Unused ballot for the referendum to dissolve the Prussian state parliament
- Date
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publication/distribution:
approximately 1931 August 09
- Geography
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distribution:
Germany
- Language
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German
- Classification
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Information Forms
- Category
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Ballots
- Object Type
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Ballot (lcsh)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, The Abraham and Ruth Goldfarb Family Acquisition Fund
Ballot distributed for the August 9, 1931, referendum on the dissolution of the Prussian Landtag [state parliament]. The Prussian state was the largest and most powerful in Germany and the most resistant to Nazi Party candidates. There was a saying that whoever controls Prussia, controls the Reich, and the state became a battleground as the Nazis sought power over all Germany. By allying with the Communists, the Nazis forced this vote to dissolve the Prussian government. The Hitlerites lost, receiving only 37% of the vote. But the violence and riots perpetrated by the Nazis against their opponents in Prussia became an excuse for an attack on the last bulwark of German democracy. On July 17, 1932, Chancellor von Papen issued a decree deposing the Prussian government. The Chancellor was made the Reich Commissioner with full powers over the Prussian state. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany.
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Record last modified: 2023-06-16 11:34:12
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn522530
Also in German political and military propaganda collection
The collection consists of artifacts relating to the political and propaganda activities of the Nazi Party in Germany before and during World War II.
Date: 1932-1942
Pattern sheet for an SA uniform jacket with 6 diagrams and a size chart
Object
Sturmabteilung (SA) uniform coat or jacket pattern sheet produced in Munich, Germany, in approximately 1935. The SA was a Nazi paramilitary organization established by Adolf Hitler in Munich in 1921. Commonly known as Brownshirts or Storm Troopers, the SA protected Nazi leaders, marched in Nazi rallies, and terrorized political opponents during Hitler’s rise to power in Weimar Germany. By 1933, SA membership had expanded to nearly two million men. On June 30, 1934, the Night of the Long Knives, SS forces assassinated the head of the SA, Ernst Rohm, and most of the leadership, disempowering the SA.
Pattern sheet for SA uniform trousers with 4 diagrams and a size chart
Object
Sturmabteilung (SA) uniform breeches pattern sheet produced in Munich, Germany, in approximately 1935. The SA was a Nazi paramilitary organization established by Adolf Hitler in Munich in 1921. Known as Brownshirts or Storm Troopers, the SA protected Nazi leaders, marched in Nazi rallies, and terrorized political opponents during Hitler’s rise to power. By 1933, SA membership had expanded to nearly three million men. On June 30, 1934, the Night of the Long Knives, SS forces assassinated the SA head, Ernst Rohm, and most of the leadership, disempowering the SA.
Large text only campaign poster justifying the expansion of Hitler’s powers as Chancellor after the Reichstag fire
Object
Nazi propaganda broadside issued for the March 5, 1933, Reichstag election in Germany. After Hitler was appointed Chancellor on January 30, 1933, he called for a new election. On February 27, six days before the election, the Reichstag, the German Parliament, was set on fire. The Nazis blamed the Communists for the fire and the regime was given the authority to jail political opponents without charges and to suspend civil liberties, which included banning newspapers and meetings of opponents or any groups. In this first election under Nazi Party rule, the Nazis received the largest vote percentage, 44%, but still not a majority. On March 23, Hitler was able to have the Reichstag pass the Enabling Act, which gave him dictatorial powers.
Unused ballot with 5 candidates, including Hindenburg and Hitler, for the first 1932 German presidential election
Object
Unused ballot distributed for the first round of the 1932 Presidential election in Germany held March 12. The last election had been held in 1925. By the 1930s, the skilled propaganda campaigns of the Nazi Party had transformed Adolf Hitler from a little known extremist to a leading candidate for President. The first ballot had five candidates with the incumbent President, Paul von Hindenburg, receiving 49.6% of the vote - just short of the majority. A second run-off election between Hindenburg, Hitler, and Thalmann, the Communist candidate, was held on April 10. Hindenburg obtained the largest vote percentage, 53%, and was re-elected to a second seven-year term of office. Hitler received 37% of the vote. On January 30, 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor of Germany.
Unused 1932 Reichstag election ballot with 10 political parties
Object
Ballot distributed for the November 6, 1932, Reichstag [Parliament] election in Germany. No political party won a majority in this second election of 1932, but the Nazis received the largest vote percentage, 33%. By the 1930s, the skilled propaganda campaigns of the Nazi Party had transformed Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party from a little known extremist group to popular candidates in national elections. In an April 1932 presidential run-off election, Hitler had received 37% of the vote. This November vote was the last democratic national election held in prewar Germany. On January 30, 1933, the recently re-elected President, Paul von Hindenburg, appointed Hitler Chancellor of Germany
Handbill with commentary on wartime food ration reductions in Germany
Object
Circular commenting on the April 6, 1942, cuts by the Reich Ministry of Food and Agriculture to the food rations of the German population. It compares the food restrictions introduced by the Nazi regime to those experienced during World War I (1914-1918). That April, weekly bread, fat, and meat rations were significantly reduced. The cuts were explained as due to shortages in the harvests and the increased need to feed the German Army and forced laborers.
