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1953 West German federal election
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| Field | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| election_name | 1953 West German federal election | |
| country | West Germany | |
| type | parliamentary | |
| ongoing | no | |
| previous_election | 1949 West German federal election | |
| previous_year | 1949 | |
| election_date | ||
| next_election | 1957 West German federal election | |
| next_year | 1957 | |
| outgoing_members | List of members of the 1st Bundestag | |
| elected_members | List of members of the 2nd Bundestag | |
| seats_for_election | All 487 seats in the Bundestag | |
| majority_seats | 244 | |
| registered | 33,120,940 ( 6.1%) | |
| turnout | 86.0% ( 7.5pp) | |
| <!-- CDU/CSU --> | image1 | |
| candidate1 | Konrad Adenauer | |
| party1 | CDU/CSU | |
| last_election1 | 31.0%, 139 seats | |
| seats1 | **243** | |
| seat_change1 | 104 | |
| popular_vote1 | **12,443,981** | |
| percentage1 | **45.2%** | |
| swing1 | 14.2 pp | |
| <!-- SPD --> | image2 | |
| candidate2 | Erich Ollenhauer | |
| party2 | Social Democratic Party of Germany | |
| last_election2 | 29.2%, 131 seats | |
| seats2 | 151 | |
| seat_change2 | 20 | |
| popular_vote2 | 7,944,943 | |
| percentage2 | 28.8% | |
| swing2 | 0.4 pp | |
| <!-- FDP --> | image3 | |
| candidate3 | Franz Blücher | |
| party3 | Free Democratic Party (Germany) | |
| last_election3 | 11.9%, 52 seats | |
| seats3 | 48 | |
| seat_change3 | 4 | |
| popular_vote3 | 2,629,163 | |
| percentage3 | 9.5% | |
| swing3 | 2.4 pp | |
| <!-- GB/BHE --> | image4 | |
| candidate4 | Waldemar Kraft | |
| party4 | All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights | |
| last_election4 | *Did not exist* | |
| seats4 | 27 | |
| seat_change4 | *New party* | |
| popular_vote4 | 1,616,953 | |
| percentage4 | 5.9% | |
| swing4 | *New party* | |
| <!-- DP --> | image5 | |
| candidate5 | Heinrich Hellwege | |
| party5 | German Party (1947) | |
| last_election5 | 4.0%, 17 seats | |
| seats5 | 15 | |
| seat_change5 | 2 | |
| popular_vote5 | 896,128 | |
| percentage5 | 3.3% | |
| swing5 | 0.7 pp | |
| <!-- Zentrum --> | image6 | |
| candidate6 | Johannes Brockmann | |
| party6 | Centre Party (Germany, 1945) | |
| color6 | 0047AB | |
| last_election6 | 3.1%, 10 seats | |
| seats6 | 3 | |
| seat_change6 | 7 | |
| popular_vote6 | 217,078 | |
| percentage6 | 0.8% | |
| swing6 | 2.3 pp | |
| <!-- Map --> | map_image | {{Switcher |
| <!-- Result --> | title | Government |
| before_election | First Adenauer cabinet | |
| before_party | CDU/CSU–FDP–DP | |
| posttitle | Government after election | |
| after_election | Second Adenauer cabinet | |
| after_party | CDU/CSU–FDP–GB/BHE–DP |
| [[File:1953 West German federal election.svg|400px]] | Results for the single-member constituencies. | [[File:1953 West German federal election - List vote.svg|400px]] | Results for the list vote by single-member constituency. | [[File:1953 German federal election - Results by constituency.svg|400px]] | Constituency results including West Berlin.
A federal election was held in West Germany on 6 September 1953 to elect the members of the second Bundestag. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) emerged as the largest party.
This was the last election before Saarland joined West Germany in 1957. It had been a separate entity, Saar protectorate, under French control since 1946.
The CDU/CSU formed a center-right coalition government with the FDP, DP and GB/BHE, leaving the SPD as the main opposition. In comparison to the 1949 election where ten parties won seats, only six parties won seats in the 1953 election, thus entailing a consolidation of the party system.
Campaign
Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (who was also CDU leader) campaigned on his policies of economic reconstruction and growth, moderate conservatism or Christian democracy, and close relations with the United States. During the campaign he attacked the Social Democratic Party (SPD) ferociously. His staff had a comfortable coach on a train previously used only by Hermann Göring and behind that a dining car with sleeping berths for journalists. The new SPD leader (Kurt Schumacher had died in 1952) was Erich Ollenhauer, who was more moderate in his policies than Schumacher had been. He did not oppose, in principle, the United States' military presence in Western Europe. He later – in 1957 – supported a military alliance of most European countries, including Germany. On 3 September American Secretary of State John Foster Dulles said that "A defeat for Adenauer would have catastrophic consequences for the prospects for German reunification and the restoration of sovereignty" and that it would "trigger off such confusion in Germany that further delays in German efforts for reunification and freedom would be unavoidable." Adenauer managed to convince clearly more West German voters of his leadership abilities and economic and political success to easily win a second term, although he had to form a coalition government with the Free Democratic Party and the conservative German Party to gain a majority in the Bundestag.
Opinion polls
| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| size | Union | SPD | FDP | GB/BHE | DP | Others | Lead | CDU/CSU}};" | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};" | Free Democratic Party (Germany)}};" | All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights}};" | German Party (1947)}};" | |||||
| 1953 federal election | 6 Sep 1953 | – | **45.2** | 28.8 | 9.5 | 5.9 | 3.3 | 7.3 | CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" | 16.4 | |||||||
| [HICOG](https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/3544/ssoar-hsr-1980-no_16-merritt-the_1953_bundestag_election.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y&lnkname=ssoar-hsr-1980-no_16-merritt-the_1953_bundestag_election.pdf) | 22 Aug–3 Sep 1953 | 664 | **50.3** | 29.5 | 11.0 | 4.3 | 4.9 | CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="20.8" | 20.8 | ||||||||
| [UNESCO](https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/3544/ssoar-hsr-1980-no_16-merritt-the_1953_bundestag_election.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y&lnkname=ssoar-hsr-1980-no_16-merritt-the_1953_bundestag_election.pdf) | 4 Jul–30 Aug 1953 | 1,694 | **44.4** | 30.6 | 18.1 | 6.9 | CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="13.8" | 13.8 | |||||||||
| [Emnid](https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/3544/ssoar-hsr-1980-no_16-merritt-the_1953_bundestag_election.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y&lnkname=ssoar-hsr-1980-no_16-merritt-the_1953_bundestag_election.pdf) | 20–28 Aug 1953 | 2,000 | **40.7** | 25.9 | 25.9 | 7.4 | CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="14.8" | 14.8 | |||||||||
| [Emnid](https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/3544/ssoar-hsr-1980-no_16-merritt-the_1953_bundestag_election.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y&lnkname=ssoar-hsr-1980-no_16-merritt-the_1953_bundestag_election.pdf) | 11–16 Aug 1953 | 2,000 | **38.2** | 29.0 | 25.0 | 7.9 | CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="9.2" | 9.2 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Aug 1953 | N/A | **46** | 34 | 9 | 10 | CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="12" | 12 | |||||||||
| [Emnid](https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/3544/ssoar-hsr-1980-no_16-merritt-the_1953_bundestag_election.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y&lnkname=ssoar-hsr-1980-no_16-merritt-the_1953_bundestag_election.pdf) | 3–10 Jul 1953 | 2,000 | **41.8** | 25.3 | 27.9 | 5.1 | CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="16.5" | 16.5 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Jul 1953 | N/A | **41** | 38 | 6 | 15 | CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="3" | 3 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Jun 1953 | N/A | **45** | 35 | 7 | 12 | CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="10" | 10 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Apr 1953 | N/A | **46** | 36 | 7 | 11 | CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="10" | 10 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Jan 1953 | N/A | 39 | **40** | 10 | 10 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-1" | 1 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Dec 