GERMAN ELECTION

Hokitika Guardian, 26 April 1932, Page 5

GERMAN ELECTION

PRUSSIAN DIET HUNDREDS OF ARRESTS MADE. (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) BERLIN. April 24. The elections for the Prussian Diet were held to-day. The Imperial, Republican. Nazi and Communist flags all fluttered throughout Prussia for the occasion. Nazi and Communist flags predominated in tiie workers districts, 'fhe rivalry made the Diet election polling brisker than the polling at the second ballot for the Presidential election. The struggle reached a climax at midnight on Saturday, when all of the leaders were addressing a mass meeting, although Herr Hitler’s efforts at Hamburg suffered somewhat, througn his opponents tampering with his loud speaker, this resulting in the Nazi champion’s fuilminations temporarily being inaudible. There were numerous partisan scuffles in Berlin, necessitating two hundred alTests.

Tiie campaign was conducted with yet greater bitterness in the provinces

The worst collision occurred at Breslau. Over a dozen Nazis, Communists and Socialists were there sent to the hospital.

Two Nazis were killed in election clashes. One was shot in Berlin, and the other was stablied at Hamburg, where the Communists charged the Nazis’ procession wounding several of the distributors of leaflets, and fatally injuring the storm troops’ leader.

A serious outbreak occurred at Duisburg in a concert hall, where a farmer was relating his experiences in Russia. Communists threw a hand-gren-ade into the auditorium. It did not explode, but there was subsequent fighting with chairs and various weapons which resulted in thirty being injured, a dozen of them seriously,

The pilot ori a, Nazi propaganda plane was forced to land at Dnsseldorf. There the Communists mobbed him. and they attempted to set fire to his plane, but the police rescued it. There have been frequent disturbances in the Rhineland and Westphalia.

The police, armed with carbines, are busy patrolling the cities throughout the country. There have been hundreds of arrests

The feature of the Prussian election is the swallowing of the Ricrht parties by the Nazis. This is illustrated m the final return for the Opplen district in Silesia, the only ore yet available, ft shows that the Nazis there increased tlurir vote from sixty-tlir , 'p thousand in 1930 to 212 thousand at the expense of the Nationalists. Other Right pa/v ties have almost been ivioed out.

The final election results arc likely to fulfil the predictions that the. Nazis will displace the Socialists as the strongest party in the State, hut they will not achieve an absolute majority, the Communists holding the balance of power.

DEFEAT OF THE GOVERNMENT. BERLIN, April 25. A scini-oTieml final count fov the Prussian elections gives the lota) as follows :—Government 162: Ooonsition 106 The Onnositinn include ifiO Xazis. