its
sole act was to pass a vote of no confidence in the von Papen government. Von Papen
in turn
asked Hindenburg to dissolve the newly seated Reichstag. The president complied with
the
request and set elections for November 1932. |
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Eighty-two pieces of printed matter concerned with the 31 July 1932 Reichstag election
are
found in the collection. Forty-six of these were issued by or on behalf of the Nazi
party,
and nine each are of Social Democratic or Communist origin. |
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The German Reichstag election, 6 November 1932. While Nazi
representation in the Reichstag dropped from 37% to 32% in the election of November
1932 the
deadlock between President Hindenburg and Adolf Hitler continued. During discussions
with
Hindenburg and von Papen Hitler could obtain no concession beyond that of a potential
vice
chancellorship in a government with von Papen. For his part, Hitler continued his
demand for
the chancellorship. |
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In December 1932 von Papen committed a tactical political error which compelled his
resignation as chancellor, his protection by President Hindenburg notwithstanding.
After an
interval Von Papen convinced himself and, at length President Hindenburg, that he
could
control Hitler in a multi-party cabinet in which, while Hitler was chancellor, the
overall
composition of the cabinet would be largely non-Nazi. Hindenburg, who trusted von
Papen more
than any of his potential alternatives, reluctantly endorsed this plan and swore Hitler
in
as the chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933. |
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Within a short period of time Hitler had outflanked von Papen and the non-Nazi members
of
the "Government of National Concentration," as well as succeeding in having Hindenburg
approve a series of Article 48 measures intended to suspend civil liberty in Germany.
On 23
March 1933, President Hindenburg signed the Enabling Act of 1933 into law, thereby
giving
decrees of Chancellor Hitler the force of law. |
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At this point the Nazi Machtergreifung (seizure of power) was
essentially complete, and henceforward Hitler's main concern was to maintain civil
relations
with the increasingly frail Hindenburg while awaiting his death, which occurred on
2 August
1934. Upon Hindenburg's passing the offices of president and chancellor were merged
and
Hitler, now the head of state as well as the head of government, took the titles leader
and
chancellor (Führer und Reichskanzler). |
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The Reichstag election of 6 November 1932 is represented in this collection by forty-six
pieces of printed matter. Twenty-two of these were of Nazi origin and six were published
by
the Social Democratic party; the remaining eighteen pieces represent five different
political parties. |
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Note on periodicals. There are several serial issues present in
the collection that warrant specific mention: three publications of the Nazi party:
Der Angriff (16 issues present), Deutschland erwache! (6 issues), and Die Volksfront (3 issues). Vorwärts (6 issues) published by the Social Democratic Party, The
Communist Party's Die Rote Fahne (2 issues), and Germania (5 issues) of the German Center Party are also present. |
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Provenance and History
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The Weimar Era German Elections Ephemera Collection was acquired by the University
of Texas
from the book dealer Paul Gottschalk. A pencil notation on the verso of Gottschalk's
prospectus directed that the material be ordered and was signed and dated "DC / 3
Ja 38"
(for, probably, Donald Coney, the university library director at that time; the actual
date
was 3 January 1939). No record exists of the material's disposition or use in following
decades until it became a part of the Ransom Center holdings in the 1970s. |
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When the collection was originally processed in 2015, it was titled 1932 German Elections
Ephemera Collection. Additional material discovered in 2025 documented the 1921 Prussian
state election; therefore, the collection was renamed to accurately reflect the
contents. |
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Berlin-born Paul Gottschalk (1880-1970) entered the book business in 1899 and by 1906
was
in a position to pursue the rare book trade with regular visits to the United States,
selling from his small stock and soliciting orders. After World War One military service
he
added scholarly serials to his rare books as the growth and increasing book budgets
of
American college and university libraries suggested that path to him. |
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In 1936, after Hitler's rise to power in Germany, Gottschalk as a Jew was obliged
to
liquidate his Berlin-based business. By means of a mock sale of his Berlin stock to
the
firms of Bernard Quaritch in Britain and Martinus Nijhoff in the Netherlands Gottschalk
was
able to remove a half million rare books and scholarly publications from Germany.
From 1937
until the German invasion of Western Europe in 1940, he operated his business from
The Hague
in the Netherlands. Gottschalk was in the United States at the time of the German
invasion,
and it became his place of residence and principal place of work for the remainder
of his
active years. He became an American citizen in 1947. |
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