1952 | N/A | 37 | **38** | 10 | 15 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-1" | 1 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Aug 1952 | N/A | 38 | **39** | 9 | 14 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-1" | 1 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Jul 1952 | N/A | 34 | **40** | 14 | 12 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-6" | 6 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Jun 1952 | N/A | 35 | **41** | 11 | 13 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-6" | 6 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | May 1952 | N/A | 35 | **41** | 12 | 12 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-6" | 6 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Apr 1952 | N/A | 35 | **43** | 12 | 10 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-8" | 8 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Feb 1952 | N/A | 34 | **41** | 11 | 14 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-7" | 7 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Jan 1952 | N/A | 35 | **43** | 11 | 11 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-8" | 8 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Oct 1951 | N/A | 32 | **42** | 11 | 15 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-10" | 10 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Sep 1951 | N/A | 34 | **42** | 10 | 14 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-8" | 8 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Aug 1951 | N/A | 31 | **45** | 10 | 14 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-14" | 14 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Jul 1951 | N/A | 36 | **41** | 10 | 13 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-5" | 5 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Apr 1951 | N/A | 35 | **38** | 11 | 17 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-3" | 3 | |||||||||
| [HICOG](https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-07/publicopinionins00merr/publicopinionins00merr.pdf) | Mar 1951 | N/A | 31 | **42** | 10 | 17 | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-11" | 11 | |||||||||
| 1949 federal election | 14 Aug 1949 | – | **31.0** | 29.2 | 11.9 | — | 4.0 | 23.9 | CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="1.8" | 1.8 |
Results
Results by state
Constituency seats
| State | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| seats | Seats won | CDU | SPD | CSU | FDP | DP | DZP | Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};" | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};" | Christian Social Union in Bavaria}};" | Free Democratic Party (Germany)}};" | German Party (1947)}};" | Centre Party (Germany, 1945)}};" | Baden-Württemberg | 33 | Bavaria | 47 | Bremen | 3 | Hamburg | 8 | Hesse | 22 | Lower Saxony | 34 | North Rhine-Westphalia | 66 | Rhineland-Palatinate | 15 | Schleswig-Holstein | 14 | Total | 242 | 130 | 59 | 42 | 14 | 10 | 1 | ||||||
| 29 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 42 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | 10 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | 11 | 2 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 51 | 13 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 |
List seats
| State | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| seats | Seats won | SPD | CDU | FDP | GB/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BHE | CSU | DP | DZP | Social Democratic Party of Germany}};" | Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};" | Free Democratic Party (Germany)}};" | All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights}};" | Christian Social Union in Bavaria}};" | German Party (1947)}};" | Centre Party (Germany, 1945)}};" | Baden-Württemberg | 34 | Bavaria | 44 | Bremen | 3 | Hamburg | 10 | Hesse | 22 | Lower Saxony | 32 | North Rhine-Westphalia | 72 | Rhineland-Palatinate | 16 | Schleswig-Holstein | 12 | Total | 245 | 106 | 61 | 34 | 27 | 10 | 5 | 2 | |||||||
| 14 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | 4 | 8 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | 12 | 3 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 34 | 21 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | 5 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Aftermath
Konrad Adenauer remained Chancellor, governing in a broad coalition (two-thirds majority) with most of the minor parties except for the SPD and Centre Party.
Notes
References
References
- Barnes, Samuel H.. (1962). "The German Party System and the 1961 Federal Election". American Political Science Review.
- Charles Williams (2000) ''Adenauer: The Father of the New Germany'', p407
- Erling Bjöl, Grimberg's History of the Nations, volume 23: The Rich West, "A Giant Dwarf: West Germany," Helsinki: WSOY, 1985
- Dennis L. Bark and David R. Gress, A History of West Germany: Volume 1: 1945–1963: From Shadow to Substance, London, UK: Basil Blackwell, 1989
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