Download full text
(649.6Kb)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-379891
Exports for your reference manager
Die Wahlen in der Sowjetisch Besetzten Zone von 1946: eine wahlhistorische Analyse (1999)
An historical analysis of the 1946 elections in the Soviet Occupation Zone
[journal article]
Abstract "In the fall of 1946 the Soviet Occupation Zone held its first - and until 1990 - its last elections that granted other parties besides the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) the right to run for election. Nevertheless, in this context it would go too far to speak of free elections. In many comm... view more
"In the fall of 1946 the Soviet Occupation Zone held its first - and until 1990 - its last elections that granted other parties besides the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) the right to run for election. Nevertheless, in this context it would go too far to speak of free elections. In many communities of the Soviet Occupation Zone, the Soviet Military Administration (SMAD) systematically prevented the candidacy of middle-class parties like the CDUD (Christian Democratic Union of Germany) and LDP (Liberal Democratic Party of Germany) in order to strengthen the claim for the government of the SED. Analyzing these communities' results of the county council elections, this article shows that the practice of hindering middle-class party involvement in the elections lead to an increase of voters for the remaining middle-class parties or in voting abstention. In the end, the result was the absolute majority of votes for the SED." (author's abstract)... view less
Keywords
voting behavior; party; Socialist Unity Party of Germany (GDR); election; preference; Soviet Occupation Zone; social structure; religious affiliation; election result
Classification
Social History, Historical Social Research
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Document language
German
Publication Year
2013
Page/Pages
p. 333-354
Journal
Historical Social Research, Supplement (2013) 25
Issue topic
Zur Soziographie des Nationalsozialismus
ISSN
0936-6784
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed