In short
On September 14, 1930, German voters delivered a shock result that scrambled Weimar politics: the Nazi Party nearly tripled its seats in the Reichstag, vaulting from a fringe party to the second-largest faction. The election exposed deep fractures in the German electorate and signaled that democratic institutions were losing their grip on a nation reeling from economic collapse.
How it unfolded.
The five-minute version
What actually happened.
A federal election was held in Germany on 14 September 1930 to elect the fifth Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. Despite losing ten seats, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) remained the largest party in the Reichstag, winning 143 of the 577 seats, while the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dramatically increased its number of seats from 12 to 107. The Communists also increased their parliamentary representation, gaining 23 seats and becoming the third-largest party in the Reichstag.
Day by day.
Across 248 days, 5 pivotal moments.
Timeline
How it actually unfolded.
Brüning becomes Chancellor
Heinrich Brüning assumes office, heading a minority government dependent on presidential emergency decrees as the Reichstag fractures over economic policy.
Reichstag dissolution announced
President Paul von Hindenburg, acting on Brüning's advice, dissolves the Reichstag over budget disputes as the Great Depression deepens unemployment across Germany.
Election results
Voters deliver shock results: NSDAP captures 107 seats (18.3% of vote), up from 12 in 1928. SPD remains largest with 143 seats but loses 10. Communist KPD gains 23 seats to reach 77.
New Reichstag convenes
The fractured new parliament meets for the first time, with Nazi deputies creating immediate disruption. Government formation talks begin amid political deadlock.
Brüning continues as Chancellor
Unable to form a coalition, Brüning continues governing via presidential decree with Hindenburg's support, bypassing the Reichstag entirely.
The numbers.
6 numbers that anchor the scale.
By the numbers
The countable parts.
Total Reichstag seats
0
SPD seats won
0
NSDAP seats won
0
NSDAP seats in previous election (1928)
0
Voter turnout
0%
The chain begins -
The chain of consequence.
Impact
What followed.
The 1930 election marked the beginning of the end for Weimar democracy. The NSDAP's surge from 12 to 107 seats in a single election demonstrated that mainstream parties had lost the ability to command voter allegiance, and that democratic legitimacy itself was under threat. Within three years, Hitler would be chancellor.
Captured in time.
Captured before it changed
The web as it looked, the day it happened.
Wayback Machine snapshots of the pages people actually loaded that day. Click any card to open the archive at full size.
Sources & citations.
Sources
Where this came from.
Every claim on this page traces to a public, license-clean source. We don't asterisk well.
Wikipedia
1 source- 1.German federal election, 1930
en.wikipedia.org