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1925 German presidential election

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Field	Value
country	Weimar Republic
type	presidential
previous_election	1919 German presidential election
previous_year	1919
next_election	1932 German presidential election
next_year	1932
election_date	29 March 1925 (first round)
26 April 1925 (second round)
turnout	68.87% (first round)
77.56% (second round)
image_size	150x150px
image1	Bundesarchiv Bild 183-C06886, Paul v. Hindenburg (cropped)(2).jpg
candidate1	Paul von Hindenburg
color1	DCDCDC
party1	Independent
Supported by:{{collapsible list
titlestyle	background:transparent;
title	Reichsblock
popular_vote1	14,655,641
percentage1	48.29%
image2	WilhelmMarxEn1932.jpeg
candidate2	Wilhelm Marx
color2	000000
party2	Centre
Supported by:{{collapsible list
titlestyle	background:transparent;
title	Volksblock
popular_vote2	13,751,605
percentage2	45.31%
image3	Bundesarchiv Bild 102-12940, Ernst Thälmann (scrap).jpg
candidate3	Ernst Thälmann
party3	Communist Party of Germany
popular_vote3	1,931,151
percentage3	6.36%
map_image	{{Switcher
default	3
title	President
before_election	Friedrich Ebert
before_party	Social Democratic Party of Germany
after_election	Paul von Hindenburg
after_party	Independent politician

26 April 1925 (second round) 77.56% (second round)

Supported by:{{collapsible list | DNVP | DVP | BVP | NSDAP | WP | BB | DHP | Stahlhelm | JDO

Supported by:{{collapsible list | SPD | Centre | DDP

| [[File:1925 German presidential election - 1st round Charts.svg|400px]] | First round: results by electoral constituency | [[File:1925 German presidential election by District (1st round).svg|400px]] | First round: results by district and independent city | [[File:1925 German presidential election - 2nd round Charts.svg|400px]] | Second round: results by electoral constituency | [[File:1925 German presidential election by District (2nd round).svg|400px]] | Second round: results by district and independent city

Presidential elections were held in Germany on 29 March 1925, with a runoff on 26 April. 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.

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.

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 Jarres. Otto Gessler was proposed as a compromise candidate, but this failed.

Most right-wing völkisch movement parties supported Jarres as a compromise candidate, but Adolf Hitler had the Nazi Party support Ludendorff. Hitler later supported Hindenburg. Hitler later punished the völkisch parties that opposed his decision and issued an order in May 1925 prohibiting Nazis from working with them.

Otto Braun, the SPD's candidate, was a former Minister-President of Prussia and a well known and respected figure. The Centre Party's candidate, Wilhelm Marx, was the chair of the party and a former chancellor. The other significant candidate 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.

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.

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 head of state, he reluctantly agreed to stand, supposedly only after first consulting with the deposed Kaiser. His major supporters were the German People's Party (DVP), the German National People's Party (DNVP) and the BVP. The DVP, and especially its leader Gustav Stresemann, had reservations about the idea of a Hindenburg presidency because of its possible repercussions for German foreign policy, but eventually came on board. Hindenburg was also endorsed by the German Völkisch Freedom Party (DVFP), the 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.

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%. Marx's loss was attributed to the fact that the Bavarian People's Party, a sister party of the Centre, endorsed Hindenburg as a protest against the Marx's cooperation with the Social Democrats. Some also attributed Marx's loss to the candidature of Ernst Thälmann of the Communist Party of Germany, who did not drop out in the second round. However, historian Peter Fritzsche rejected this view, calling the claim "far-fetched" and arguing that "given the explicit enmity of this party toward the Weimar "capitalist state," it would have been completely unrealistic to expect the KPD to support the candidate of the Weimar system". Fritsche instead found that the BVP's endorsement of Hindenburg was crucial to Marx's defeat.

Results by constituency

Constituency	First round	Second round	Jarres
DVP		colspan=2	Braun
SPD		colspan=2	Marx
Zentrum		colspan=2	Thälmann
KPD		colspan=2	Hellpach
DDP		colspan=2	Held
BVP		colspan=2	Ludendorff
DVFP		colspan=2	Hindenburg
Reichsblock		colspan=2	Marx
Volksblock		colspan=2	Thälmann
KPD	German People's Party}};"		Social Democratic Party of Germany}};"		Centre Party (Germany)}};"		Communist Party of Germany}};"		German Democratic Party}};"		Bavarian People's Party}};"		Nazi Party}};"		German National People's Party}};"		Centre Party (Germany)}};"		Communist Party of Germany}};"		Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Total	style="background-color:#;"	10,416,658	style="background-color:#;"	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	style="background-color:#;"	14,655,641	style="background-color:#;"	48.29	13,751,605	45.31	1,931,151	6.36
1 East Prussia		0.8}}"	550,294		0.8}}"	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		0.8}}"	715,093
2 Berlin	329,003	30.13		0.9}};"	398,510		0.9}};"	36.50	56,638	5.19	180,734	16.55	121,390	11.12	1,357	0.12	4,010	0.37	384,361
3 Potsdam II		0.9}};"	372,996		0.9}};"	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
4 Potsdam I		0.9}};"	394,333		0.9}};"	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		0.9}};"	464,550
5 Frankfurt (Oder)		0.8}}"	439,818		0.8}}"	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		0.8}}"	532,597
6 Pomerania		0.8}}"	530,287		0.8}}"	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		0.8}}"	656,822
7 Breslau		0.9}};"	354,431		0.9}};"	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
8 Liegnitz		0.9}};"	240,523		0.9}};"	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		0.8}}"	321,295
9 Oppeln	145,053	30.58	46,391	9.78		0.9}};"	220,914		0.9}};"	46.57	45,552	9.60	8,980	1.89	2,064	0.44	4,640	0.98	224,914
10 Magdeburg		0.9}};"	411,748		0.9}};"	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		0.8}}"	485,357
11 Merseburg		0.9}};"	334,877		0.9}};"	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		0.8}}"	411,234
12 Thuringia		0.9}};"	496,699		0.9}};"	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		0.8}}"	621,652
13 Schleswig-Holstein		0.8}}"	373,731		0.8}}"	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		0.8}}"	478,509
14 Weser-Ems		0.9}};"	227,045		0.9}};"	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
15 East Hanover		0.8}}"	221,367		0.8}}"	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		0.8}}"	336,885
16 South Hanover–Braunschweig		0.9}};"	386,535		0.9}};"	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		0.8}}"	540,077
17 Westphalia North	268,355	27.97	228,155	23.78		0.9}};"	379,875		0.9}};"	39.60	48,625	5.07	22,613	2.36	3,852	0.40	6,892	0.72	389,507
18 Westphalia South	320,109	27.50	320,581	27.55		0.9}};"	350,105		0.9}};"	30.08	108,686	9.34	52,245	4.49	3,083	0.26	8,157	0.70	461,725
19 Hesse-Nassau		0.9}};"	383,931		0.9}};"	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
20 Cologne-Aachen	140,202	17.50	142,960	17.84		0.8}}"	429,945		0.8}}"	53.66	51,675	6.45	25,661	3.20	3,861	0.48	6,259	0.78	212,795
21 Koblenz-Trier	100,172	21.29	57,996	12.33		0.8}}"	280,929		0.8}}"	59.72	12,420	2.64	11,466	2.44	2,561	0.54	3,998	0.85	166,151
22 Düsseldorf East		0.9}};"	296,687		0.9}};"	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
23 Düsseldorf West	174,808	25.58	115,614	16.92		0.9}};"	304,263		0.9}};"	44.52	67,603	9.89	13,351	1.95	2,489	0.36	4,931	0.72	252,830
24 Upper Bavaria–Swabia	200,085	23.52	183,845	21.61	11,461	1.35	25,562	3.00	20,965	2.46		0.9}};"	372,778		0.9}};"	43.81	33,890	3.98		0.8}}"	630,348
25 Lower Bavaria–Upper Palatinate	36,481	10.66	44,754	13.08	10,175	2.97	7,300	2.13	6,431	1.88		0.8}}"	227,215		0.8}}"	66.41	8,738	2.55		0.8}}"	260,721
26 Franconia		0.9}};"	355,635		0.9}};"	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		0.8}}"	673,243
27 Palatinate		0.9}};"	90,074		0.9}};"	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
28 Dresden–Bautzen		0.9}};"	396,242		0.9}};"	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		0.8}}"	511,213
29 Leipzig	267,707	40.05		0.9}};"	275,551		0.9}};"	41.23	6,501	0.97	67,663	10.12	44,424	6.65	1,884	0.28	4,346	0.65		0.9}};"	332,075
30 Chemnitz–Zwickau		0.9}};"	360,616		0.9}};"	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		0.8}}"	490,277
31 Württemberg		0.9}};"	348,640		0.9}};"	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
32 Baden	241,357	27.62	198,494	22.71		0.9}};"	295,183		0.9}};"	33.78	39,152	4.48	88,091	10.08	3,744	0.43	6,508	0.74	375,272
33 Hesse-Darmstadt	188,108	33.26		0.9}};"	210,545		0.9}};"	37.22	98,491	17.41	20,951	3.70	42,351	7.49	1,689	0.30	3,271	0.58	274,384
34 Hamburg	214,200	36.86		0.9}};"	214,888		0.9}};"	36.98	12,368	2.13	67,566	11.63	65,415	11.26	1,504	0.26	4,603	0.79		0.9}};"	294,156
35 Mecklenburg		0.8}}"	224,509		0.8}}"	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		0.8}}"	275,170

Notes

References

Works cited

Cary, Noel D. "The making of the reich president, 1925: German conservatism and the nomination of Paul von Hindenburg." Central European History 23.2-3 (1990): 179-204. online

References

[[Dieter Nohlen]] & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p762 {{ISBN. 978-3-8329-5609-7
(Jun–Sep 1990). "The Making of the Reich President, 1925: German Conservatism and the Nomination of Paul von Hindenburg". [[Central European History]].
(Jun–Sep 1990). "Presidential Victory and Popular Festivity in Weimar Germany: Hindenburg's 1925 Election". [[Central European History]].
"Reich President change".
(2012). "The behaviour of political parties and MPs in the parliaments of the Weimar Republic". SagePub.
Fritzsche, Peter. (1990). "Presidential Victory and Popular Festivity in Weimar Germany: Hindenburg's 1925 Election". Central European History.
Schröder, Valentin. (27 July 2014). "Ergebnisse des 1. Wahlgangs am 29.3.1925 in den Wahlkreisen".
Schröder, Valentin. (27 July 2014). "Ergebnisse des 2. Wahlgangs am 26.4.1925 in den Wahlkreisen".

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