July 31, 1932

July 1932 German federal election

Nazis become the largest party in the July 1932 Reichstag election

The Nazis won a record 230 seats — and still finished 75 short of a majority. Two weeks later Hindenburg refused Hitler the chancellorship to his face.

31 July 1932: 230 seats out of 608

German voters elected a new 608-seat Reichstag on 31 July 1932, after President Paul von Hindenburg dissolved the previous parliament at Chancellor Franz von Papen's request. Adolf Hitler's NSDAP took 37.3 percent of the valid vote — 13,745,680 ballots — and 230 seats, becoming the largest Reichstag party for the first time.

A majority required 305. The SPD held second place with 21.6 percent, 7,959,712 votes and 133 seats, ten fewer than before.

Arithmetic with no government in it

The result produced no workable governing majority. The KPD won 89 seats, up 12, and between them the two anti-parliamentary parties held more than half the chamber — enough to block parliamentary government.

Papen's presidential cabinet, which had no parliamentary base at all, simply stayed in office.

What the largest party did not get

Twenty people were reported killed in political street fighting across several cities the next day.

Hitler used the result to demand appointment as chancellor rather than a subordinate cabinet post. Hindenburg refused him on 13 August; the appointment came only on 30 January 1933.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 6 sources 2 audit passes

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →

What the sources leave uncertain

Authoritative presentations alternate between 37.3 and 37.4 percent because of rounding. The underlying official total of 13,745,680 votes supports 37.3 percent to one decimal place in the detailed result table.