Recent Elections in Prussia and Other German Länder

Since the reëlection of President von Hindenburg on April 10, eight German Länder have held parliamentary elections. Five, i.e., Prussia, Bavaria, Württemberg, Hamburg, and Anhalt, held Landtag elections on April 24; Mecklenburg-Schwerin elected a new parliament on May 4; Oldenburg reconstituted its legislative body on May 29; and on June 19 the voters of Hessen went to the polls (for the fourth time in seven months) to replace the Landtag elected on November 14 and subsequently declared illegal by the courts. These eight Länder comprise eighty-three per cent of the population of Germany, and the elections enumerated have brought into clear relief present political tendencies throughout the country: the rapidly growing strength of National Socialism; the increasing dissatisfaction with Socialistic attempts to overcome the economic crisis; the progressive disappearance of the middle parties, with the exception of the Catholic Center; and the relatively slow growth of Communistic influence. The table on the following page undertakes to present the results of the elections and to show the political status in the seventeen German Länder as it is today.