1920 German federal election

1920 German federal election

← 1919 6 June 1920 (1920-06-06) May 1924 →
All 459 seats in the Reichstag 230 seats needed for a majority
Registered	35,949,774 ( 2.3%)
Turnout	79.2% ( 3.8pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Otto Wels Hermann Müller Arthur Crispien Ernst Däumig Oskar Hergt Party SPD USPD DNVP Last election 37.9%, 165 seats 7.6%, 22 seats 10.3%, 44 seats Seats won 103 83 71 Seat change 62 61 27 Popular vote 6,179,991 4,971,220 4,249,100 Percentage 21.9% 17.6% 15.1% Swing 16.0pp 10.0pp 4.8pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Gustav Stresemann Karl Trimborn Carl Wilhelm Petersen Party DVP Centre DDP Last election 4.4%, 19 seats 19.7%, 91 seats 18.6%, 75 seats Seats won 65 64 39 Seat change 46 27 36 Popular vote 3,919,446 3,845,001 2,333,741 Percentage 13.9% 13.6% 8.3% Swing 9.5pp 6.1pp 10.3pp
Results by electoral constituency Results by district and independent city Results for each party
Government before election First Müller cabinet SPD–DDP–Z Government after election Fehrenbach cabinet Z–DDP–DVP

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Federal elections were held in Germany on 6 June 1920 to elect the first Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. It succeeded the Weimar National Assembly elected in January 1919, which had drafted and ratified the republican constitution. The election was delayed in three electoral districts – Schleswig-Holstein and East Prussia until 20 February 1921, and Upper Silesia (Oppeln) until 19 November 1922 – due to territorial plebiscites.^{[1]: 762 [2]}

The parties of the Weimar Coalition, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Catholic Centre Party (Centre), and German Democratic Party (DDP), had won the last election in a landslide and were largely responsible for drafting the new constitution. This coalition suffered major losses to opposing parties on the left and right and won just 44% of the vote between them. The Independent Social Democrats, rejecting compromise with the moderate and conservative parties, emerged as the second-largest party behind the SPD. The right-wing nationalist German National People's Party (DNVP) and conservative German People's Party (DVP) placed third and fourth, ahead of the Centre and DDP. A total of ten parties won seats, including the Bavarian People's Party (BVP), which had split from the Centre and took a more right-wing course, and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), which remained marginal with 2% of the vote and 4 seats. Voter turnout was about 79.2%, down about four percentage points since January 1919.^{[1]: 776 [2]}

The election was held ahead of schedule in the aftermath of the attempted Kapp Putsch, which had been defeated by a combination of civil disobedience and a general strike after the Reichswehr refused to intervene. This event radicalised large sections of both the left, who were alarmed at the disloyalty of the military, and the middle classes, who feared further unrest and violence. Also playing a major part in the national mood was the deeply unpopular Treaty of Versailles, which the Weimar Coalition parties were blamed for accepting.

The Reichstag was divided between left, centre, and right, none of whom commanded a majority. After negotiations, a centre-right minority government of the Centre, DDP, and DVP, led by Constantin Fehrenbach, took office with external support from the SPD.^[2]