1920 German federal election: Difference between revisions

1920 German federal election
All 459 seats in the Reichstag; 230 seats needed for a majority
Registered	35,949,774 ( 2.3%)
Turnout	79.2% ( 3.8pp)
Government before election; First Müller cabinet; SPD–DDP–Z	Government after election ; Fehrenbach cabinet; Z–DDP–DVP

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The 1920 German federal election was held on 6 June 1920 to elect the first Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. It succeeded the Weimar National Assembly elected in January 1919, which had drafted and ratified the republican constitution. The election was delayed in three electoral districts – Schleswig-Holstein and East Prussia until 20 February 1921, and Upper Silesia (Oppeln) until 19 November 1922 – due to territorial plebiscites.^[1]^: 762^[2]

The parties of the Weimar Coalition, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Catholic Centre Party (Centre), and German Democratic Party (DDP), had won the last election in a landslide and were largely responsible for drafting the new constitution. This coalition suffered major losses to opposing parties on the left and right and won just 44% of the vote between them. The Independent Social Democrats, rejecting compromise with the moderate and conservative parties, emerged as the second-largest party behind the SPD. The right-wing nationalist German National People's Party (DNVP) and conservative German People's Party (DVP) placed third and fourth, ahead of the Centre and DDP. A total of ten parties won seats, including the Bavarian People's Party (BVP), which had split from the Centre and took a more right-wing course, and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), which remained marginal with 2% of the vote and 4 seats. Voter turnout was about 79.2%, down about four percentage points since January 1919.^[1]^: 776^[2]

The election was held ahead of schedule in the aftermath of the attempted Kapp Putsch, which had been defeated by a combination of civil disobedience and a general strike after the Reichswehr refused to intervene. This event radicalised large sections of both the left, who were alarmed at the disloyalty of the military, and the middle classes, who feared further unrest and violence. Also playing a major part in the national mood was the deeply unpopular Treaty of Versailles, which the Weimar Coalition parties were blamed for accepting.

The Reichstag was divided between left, centre, and right, none of whom commanded a majority. After negotiations, a centre-right minority government of the DVP, Centre, and DVP, led by Constantin Fehrenbach, took office with external support from the SPD.^[2]

Electoral system

The Reichstag was elected via party list proportional representation. For this purpose, the country was divided into 35 multi-member electoral districts. A party was entitled to a seat for every 60,000 votes won. This was calculated via a three-step process on the constituency level, an intermediary level which combined multiple constituencies, and finally nationwide, where all parties' excess votes were combined. In the third nationwide step, parties could not be awarded more seats than they had already won on the two lower constituency levels. Due to the fixed number of votes per seat, the size of the Reichstag fluctuated between elections based on the number of voters and turnout.^[3]

The voting age was 25 years. People who were incapacitated according to the Civil Code, who were under guardianship or provisional guardianship, or who had lost their civil rights of honour after a criminal court ruling were also not eligible to vote.

Results



Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Social Democratic Party	6,179,991	21.92	−15.94	103	−62
	Independent Social Democratic Party	4,971,220	17.63	+10.01	83	+61
	German National People's Party	4,249,100	15.07	+4.80	71	+27
	German People's Party	3,919,446	13.90	+9.47	65	+46
	Centre Party	3,845,001	13.64	−6.03	64	−27
	German Democratic Party	2,333,741	8.28	−10.28	39	−36
	Bavarian People's Party	1,173,344	4.16	New	20	New
	Communist Party of Germany	589,454	2.09	New	4	New
	German-Hanoverian Party	319,108	1.13	+0.88	5	+4
	Bavarian Peasants' League	218,596	0.78	−0.13	4	0
	Poland Party	89,228	0.32	New	0	New
	German Economic League for City and Country	88,800	0.31	New	0	New
	Christian People's Party	65,260	0.23	New	1	New
	Polish Catholic Party of Upper Silesia	51,437	0.18	New	0	New
	Schleswig-Holstein State Party	25,907	0.09	New	0	New
	German Social Party	22,958	0.08	New	0	New
	German Middle Class Party	21,255	0.08	New	0	New
	Wendish People's Party	8,050	0.03	New	0	New
	German Socialist Party	7,186	0.03	New	0	New
	Reform Group	6,832	0.02	New	0	New
	Schleswig Club	4,966	0.02	New	0	New
	National Democratic People's Party	4,015	0.01	New	0	New
	Christian Social People's Party	1,219	0.00	New	0	New
	Independent Party	169	0.00	New	0	New
	German Economy and Labour Party	43	0.00	New	0	New
	Upper Silesian Catholic People's Party	6	0.00	New	0	New
Total		28,196,332	100.00	–	459	+36

