Chapter I: Election Day
After studying his options, SPD leader Otto Wels realized that he could not defeat the Nazi menace alone. Firstly, there was an urgent need to end the electoral hemoragy and to recover the lost votes. This could only be done by convincing the German people that the ideals of freedom and peaceful coexistence were the only ones that would allow the Volk to attain its ultimate goal: the recovery of Germany as a prosperous nation.
Moreover, even in an scenario where the SPD managed to avoid the rise of the NSDAP to the top of the political grid, the social democrats needed gain the support of other parliamentary groups to achieve a large majority in Parliament, forcing Hindenburg to appoint Wels as Chancellor and strengthening his legitimacy in the eyes of the German people.
SPD leader Otto Wels in a recent speech
Although the communists feared and hated the Nazis as much as anyone, any agreement between the KPD and SPD seemed impossible; on one side, much of the society would perceive it as a dangerous twist to the left by the SPD, and on the other side Thalmann was not at all willing to form a popular front that would contradict the guidelines of the Komintern.
The remaining parties of the political spectrum were also dangerously tilted to the right, proposing measures similar to the ones of the Nazis or calling for the restoration of the monarchy. Therefore, there was only one viable option for Wels: to gain the support of the Zentrum.
This centrist party, now under the leadership of Ludwig Kaas, had approached the National-Socialist postures, but much of their leaders disagreed with that course of action and supported the need to act within the limits of the democratic system, refusing to trust Hitler's promises.
After contacting the former chancellors and Zentrum members Heinrich Brüning and Joseph Wirth, Wels discovered that the only obstacle to reach an agreement with the centrists was their own leader, Ludwig Kaas. After committing to make concessions to Brüning and Wirth, they in turn promised to do everything possible to convince Kaas that Hitler could not be trusted.
Brüning and Wirth would play a key role in the upcoming elections
Following days of intense discussions, Kaas finally understood that his only option to stay ahead of the political game and avoid an internal party war was to accept the proposals of Brüning and Kaas, and he finally accepted to negotiate an agreement with the SPD.
After a long meeting at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin, the two leaders reached an agreement just a few days before the election: the Zentrum would support Wels as Chancellor if he could achieve a significant parliamentary majority, and in turn the SPD pledged to respect the concordats with the Church and its influence in education, to try to achieve a broad national consensus around the concept of the German nation and, once the situation had calmed down, to support a member of the Zentrum as candidate for the German Presidency once Hindenburg retired.
The so called "Adlon Declaration" signed by the two leaders, sparked immediate reactions once it went public: Adolf Hitler called it "a mockery of the beliefs of the voters" and Thalmann spoke of "collusion between bourgeois", but much of the public opinion and newspapers praised the efforts of both parties to try to bring some stability to the country.
Finally, the expected election day came, and with him the first results. While Hitler could increase his support and got a total of 211 seats, the big news laid in the spectacular rise of the SPD, which went from 121 seats to 214, becoming the first political force. Another major victor would be the Zentrum, that after obtaining 86 seats became the third political force and immediately announced their support for the candidacy of Otto Wels as Chancellor of Germany. For its part, the Thalmann´s KPD sank and fell to 71 seats, while the DNVP got 41, the BVP 16 and the rest of seats were divided among other minor formations.
Following the results and knowing that there was no majority of 324 seats required to form a government immediately, it was up to Hindenburg to appoint a chancellor. After refusing to meet Adolf Hitler, who declared that the NSDAP "would not tolerate any option that did not include the NSDAP within the legitimate Government of Germany", the President declared he was to appoint Otto Wels as Chancellor, and entrusted him with the task of forming a government. However, the Nazis would not stand idly…
The SPD has managed to obtain an important victory, but will it be a lasting one?