Federal elections were held in Germany on 6 November 1932.^[1] The Nazi Party saw its vote share fall by four percentage points, while there were slight increases for the Communist Party of Germany and the national conservative German National People's Party. The results were a great disappointment for the Nazis, who lost 34 seats and again failed to form a coalition government in the Reichstag. The elections were the last free and fair all-German election before the Nazi seizure of power in 1933.

Quick Facts All 584 seats in the Reichstag 293 seats needed for a majority, Registered ...

November 1932 German federal election

← July 1932 6 November 1932 (1932-11-06) March 1933 →
All 584 seats in the Reichstag 293 seats needed for a majority
Registered	44,374,085 ( 0.4%)
Turnout	80.6% ( 3.5pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Adolf Hitler Otto Wels Arthur Crispien Hans Vogel Ernst Thälmann Party NSDAP SPD KPD Last election 37.3%, 230 seats 21.6%, 133 seats 14.3%, 89 seats Seats won 196 121 100 Seat change 34 12 11 Popular vote 11,737,021 7,247,091 5,980,239 Percentage 33.1% 20.4% 16.9% Swing 4.2pp 1.2pp 2.6pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Ludwig Kaas Alfred Hugenberg Heinrich Held Party Centre DnVp BVP Last election 12.4%, 75 seats 5.9%, 37 seats 3.2%, 22 seats Seats won 70 51 20 Seat change 5 14 2 Popular vote 4,230,545 2,959,053 1,094,597 Percentage 11.9% 8.3% 3.1% Swing 0.5pp 2.4pp 0.1pp
Results by constituency Most voted-for party by constituency Results by district and independent city
Government before election Papen cabinet Ind.–DNVP Government after election Von Schleicher Cabinet Ind.–DNVP

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The Nazi Party and Communist Party (KPD) held over half of the seats in the Reichstag after the July 1932 election. This made it impossible to form a government composed of moderates. Chancellor Franz von Papen could only rely on the support of the German National People's Party (DNVP) and German People's Party (DVP), who only held a total of 44 seats. A vote of no confidence was put forward by the KPD and supported by 84% of the deputies. A new election was scheduled for November.^[2]

Over 6 million people were unemployed in 1932, and 40% of organized labour was unemployed or working reduced hours in summer 1932.^[2]

This was the first time since 1928 that voter turnout decreased.^[3]

After the election, Papen urged Hindenburg to continue to govern by emergency decree. However, on 3 December, he was replaced by Defence Minister Kurt von Schleicher, who held talks with the left wing of the Nazi Party led by Gregor Strasser in an attempt at a Third Position (Querfront) strategy. The plans failed when Hitler disempowered Strasser and approached Papen for coalition talks. Papen obtained Hindenburg's consent to form the Hitler cabinet on 30 January 1933.

The elections were the last free and fair all-German election before the Nazi seizure of power on 30 January 1933 since the elections in March 1933 saw massive suppression, especially against Communist and Social Democratic Party politicians. The next free national elections were not held until 1949 in West Germany and 1990 in East Germany. The next free all-German elections took place in December 1990, after reunification two months earlier.