List of Reichstag deputies in the Third Reich (1st electoral term)

This is a list of Reichstag deputies in the Third Reich (1st electoral term). The Reichstag of Nazi Germany existed from 1933 to 1945. Its 1st electoral term began with the parliamentary election of 5 March 1933 and lasted until the members were replaced in the election of 12 November 1933.

Election The 5 March 1933 parliamentary election was the first to be held following Adolf Hitler's appointment as chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933. One of Hitler's first objectives on taking office was the elimination of the Reichstag as both a locus of opposition and as a necessary component for governing. A condition for his acceptance of the chancellorship was the dissolution of the Reichstag and the calling of a new election. He believed that an anticipated increase in the vote for his Nazi Party would contribute an air of greater legitimacy to his government.

The election took place less than one week after the Reichstag fire of 27 February. In response, Hitler's government drafted the Reichstag Fire Decree, which Reich President Paul von Hindenburg enacted the next day as an emergency presidential proclamation. It suspended most of the civil liberties guaranteed by the Weimar Constitution, including habeas corpus, inviolability of residence, secrecy of the post and telephone, freedom of expression and of the press, the right to public assembly and the right of free association.

The impact of the decree fell heavily on the Nazis' opponents, particularly the Communists (KPD) and the Social Democrats (SPD). The government accused the Communists of deliberately setting the Reichstag fire and it banned their party newspaper. Nazi Sturmabteilung (SA) cadres, who were enrolled and armed as auxiliary police, raided party offices and broke up campaign rallies. Though the KPD was not banned outright, its individual members were persecuted as criminals who had planned illegal acts. Many Communist Party leaders and candidates were arrested, including the party chairman and the floor leader of its Reichstag faction. Their voters were harassed and intimidated, and the electoral campaign took place in an atmosphere of fear, violence and terror that persisted beyond the election. Ten thousand Communists were in custody by 15 March. Due to the subsequent enactment of the Law Against the Formation of Parties on 14 July 1933, this was to be the last multi-party election in Germany until after the fall of the Nazi regime in May 1945.

Results According to the official election results, over 39.6 million votes were cast (88.7% turnout). Nearly 44% of the vote was won by Hitler's Nazi Party and just under 8% went to his coalition partner, the German National People's Party (DNVP). Hitler thus secured a working parliamentary majority for his government. The SPD, the main opposition party, obtained 18.3% and the KPD, with many of their candidates under arrest or in hiding, still managed to obtain 12.3%. The Catholic Centre Party came in at 11.3%, and all other parties fell below 2.75%.

Reichstag Election Results, 5 March 1933Das Deutsche Reich Reichstagswahl 1933 Party Votes Percent SeatsNazi Party (NSDAP)17,277,18043.91288Social Democratic Party (SPD)7,181,62918.25120Communist Party of Germany (KPD)4,848,05812.3281Centre Party (Centre)4,424,90511.2573German National People's Party (DNVP)3,136,7607.9752Bavarian People's Party (BVP)1,073,5522.7319German People's Party (DVP)432,3121.102Christian Social People's Service (CSVD)383,999.984German State Party (DStP)334,242.855German Farmers' Party (DBP)114,048.292Agricultural League (LB)83,839.211Others52,807.130Total39,343,331100647

Sessions

The Reichstag members of the 1st electoral term met for only three sessions, the first being on 21 March 1933 and the last being on 17 May 1933. The opening ceremonies of the first session were held at the Garrison Church in Potsdam. The deputies then reconvened for the first business session at the Kroll Opera House in Berlin, which remained the venue for the next sessions due to the extensive damage done to the Reichstag building by the fire.

The Reichstag passed only one law during its term. This was the Enabling Act of 1933, passed at the second session on 23 March 1933 by a vote of 444 to 94. This critical measure empowered the chancellor and his cabinet to enact legislation, including laws deviating from or altering the constitution, without the consent of the Reichstag for a period of four years. It was a major step in the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship.

Reichstag Sessions – 2nd Electoral Term Session Date Notable Actions 1 21 March 1933 Hermann Göring is elected Reichstag president. 2 23 March 1933 The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act, empowering the cabinet to enact laws by decree. 3 17 May 1933 Hitler denounces the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles and advocates for German rearmament.

Presidium The Reichstag Presidium, consisting of a president and three vice-presidents, was elected en bloc at the first session on 21 March 1933.

Presidium of the Reichstag Title Incumbent President Hermann Göring (NSDAP) First Vice-president Thomas Eßer (Centre) Second Vice-presidentWalther Graefe (DNVP) Third Vice-presidentErnst Zörner (NSDAP)

Members A total of 647 Reichstag deputies were elected on 5 March 1933. Fifty-five deputies were elected from the parties' national electoral lists (Reichswahlvorschlage) and the remainder from the 35 individual electoral constituencies. Just a few days after the election, the Reich government revoked the mandates of the eighty-one KPD deputies, many of whom had already been arrested on the basis of the Reichstag Fire Decree, and they were never allowed to take their seats. A listing of all the Reichstag members and their party designation follows. Changes in membership due to deaths or resignations occurring up until 12 November 1933, and the resulting replacements, are annotated in the "Notes" column.

Reichswahlvorschlage (Reich Electoral Lists) The Reichswahlvorschlage were allocated 55 seats. +NameImageBirthDeathPartyNotesPaul Bausch18951981CSVDFranz Behrens18721943CSVDEmil Berndt18741954DNVPPhilipp Bouhler18991945NSDAPHugo Bruckmann18631941NSDAPHeinrich Brüning18851970CentreWalter Buch18831949NSDAPRichard Walther Darré18951953NSDAPHermann Dietrich18791954DStPWilhelm Dittmann18741954SPDHermann Esser19001981NSDAPResigned, 24 May 1933Anton Fehr18811954DBPPeter Graßmann18731939SPDTheo Habicht18981944NSDAPGustav Harmony18751959DNVPOtto Hembeck18811958DNVPTheodor Heuss18841963DStPKonstantin Hierl18751955NSDAPCurt Hoff18881950CentreReplaced Florian Klöckner, 20 July 1933Otto Hugo18781942DVPHeinz-Hugo John19041944NSDAPLudwig Kaas18811952CentreFritz Kahmann18961978KPDMandate revokedWilhelm Keppler18821960NSDAPFlorian Klöckner18681947CentreResigned, 30 June 1933Fritz Theodor Kuhnen18791947CentreHeinrich Landahl18951971DStPOtto Landsberg18691957SPDThusnelda Lang-Brumann18801953BVPErnst Lemmer18981970DStPMagnus von Levetzow18711939NSDAPReinhold Meier18891971DStPLudwig Marum18821934SPDAlfred Möllers18831969DNVPTheodor Neubauer18901945KPDMandate revokedFranz von Papen18791969DNVPAlfred Pfaff18721954NSDAPFranz Pfeffer von Salomon18881968NSDAPReinhold Quaatz18761953DNVPEugen Graf von Quadt zu Wykradt und Isny18871940BVPFranz Scheffel18731967SPDJohn Schehr18961934KPDMandate revokedBaldur von Schirach19071974NSDAPPaul Schultze-Naumburg18691949NSDAPFranz Xaver Schwarz18751947NSDAPFranz Seldte18821947DNVPFriedrich Stampfer18741957SPDHelmut Stellrecht18981987NSDAPReplaced Hermann Esser, 10 June 1933Fritz Tarnow18801951SPDGeorg Usadel19001941NSDAPHeinrich Vockel18921968CentreJosias zu Waldeck und Pyrmont18961967NSDAPWalter Weidauer18991986KPDMandate revokedWilhelm Weiß18921950NSDAPAugust Christian Winkler19001961CentreJoseph Wirth18791956CentreErnst Wollweber18981967KPDMandate revoked

Constituency 1 (East Prussia) East Prussia was allocated 19 seats. +NameImageBirthDeathPartyNotesErnst Duschön19041981NSDAPGottfried Feder18831941NSDAPRudolf Gross 18881955NSDAPKurt Hellwig18901966DNVPErich Koch18961986NSDAPFriedrich Larssen18891971SPDWilly Leow18871937KPDMandate revokedWerner Lufft18981984SPDArthur Mertins18981979SPDErwin Nötzelmann19071981NSDAPEgbert Otto19051968NSDAPClaus von Platen18911964NSDAPEugen Plorin19011943NSDAPAlfred Preuss18871947NSDAPHans-Adolf Prützmann19011945NSDAPHorst von Restorff18801953DNVPWalter Schütz18971933KPDMandate revokedHeinrich von Sybel18851969NSDAPHubert Teschner18941968Centre

