Guardians of tradition or agents of modernity: sources of National Socialist appeal in rural northwest Germany George S. Vascik Miami University

Polling places in northwest Germany

Kreise and Ämter Norden Wittmund Jork HadelnNeuhaus Kehdingen Osterholz Bremervörde Stade Lehe Geestemünde Blumenthal Elsfleth Westerstede Leer Weener Emden Oldenburg Varel Jever Rüstringen Butjadingen Brake Aurich

Plurality winners, 1924_1 DNVP DHP Wittmund

1924_ _1 P value R2P value R2P value R2P value R2 All/tax hectare All/pop. density All/RR distance _ _1 P value R2P value R2P value R2P value R2 All/tax/density All/tax/distance All/density/dist All/den/tax/dist Determinants of Racist success in all villages (multiple variables) Determinants of Racist success in all villages (single variable)

1924_ _1 P value R2P value R2P value R2P value R2 Ag/tax hectare Ag/pop. density Ag/RR distance _ _1 P value R2P value R2P value R2P value R2 Ag/tax/density Ag/tax/distance Ag/density/dist Ag/den/tax/dist Determinants of Racist success Liberal villages (multiple variables) Determinants of Racist success in Liberal villages (single variable)

Völkisch votes in relation to pre-War Liberal hegemony, May 1924

Agrarian block leader, 1924_1 VSB Bremervoerde

Hamburg Bremen Locating Bremervoerde

Constituency: Hanover 18

Constituency 15

Bremervörde

GIS of Kreis Bremervoerde

The complex nature of politics in Bremervoerde Liberals and Radicals –Who they were and what they represented The German-Hanoverian party –Who they were and what they represented The Agrarians –Bund der Landwirte later Reichslandbund Creating the Composite Voting Indices

Mapping areas of political orientation Liberal = gold DHP = green Agrarian = striped

Single variables influencing Liberal, Agrarian, and Modern orientation LiberalAgrarianTraditionalist P-valueR-SqP-valueR-SqP-valueR-Sq Parish % % % Area % % % Tax/hectare % % % RR distance Population % % % Pop. density % % % % non- Evangelical % % %

Composite Liberal and Traditionalist Vote percentages by parish

Scatter plot of Composite Agrarian Vote percentages and tax/hectare

Probability plot of Composite Agrarian Value percentages and tax/hectare

Transformative effect of the Great War Immediate post-War results Continued German-Hanoverian strength and spread –What it meant May 1924 referendum The impact of the Great Inflation –Dissolution of the Liberal (DVP) and Radical (DDP) parties

Immediate post-War results

May referendum Question: should Hanover be allowed to form a state independent of Prussia? Voting in two stages: first to decide if question should be put to the voters, second actual binding vote. To move to second stage, a majority of 33% of eligible votes must vote yes.

Impact of the Great Inflation Collapse of support for DVP and DDP in election with 6.7% greater turnout Shifting support to DNVP Growth of Racist VSB

Locating political anti-Semitism in Kreis Bremervoerde

Single variables influencing votes cast for the VSB in May 1924 P-valueR-Sq Composite Liberal Value % Composite Agrarian Value % Composite Traditionalist Value % Parish % Area % Tax/hectare % Railroad distance Population % Population density % % non-Evangelical0.4960,8%

The rural crisis of 1927/28 Discussion of events Landvolk movement Founding of the CNBLP –Created by Landbund –Opposed to DNVP and Racists –Alliance with the German Hanoverians Campaign of 1928

Single variables influencing votes cast for the NSDAP in May 1928 P-valueR-Sq Composite Liberal Value % Composite Agrarian Value % Composite Traditionalist Value % Parish % Area % Tax/hectare % Railroad distance Population % Population density % % non-Evangelical %

Single variables influencing votes cast for the CNBLP in May 1928 P-valueR-Sq Composite Liberal Value % Composite Agrarian Value % Composite Traditionalist Value % Parish % Area % Tax/hectare % Railroad distance Population % Population density % % non-Evangelical %

Christian Nationalist Peasants’ and Rural Peoples’ Party

Who collects post-1928 detritus? The CNBLP, created by the Landbund as a mean of channeling rural discontent, turned out to be a way-station to the NSDAP CNBLP vote 1928:NSDAP vote 1930 –P-value 0.007R-Sq=13.1% German-Hanoverians reemerge as the largest party in the majority of villages After 1930 elections, Christian Nationalists enter government and craft a Rural Recovery Program with DHP support

The election of September 1930 Where Racists did best Areas of residual Traditionalist strength The battle within the Landbund between Traditionalists and Nazis

Single variables influencing votes cast for the NSDAP in September 1930 P-valueR-Sq Composite Liberal Value % Composite Agrarian Value % Composite Traditionalist Value % CNBLP vote % Parish % Area % Tax/hectare % Population % Population density % % non-Evangelical %

Single variables influencing votes cast for the NSDAP in July 1932 P-valueR-Sq Composite Liberal Value % Composite Agrarian Value % Composite Traditionalist Value % Parish % Area % Tax/hectare % Railroad distance Population % Population density % % non-Evangelical %

Votes cast for the Deutsch- Hannoversche Partei,

Participation /11924/ /11932/21933 Votes9,6879,1699,7849,88211,03211,65512,43211,29012,719 % >11.6%>5.6%>6.6%<9.2%>12.7 >11.6%17.9%25.8%14.2%28.7% Eligible voters in May 1924: 10,372

Conclusions Voters in historically Liberal towns and villages were most susceptible to Racist and Nazi appeals after 1924 Voters in historically Traditionalist towns and villages resisted the Nazis the longest The German-Hanoverian party was much more capable of maintaining its traditional voter base than most historians allow The Nazi triumph in 1932 was based in part on bringing new voters into the process