# Canonical recap data for German Election Weimar Crisis (1930)
# Source: https://recap.at/1930/weimar-election-1930
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: weimar-election-1930
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1930/weimar-election-1930"
title: German Election Weimar Crisis
aliases:
- 1930 German federal election
- September 14 election
- Reichstag election 1930
- Nazi breakthrough election
subtitle: The Nazi party's stunning electoral surge in Depression-era Germany signaled the crisis of liberal democracy and democracy's near-fatal vulnerability.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1930-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1930
decade: 1930
country:
name: Germany
slug: germany
summaryShort: Several articles in several parts of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany govern elections and establish constitutional requirements such as the secret ballot, and the requirement that all elections be conducted in a free and fair manner. The Basic Law also requires that the federal legislature enact detai
summaryLong: "Several articles in several parts of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany govern elections and establish constitutional requirements such as the secret ballot, and the requirement that all elections be conducted in a free and fair manner. The Basic Law also requires that the federal legislature enact detailed federal laws to govern elections; electoral law(s). One such article is Article 38, regarding the election of deputies in the federal Bundestag. Article 38.2 of the Basic Law establishes universal suffrage: \"Any person who has attained the age of eighteen shall be entitled to vote; any person who has attained the age of majority shall be eligible for election.\""
lede: On September 14, 1930, German voters handed the Nazi Party its first major electoral breakthrough, propelling it from a fringe movement to the second-largest faction in the Reichstag with 107 seats. The result shocked the political establishment and signaled the collapse of Weimar democracy's ability to manage mass discontent during the Great Depression.
heroImageUrl: "https://pixabay.com/get/gaab6d2d026ce8c4391e6b6a27973310f59ec45c2f58639f423781fab415d766db1cdf851b990f921dea94e658e64da8fbdeb713a18ecf8168d2795555d6c5d42_1280.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Felix-Mittermeier on Pixabay
importance: 87
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Nazi Party seats gained
  value: 95 additional seats (from 12 in 1928 to 107 in 1930)
- label: Nazi vote share
  value: 18.3% of total votes cast
- label: Voter turnout
  value: 82% of eligible voters
- label: Election date
  value: September 14, 1930
- label: Reichstag seat total
  value: 577 seats
- label: Chancellor at time of election
  value: Heinrich Brüning (Centre Party)
- label: Years until Hitler became Chancellor
  value: 3 years (January 30, 1933)
- label: German unemployment rate
  value: Approximately 3 million unemployed (rising from 1.4 million in 1928)
timeline:
- date: 1929-10-29
  title: Wall Street Crash
  description: The US stock market collapse triggered global economic crisis. Germany, dependent on American loans, faced immediate capital flight.
- date: 1930-03-27
  title: Brüning becomes Chancellor
  description: Heinrich Brüning of the Centre Party formed a government reliant on President Hindenburg's emergency powers, bypassing a fractious Reichstag.
- date: 1930-07-16
  title: Reichstag dissolution
  description: Brüning called for new elections after the Reichstag rejected his austerity budget, hoping to secure a stronger mandate.
- date: 1930-09-14
  title: Election day
  description: Voters delivered a shock result. The Nazi Party surged to 107 seats, making them the second-largest faction. The Communist Party also gained significantly, reaching 77 seats.
- date: 1930-09-15
  title: Market reaction
  description: German bond prices fell sharply as international investors reacted to the Nazi breakthrough and deepening political instability.
- date: 1930-10-13
  title: Reichstag reconvenes
  description: The new parliament convened with no viable coalition majority. Nazi and Communist deputies clashed; Brüning remained Chancellor on Hindenburg's authority.
- date: 1932-07-31
  title: Follow-up election
  description: The Nazis reached their peak with 230 seats (37.3% of votes) in fresh elections, but still fell short of an outright majority.
- date: 1933-01-30
  title: Hitler becomes Chancellor
  description: President Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler Chancellor, believing he could contain the Nazi movement through conservative cabinet members. The Weimar period effectively ended.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Germany"
  title: German election
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The 1930 election marked the beginning of the end for Weimar democracy. The Nazi Party's explosive growth—from 12 seats in 1928 to 107 in 1930—shattered the centrist coalition and made Adolf Hitler a plausible chancellor within three years. The result demonstrated how economic catastrophe and institutional fragility could weaponize electoral politics.
categories:
- election
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- election
- parliamentary_crisis
canonicalClasses:
- collapse
- transformation
- conflict
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: decline
metaDescription: September 1930 German election handed Nazis 107 seats. Weimar's democratic crisis deepened as economic collapse fed extremism.
wikidataQid: Q327765
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260509104707/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Germany"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-09
  label: German election
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Germany"
peoplesVoice:
- source: Heinrich Brüning, Chancellor of Germany
  voiceType: official
  context: Brüning addressed the Reichstag after the September election results showed catastrophic Nazi gains, seeking to justify his emergency decree strategy.
  excerpt: The elections have revealed the depth of the crisis. We must govern with resolve, even when Parliament fails us. Democracy requires strong leadership in perilous times.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 85
  attribution: Reichstag speech, September 1930
  publishedAt: 1930-09-15
  originalLanguage: de
- source: Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Party Propaganda Chief
  voiceType: official
  context: Goebbels declared victory after the NSDAP surged from 12 to 107 seats, making them Germany's second-largest party overnight.
  excerpt: "DE: 'Der Sieg ist unser. Das deutsche Volk hat gesprochen und die Marxisten sind besiegt.' / EN: 'The victory is ours. The German people have spoken and the Marxists are defeated.'"
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 90
  attribution: Nazi Party rally speech, Berlin, September 14, 1930
  publishedAt: 1930-09-14
  originalLanguage: de
- source: Carl Severing, Social Democratic politician and former Interior Minister
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Severing warned in the socialist press of the existential threat posed by Nazi parliamentary strength and the erosion of Weimar consensus.
  excerpt: We are witnessing the preliminary defeat of reason. The extremists now command a mass movement that democracy alone may not be equipped to withstand.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 78
  attribution: Vorwaerts newspaper column, September 1930
  publishedAt: 1930-09-16
  originalLanguage: de
- source: William E. Dodd, U.S. journalist and historian
  voiceType: media
  context: American press coverage registered alarm at the radical shift in German electoral behavior and its implications for European stability.
  excerpt: The German electorate has lurched toward extremism in a manner that should trouble every democratic nation. What began as protest has become something far more dangerous.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 72
  attribution: American newspaper dispatch from Berlin, September 1930
  publishedAt: 1930-09-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Otto Braun, Prussian Minister-President
  voiceType: official
  context: Braun, leading the largest German state still under social democratic control, expressed grim resignation about the national collapse of center-left support.
  excerpt: The middle has abandoned us. In Prussia we hold fast, but the Reich is slipping away. We shall see whether institutions can survive what ideology cannot.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 68
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Prussian government meetings, September-October 1930
  publishedAt: 1930-09-25
  originalLanguage: de