Constituency 2 (Berlin) Berlin was allocated 18 seats. +NameImageBirthDeathPartyNotesSiegfried Aufhäuser18841969SPDClara Bohm-Schuch18791936SPDArthur Crispien 18751946SPDKarl Ernst19041934NSDAPHans Fabricius18911945NSDAPJoseph Goebbels 18971945NSDAPWilhelm Hein 18891958KPDMandate revokedAlbert Kayser18981944KPDMandate revokedWilhelm Laverrenz18791955DNVPCarl Litke18931962SPDErich Lübbe18911977SPDHans Meinshausen18891948NSDAPKarl Olbrysch19021940KPDMandate revokedWilhelm Pieck18761960KPDMandate revokedErnst Graf zu Reventlow18691943NSDAPHermann Joseph Schmitt18961964CentreWalter Schuhmann18981956NSDAPErnst Torgler18931963KPDMandate revoked

Constituency 3 (Potsdam II) Potsdam II was allocated 19 seats.

+NameImageBirthDeathPartyNotesFranz Dahlem18921981KPDMandate revokedWaldemar Geyer18821947NSDAPKarl Hanke19031945NSDAPKurt Heinig18861956SPDMax Herm18991982KPDMandate revokedHans Hinkel 19011960NSDAPHeinrich Hunke19022000NSDAPHeinrich Krone18951989CentreFranz Künstler 18881942SPDMarie Kunert 18711957SPDAnnagrete Lehmann18771954DNVPKurt Löwenstein18851939SPDResigned, 12 April 1933Ernst Pretzel18871953NSDAPFritz Schröder18911937SPDReplaced Kurt Löwenstein, 28 April 1933Paul Skoda19011945NSDAPWerner Steinhoff18751949DNVPErich Timm18841968DNVPWalter Ulbricht18931973KPDMandate revokedWerner Wächter19021946NSDAPKurt Wege18911947NSDAP

Constituency 4 (Potsdam I) Potsdam I was allocated 21 seats. +NameImageBirthDeathPartyNotesDetlev von Arnim18781947DNVPRudolf Breitscheid18741944SPDHerbert Dassler19021957NSDAPWilhelm Decker 18991945NSDAPFriedrich Ebert Jr. 18941979SPDHermann Göring18931946NSDAPFritz Grosse19041957KPDMandate revokedKurt Hintze19011944NSDAPMarie Juchacz18791956SPDElse Meier19011933KPDMandate revokedAugust Wilhelm Prinz von Preussen18871949NSDAPPaul Redlich18931944KPDMandate revokedHermann Remmele18801939KPDMandate revokedWilli Ruckdeschel19001974NSDAPErich Schmiedicke18871970NSDAPSiegfried Seidel-Dittmarsch18871934NSDAPArtur Vogt18941964KPDMandate revokedPaul Walter18911978KPDMandate revokedAlexander Freiherr von Wangenheim18721959NSDAPAlbert Wiedemann18801952DNVPRudolf Wissell18691962SPD

Constituency 5 (Frankfurt an der Oder) Frankfurt an der Oder was allocated 15 seats. +NameImageBirthDeathPartyNotesMartin Albrecht18931952NSDAPErich von dem Bach-Zelewski 18991972NSDAPReinhard Bredow 18721945NSDAPErnst Heilmann 18811940SPDSiegfried Kasche 19031947NSDAPFriedrich-Wilhelm Krüger18941945NSDAPKarl Litzmann18501936NSDAPResigned, 2 April 1933Anton Reißner18901940SPDWalter Ruppin18851945NSDAP18781945DNVPKarl Schröder 1897unknownNSDAPReplaced Karl Litzmann, 8 April 1933Martin Stumpf18861974NSDAPBrunislaus Warnke18831958CentreKurt Wege 18811940DNVPOtto Wels18731939SPDWilhelm Wigand18951945NSDAP

Constituency 6 (Pomerania) Pomerania was allocated 18 seats. +NameImageBirthDeathPartyNotesGottfried Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen19011949NSDAPWalther von Corswant18861942NSDAPHans Friedrich18861954NSDAPOtto Gohdes18961945NSDAPOtto Hergt18971945NSDAPMax Heydebreck18821951NSDAPEdwin Hoernle18831952KPDMandate revokedWilhelm Jaeger18871949DNVPWilhelm Karpenstein19031968NSDAPWerner Kraus18981964KPDMandate revokedKarl Kuhnke1881unknownDNVPKurt Lüdtke18981991NSDAPOtto Friedrich Passehl18741940SPDGeorg Schmidt18751946SPDAdolf Schmidtsdorff18781945NSDAPRobert Schulz19001974NSDAPGustav Schumann18791956SPDGeorg von Zitzewitz18921971DNVP

Constituency 7 (Breslau) Breslau was allocated 18 seats.