A federal election was held in West Germany on 6 September 1953 to elect the members of the second Bundestag. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) emerged as the largest party.

This was the last election before Saarland joined West Germany in 1957. It had been a separate entity, Saar protectorate, under French control since 1946.

The CDU/CSU formed a center-right coalition government with the FDP, DP and GB/BHE, leaving the SPD as the main opposition. In comparison to the 1949 election where ten parties won seats, only six parties won seats in the 1953 election, thus entailing a consolidation of the party system.

Campaign Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (who was also CDU leader) campaigned on his policies of economic reconstruction and growth, moderate conservatism or Christian democracy, and close relations with the United States. During the campaign he attacked the Social Democratic Party (SPD) ferociously. His staff had a comfortable coach on a train previously used only by Hermann Göring and behind that a dining car with sleeping berths for journalists.Charles Williams (2000) Adenauer: The Father of the New Germany, p407 The new SPD leader (Kurt Schumacher had died in 1952) was Erich Ollenhauer, who was more moderate in his policies than Schumacher had been. He did not oppose, in principle, the United States' military presence in Western Europe. He later – in 1957 – supported a military alliance of most European countries, including Germany.Erling Bjöl, Grimberg's History of the Nations, volume 23: The Rich West, "A Giant Dwarf: West Germany," Helsinki: WSOY, 1985Dennis L. Bark and David R. Gress, A History of West Germany: Volume 1: 1945–1963: From Shadow to Substance, London, UK: Basil Blackwell, 1989 On 3 September American Secretary of State John Foster Dulles said that "A defeat for Adenauer would have catastrophic consequences for the prospects for German reunification and the restoration of sovereignty" and that it would "trigger off such confusion in Germany that further delays in German efforts for reunification and freedom would be unavoidable." Adenauer managed to convince clearly more West German voters of his leadership abilities and economic and political success to easily win a second term, although he had to form a coalition government with the Free Democratic Party and the conservative German Party to gain a majority in the Bundestag.

Opinion polls Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize Union SPD FDP GB/BHE DP Others Lead 1953 federal election 6 Sep 1953 – 45.2 28.8 9.5 5.9 3.3 7.3 16.4 HICOG 22 Aug–3 Sep 1953 66450.3 29.5 11.04.3 4.9 20.8 UNESCO 4 Jul–30 Aug 1953 1,69444.4 30.618.1 6.9 13.8 Emnid 20–28 Aug 1953 2,00040.7 25.925.9 7.4 14.8 Emnid 11–16 Aug 1953 2,00038.2 29.025.0 7.9 9.2 HICOG Aug 1953 N/A46 34 910 12 Emnid 3–10 Jul 1953 2,00041.8 25.327.9 5.1 16.5 HICOG Jul 1953 N/A41 38 615 3 HICOG Jun 1953 N/A45 35 712 10 HICOG Apr 1953 N/A46 36 711 10 HICOG Jan 1953 N/A 3940 1010 1 HICOG Dec 1952 N/A 3738 1015 1 HICOG Aug 1952 N/A 3839 914 1 HICOG Jul 1952 N/A 3440 1412 6 HICOG Jun 1952 N/A 3541 1113 6 HICOG May 1952 N/A 3541 1212 6 HICOG Apr 1952 N/A 3543 1210 8 HICOG Feb 1952 N/A 3441 1114 7 HICOG Jan 1952 N/A 3543 1111 8 HICOG Oct 1951 N/A 3242 1115 10 HICOG Sep 1951 N/A 3442 1014 8 HICOG Aug 1951 N/A 3145 1014 14 HICOG Jul 1951 N/A 3641 1013 5 HICOG Apr 1951 N/A 3538 1117 3 HICOG Mar 1951 N/A 3142 1017 11 1949 federal election 14 Aug 1949 – 31.0 29.2 11.9 — 4.0 23.9 1.8

Results

Results by state Constituency seats StateTotalseatsSeats wonCDUSPDCSUFDPDPDZPBaden-Württemberg332922Bavaria473422Bremen33Hamburg83122Hesse227105Lower Saxony34131128North Rhine-Westphalia66511311Rhineland-Palatinate15132Schleswig-Holstein1414Total242130594214101

List seats StateTotalseatsSeats wonSPDCDUFDPGB/BHECSUDPDZPBaden-Württemberg34149731Bavaria44224810Bremen321Hamburg1064Hesse2268431Lower Saxony32101237North Rhine-Westphalia72342111312Rhineland-Palatinate16754Schleswig-Holstein127131Total2451066134271052

Aftermath Konrad Adenauer remained Chancellor, governing in a broad coalition (two-thirds majority) with most of the minor parties except for the SPD and Centre Party.

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