The January 1933 Lippe Election

The Nazis reached their electoral high point in the July 1932 Reichstag elections. Although they had the largest faction, the Reichstag was unable to do anything, and new elections were called for November 1932. The Nazis lost ground, although they remained the largest party. To many, both within and outside the party, it looked as if the Nazis were declining. An opportunity to prove the contrary came with the parliamentary election in Lippe, a tiny German state with about 100,000 inhabitants. The Nazis put everything they had into the campaign, which turned out well from their point of view, and restored a sense of momentum. I've added a chapter from a book on Gau Westfalen-Nord, published in 1939, which looks back on the Lippe campaign as a great victory.