Valid votes		28,196,332	99.06
Invalid/blank votes		267,249	0.94
Total votes		28,463,581	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		35,949,774	79.18
Source: Gonschior.de

References

^ ^a ^b Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook. Nomos. p. 762. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c "100 years ago: First election to the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic". Bundestag (in German). 29 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
^ Aleskerov, F.; Holler, M.J.; Kamalova, R. (21 February 2013). "Power distribution in the Weimar Reichstag in 1919–1933". Annals of Operations Research. 215 (April 2014): 25–37. doi:10.1007/s10479-013-1325-4.

[NS-1] Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook. Nomos. p. 762. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.

[100Jahr-2] "100 years ago: First election to the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic". Bundestag (in German). 29 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2024.

[3] Aleskerov, F.; Holler, M.J.; Kamalova, R. (21 February 2013). "Power distribution in the Weimar Reichstag in 1919–1933". Annals of Operations Research. 215 (April 2014): 25–37. doi:10.1007/s10479-013-1325-4.

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[2]

[3]

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 }}{{politics of Germany}}
+The '''1920 German federal election''' was held on 6 June 1920 to elect the first [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]] of the [[Weimar Republic]]. It succeeded the [[Weimar National Assembly]] elected in [[1919 German federal election|January 1919]], which had drafted and ratified the [[Weimar Constitution|republican constitution]]. The election was delayed in three electoral districts – [[1920 Schleswig plebiscites|Schleswig-Holstein]] and [[1920 East Prussian plebiscite|East Prussia]] until 20 February 1921, and [[1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite|Upper Silesia]] (Oppeln) until 19 November 1922 – due to territorial plebiscites.<ref name=NS>{{cite book|last1=Nohlen|first1=Dieter|last2=Stöver|first2=Philip|date=2010|title=Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook|publisher=Nomos|page=762|isbn=978-3-8329-5609-7}}</ref>{{rp|762}}<ref name=100Jahr>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2020/kw22-kalenderblatt-weimarer-republik-698558|title=100 years ago: First election to the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic|date=29 May 2020|access-date=23 May 2024|language=de|website=[[Bundestag]]}}</ref>
-[[Elections in Germany#German elections from 1871 to 1945|Federal elections]] were held in [[Weimar Republic|Germany]] on 6 June 1920. Territorial disputes meant that voting was delayed in [[East Prussia]] and [[Schleswig-Holstein]] until 20 February 1921, and until 19 November 1922 in [[Opole|Oppeln]].<ref name=NS>[[Dieter Nohlen|Nohlen, D]] & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p762 {{ISBN|978-3-8329-5609-7}}</ref> The [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] remained the largest party in the [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]] although it lost over a third of its seats.<ref>Nohlen & Stöver, p790</ref> Voter turnout was about 79.2%.<ref>Nohlen & Stöver, p776</ref>
+The parties of the [[Weimar Coalition]], the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] (SPD), [[Centre Party (Germany)|Catholic Centre Party]] (Centre), and [[German Democratic Party]] (DDP), had won the last election in a landslide and were largely responsible for drafting the new constitution. This coalition suffered major losses to opposing parties on the left and right and won just 44% of the vote between them. The [[Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany|Independent Social Democrats]], rejecting compromise with the moderate and conservative parties, emerged as the second-largest party behind the SPD. The right-wing nationalist [[German National People's Party]] (DNVP) and conservative [[German People's Party]] (DVP) placed third and fourth, ahead of the Centre and DDP. A total of ten parties won seats, including the [[Bavarian People's Party]] (BVP), which had split from the Centre and took a more right-wing course, and the [[Communist Party of Germany]] (KPD), which remained marginal with 2% of the vote and 4 seats. Voter turnout was about 79.2%, down about four [[percentage points]] since January 1919.<ref name=NS>{{cite book|last1=Nohlen|first1=Dieter|last2=Stöver|first2=Philip|date=2010|title=Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook|publisher=Nomos|page=762|isbn=978-3-8329-5609-7}}</ref>{{rp|776}}<ref name=100Jahr/>
