German presidential election, 1932

← 1925

13 March and 10 April 1932

1949 (West)
1949 (East) →


Nominee	Paul von Hindenburg	Adolf Hitler	Ernst Thälmann
Party	Independent	NSDAP	KPD
Popular vote	19,359,983	13,418,517	3,706,759
Percentage	53.0%	36.8%	10.2%

President before election

Paul von Hindenburg
Independent

President-Elect

Paul von Hindenburg
Independent

The 1932 German presidential elections were held on 13 March (first round) and 10 April (second round run-off). They were the second and final direct elections to the office of President of the Reich (Reichspräsident), Germany's head of state under the Weimar Republic. The incumbent President, Paul von Hindenburg, first elected in 1925, was re-elected to a second seven-year term of office. His major opponent in the election was Adolf Hitler of the Nazi Party (NSDAP).

Under the Weimar system, the presidency was a powerful office. Hindenburg, who deeply distrusted and personally detested Hitler, had been motivated to run for a second term primarily by a desire to stop Hitler from winning the presidency. Nevertheless, following his re-election, Hindenburg failed to prevent the Nazis from assuming power. Two successive federal elections left the Nazis as the largest party in the Reichstag and anti-democratic parties in control of a majority of its seats. Under this political climate, Hindenburg reluctantly appointed Hitler as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933.

Incumbent President Paul von Hindenburg was 84 years old and in poor health. Never enthusiastic about the presidency (or public office in general), Hindenburg had planned to stand down after his first term. However, the prospect of Adolf Hitler being elected President of Germany persuaded the reluctant incumbent to seek a second term. The German government of Chancellor Heinrich Brüning had developed plans to evade direct elections by a Reichstag resolution to extend Hindenburg's time in office and arranged significant concessions to be made to Hitler's Nazi Party and the German National People's Party (DNVP) under chairman Alfred Hugenberg. However, both party leaders, unified in the Harzburg Front alliance of October 1931, rejected his proposals.

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