1938 German parliamentary election and referendum

1938 German parliamentary election and referendum

10 April 1938 (1938-04-10) 4 December 1938 (1938-12-04)
All 814 seats in the Reichstag 408 seats needed for a majority
Registered	49,634,569 ( 9.2%)
Turnout	99.6% ( 0.6pp)
Majority party   Leader Adolf Hitler Party NSDAP Last election 98.8%, 741 seats Seats won 814 Seat change 73 Popular vote 48,905,004 Percentage 99.1% Swing 0.3 pp
Government before election Hitler cabinet NSDAP Government after election Hitler cabinet NSDAP

Parliamentary elections were held in Germany (including recently annexed Austria) on 10 April 1938. They were the final elections to the Reichstag during Nazi rule and took the form of a single-question referendum asking whether voters approved of a single list of Nazi and pro-Nazi guest candidates for the 814-member Reichstag, as well as the recent annexation of Austria. Turnout in the election was officially 99.6% with 99.1% voting 'yes' in Germany and Austria.

The elections were held largely to rally official support from the new Ostmark (Austrian) province, although further elections for 41 seats were held in the recently annexed Sudetenland on 4 December. NSDAP candidates and "guests" officially received 97.32% of the votes.

The recently completed Kraft durch Freude cruise ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff was anchored in international waters near the United Kingdom to serve as a floating polling station for German and Austrian citizens living in the UK. On 10 April 1938, 1,978 voters (including 806 Austrians) were ferried from Tilbury, east of London. Only ten voted against annexation.

Results

See also: 1938 Austrian Anschluss referendum

Germany

Ballot reading: "Do you approve of the reunification of Austria with the German Reich accomplished on 13 March 1938 and do you vote for the list of our Führer, Adolf Hitler?"

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Nazi Party and guests	48,905,004	99.08	814
Against		454,952	0.92	–
Total		49,359,956	100.00	814
Valid votes		49,359,956	99.85
Invalid/blank votes		75,667	0.15
Total votes		49,435,623	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		49,634,569	99.60
Source: Direct Democracy, Direct Democracy

Sudetenland

Ballot for the Sudeten election, carried out on 4 December after the annexation of the Sudetenland. It would be the last election under Nazi rule.

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Nazi Party and guests	2,464,681	98.90	41
Against		27,427	1.10	–
Total		2,492,108	100.00	41
Valid votes		2,492,108	99.78
Invalid/blank votes		5,496	0.22
Total votes		2,497,604	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,532,863	98.61
Source: Direct Democracy

Aftermath

The new Reichstag, the last of the German Reich, convened for the first time on 30 January 1939, electing a presidium headed by incumbent President of the Reichstag Hermann Göring. It convened only a further seven times, the last on 26 July 1942; among the measures passed was a renewal of the Enabling Act of 1933 for additional four years and a law giving Hitler power of life and death over every citizen.

On 25 January 1943 Hitler postponed elections for a new Reichstag until after the war, with the inaugural to take place after another electoral term, subsequently on 30 January 1947—by which point the body, and the Nazi state, had ceased to exist. They were the final elections held in a united Germany prior to 1990 after German reunification.

As of 2024, the 1938 German referendum is the last Federal referendum held in Germany.

External links

• Electoral poster for the 10 April 1938 Reichstag election and referendum