 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 814 seats in theReichstag 408 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered | 49,634,569 ( 9.2%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 99.6% ( 0.6pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Parliamentary elections were held inGermany (including recently annexedAustria) on 10 April 1938.[1] They were the final elections to theReichstag duringNazi rule and took the form of a single-questionreferendum asking whether voters approved of asingle list ofNazi and 11 pro-Nazi "guest" candidates for the 814-member Reichstag,[2] as well as therecent annexation of Austria. Turnout in the election was officially 99.6% with 99.1% voting 'yes' in Germany and Austria.
The elections were held largely to rally official support from the newOstmark (Austrian) province, although further elections for 41 seats were held in the recently annexedSudetenland on 4 December.[1] NSDAP candidates and "guests" officially received 97.32% of the votes.[3]
The recently completedKraft durch Freude cruise shipMV Wilhelm Gustloff was anchored ininternational waters near the United Kingdom to serve as a floating polling station for German and Austrian citizens living in the UK. On 10 April 1938, 1,978 voters (including 806 Austrians) were ferried fromTilbury, east of London. Only ten voted against annexation.[4]
 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
| Nazi Party and guests | 48,905,004 | 99.08 | 814 | |
| Against | 454,952 | 0.92 | – | |
| Total | 49,359,956 | 100.00 | 814 | |
| Valid votes | 49,359,956 | 99.85 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 75,667 | 0.15 | ||
| Total votes | 49,435,623 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 49,634,569 | 99.60 | ||
| Source: Direct Democracy[5][6] | ||||
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nazi Party and guests | 2,464,681 | 98.90 | 41 | |
| Against | 27,427 | 1.10 | – | |
| Total | 2,492,108 | 100.00 | 41 | |
| Valid votes | 2,492,108 | 99.78 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 5,496 | 0.22 | ||
| Total votes | 2,497,604 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 2,532,863 | 98.61 | ||
| Source: Direct Democracy[7] | ||||
The new Reichstag, the last of theGerman Reich, convened for the first time on 30 January 1939, electing a presidium headed by incumbentPresident of the ReichstagHermann Göring. It convened only a further seven times, the last on 26 July 1942; among the measures passed was a renewal of theEnabling Act of 1933 for additional four years and a law giving Hitler power of life and death over every citizen.
On 25 January 1943 Hitler postponed elections for a new Reichstag until after the war, with the inaugural to take place after another electoral term, subsequently on 30 January 1947 by which point the body, and the Nazi state, had ceased to exist. They were the final elections held in a united Germany prior to1990 afterGerman reunification.[8]
As of 2026, the 1938 German referendum is the last Federal referendum held in Germany.
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