1920 German federal election

The 1920 German federal election was held on 6 June 1920 to elect the first Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. It succeeded the Weimar National Assembly elected in January 1919, which had drafted and ratified the republican constitution. The election was delayed in three electoral districts – Schleswig-Holstein and East Prussia until 20 February 1921, and Upper Silesia (Oppeln) until 19 November 1922 – due to territorial plebiscites.

1920 German federal election

6 June 1920 (1920-06-06)
All 459 seats in the Reichstag 230 seats needed for a majority
Registered	35,949,774 ( 2.3%)
Turnout	79.2% ( 3.8pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Otto Wels Hermann Müller Arthur Crispien Ernst Däumig Oskar Hergt Party SPD USPD DNVP Last election 37.9%, 165 seats 7.6%, 22 seats 10.3%, 44 seats Seats won 103 83 71 Seat change 62 61 27 Popular vote 6,179,991 4,971,220 4,249,100 Percentage 21.9% 17.6% 15.1% Swing 16.0% 10.0% 4.8%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Gustav Stresemann Karl Trimborn Carl Wilhelm Petersen Party DVP Centre DDP Last election 4.4%, 19 seats 19.7%, 91 seats 18.6%, 75 seats Seats won 65 64 39 Seat change 46 27 36 Popular vote 3,919,446 3,845,001 2,333,741 Percentage 13.9% 13.6% 8.3% Swing 9.5% 6.1% 10.3%
Government before election First Müller cabinet SPD–DDP–Z Government after election Fehrenbach cabinet Z–DDP–DVP

The parties of the Weimar Coalition, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Catholic Centre Party (Centre), and German Democratic Party (DDP), had won the last election in a landslide and were largely responsible for drafting the new constitution. This coalition suffered major losses to opposing parties on the left and right and won just 44% of the vote between them. The Independent Social Democrats, rejecting compromise with the moderate and conservative parties, emerged as the second-largest party behind the SPD. The right-wing nationalist German National People's Party (DNVP) and conservative German People's Party (DVP) placed third and fourth, ahead of the Centre and DDP. A total of ten parties won seats, including the Bavarian People's Party (BVP), which had split from the Centre and took a more right-wing course, and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), which remained marginal with 2% of the vote and 4 seats. Voter turnout was about 79.2%, down about four percentage points since January 1919.

The election was held ahead of schedule in the aftermath of the attempted Kapp Putsch, which had been defeated by a combination of civil disobedience and a general strike after the Reichswehr refused to intervene. This event radicalised large sections of both the left, who were alarmed at the disloyalty of the military, and the middle classes, who feared further unrest and violence. Also playing a major part in the national mood was the deeply unpopular Treaty of Versailles, which the Weimar Coalition parties were blamed for accepting.

The Reichstag was divided between left, centre, and right, none of whom commanded a majority. After negotiations, a centre-right minority government of the Centre, DDP, and DVP, led by Constantin Fehrenbach, took office with external support from the SPD.

Electoral system

The Reichstag was elected via party list proportional representation. For this purpose, the country was divided into 35 multi-member electoral districts. A party was entitled to a seat for every 60,000 votes won. This was calculated via a three-step process on the constituency level, an intermediary level which combined multiple constituencies, and finally nationwide, where all parties' excess votes were combined. In the third nationwide step, parties could not be awarded more seats than they had already won on the two lower constituency levels. Due to the fixed number of votes per seat, the size of the Reichstag fluctuated between elections based on the number of voters and turnout.

The voting age was 25 years. People who were incapacitated according to the Civil Code, who were under guardianship or provisional guardianship, or who had lost their civil rights of honour after a criminal court ruling were also not eligible to vote.

Results

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Social Democratic Party	6,179,991	21.92	−15.94	103	−62
	Independent Social Democratic Party	4,971,220	17.63	+10.01	83	+61
	German National People's Party	4,249,100	15.07	+4.80	71	+27
	German People's Party	3,919,446	13.90	+9.47	65	+46
	Centre Party	3,845,001	13.64	−6.03	64	−27
	German Democratic Party	2,333,741	8.28	−10.28	39	−36
	Bavarian People's Party	1,173,344	4.16	New	20	New
	Communist Party of Germany	589,454	2.09	New	4	New
	German-Hanoverian Party	319,108	1.13	+0.88	5	+4
	Bavarian Peasants' League	218,596	0.78	−0.13	4	0
	Poland Party	89,228	0.32	New	0	New
	German Economic League for City and Country	88,800	0.31	New	0	New
	Christian People's Party	65,260	0.23	New	1	New
	Polish Catholic Party of Upper Silesia	51,437	0.18	New	0	New
	Schleswig-Holstein State Party	25,907	0.09	New	0	New
	German Social Party	22,958	0.08	New	0	New
	German Middle Class Party	21,255	0.08	New	0	New
	Wendish People's Party	8,050	0.03	New	0	New
	German Socialist Party	7,186	0.03	New	0	New
	Reform Group	6,832	0.02	New	0	New
	Schleswig Club	4,966	0.02	New	0	New
	National Democratic People's Party	4,015	0.01	New	0	New
	Christian Social People's Party	1,219	0.00	New	0	New
	Independent Party	169	0.00	New	0	New
	German Economy and Labour Party	43	0.00	New	0	New
	Upper Silesian Catholic People's Party	6	0.00	New	0	New
Total		28,196,332	100.00	–	459	+36
Valid votes		28,196,332	99.06
Invalid/blank votes		267,249	0.94
Total votes		28,463,581	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		35,949,774	79.18
Source: Gonschior.de

East Prussia and Schleswig-Holstein

The election result was amended by voting in the East Prussia and Schleswig-Holstein constituencies on 20 February 1921.

Party		East Prussia		Schleswig-Holstein		Seats	+/–
		Votes	%	Votes	%
	Social Democratic Party	228,872	23.88	257,839	37.33	108	–5
	Independent Social Democratic Party	53,118	5.54	20,701	3.00	83	+2
	German National People's Party	296,229	30.91	141,410	20.48	65	+5
	German People's Party	144,254	15.05	127,346	18.44	65	+5
	Centre Party	91,439	9.54	5,572	0.81	68	+1
	German Democratic Party	53,861	5.62	65,062	9.42	40	–4
	Communist Party	68,450	7.14	41,839	6.06	4	+2
	Polish People's Party	12,663	1.32	–		0	–
	Schleswig-Holstein State Party	–		25,907	3.75	0	–
	German Middle-Class Party	9,346	0.98	–		0	–
	Schleswig Club	–		4,966	0.72	0	–
Total		958,232	100.00	690,642	100.00	469	+3
Blank/invalid		31,078	3.14	38,687	5.30
Total votes		989,310	100.00	729,329	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,251,161	79.07	931,787	78.27

Upper Silesia

The election result was amended by voting in the Oppeln constituency on 19 November 1922.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Social Democratic Party	75,593	14.78	103	–5
	German National People's Party	70,841	13.85	65	0
	German People's Party	36,560	7.15	65	0
	Centre Party	205,237	40.12	64	–4
	German Democratic Party	11,874	2.32	39	–1
	Communist Party	37,120	7.26	4	0
	Polish Catholic Party of Upper Silesia	51,437	10.05	0	–
	German Social Party	22,958	4.49	0	–
Total		511,620	100.00	459	–10
Blank/invalid		3,493	0.68
Total votes		515,113	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		742,071	69.42