+The election was held ahead of schedule in the aftermath of the attempted [[Kapp Putsch]], which had been defeated by a combination of civil disobedience and a general strike after the ''[[Reichswehr]]'' refused to intervene. This event radicalised large sections of both the left, who were alarmed at the disloyalty of the military, and the middle classes, who feared further unrest and violence. Also playing a major part in the national mood was the deeply unpopular [[Treaty of Versailles]], which the Weimar Coalition parties were blamed for accepting.
+The Reichstag was divided between left, centre, and right, none of whom commanded a majority. After negotiations, a centre-right minority government of the DVP, Centre, and DVP, led by [[Constantin Fehrenbach]], took office with external support from the SPD.<ref name=100Jahr/>
 == Electoral system ==
-The members of the [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]] were elected by two methods. A total of 35 multi-member [[:de:Liste der Wahlkreise und Wahlkreisverbände der Weimarer Republik|constituencies]] were to have representatives elected via [[party-list proportional representation]]. A party was entitled to a seat via this method for every 60,000 votes they obtained in a constituency. At the second level, the 35 constituencies were combined into 17 constituency associations. A party could claim an additional seat if its vote remainder in the electoral district after distribution of seats by the first method was more than 30,000. As seats were allocated based on vote count, there was not a set number of seats in the chamber.<ref>Aleskerov, F., Holler, M.J. & Kamalova, R. Power distribution in the Weimar Reichstag in 1919–1933. ''Ann Oper Res'' '''215''', 25–37 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-013-1325-4</ref>
+The Reichstag was elected via [[party list]] [[proportional representation]]. For this purpose, the country was divided into 35 multi-member [[:de:Liste der Wahlkreise und Wahlkreisverbände der Weimarer Republik|electoral districts]]. A party was entitled to a seat for every 60,000 votes won. This was calculated via a three-step process on the constituency level, an intermediary level which combined multiple constituencies, and finally nationwide, where all parties' excess votes were combined. In the third nationwide step, parties could not be awarded more seats than they had already won on the two lower constituency levels. Due to the fixed number of votes per seat, the size of the Reichstag fluctuated between elections based on the number of voters and turnout.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Aleskerov|first1=F.|last2=Holler|first2=M.J.|last3=Kamalova|first3=R.|date=21 February 2013|title=Power distribution in the Weimar Reichstag in 1919–1933|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10479-013-1325-4|journal=[[Annals of Operations Research]]|volume=215|issue=April 2014|pages=25-37|doi=10.1007/s10479-013-1325-4}}</ref>
-People who were under the age of 25, incapacitated according to the Civil Code, who were under guardianship or provisional guardianship, or who had lost their civil rights of honour after a criminal court ruling were not eligible to vote.
+The [[voting age]] was 25 years. People who were incapacitated according to the Civil Code, who were under guardianship or provisional guardianship, or who had lost their civil rights of honour after a criminal court ruling were also not eligible to vote.
 ==Results==

v t e Elections and referendums in Germany
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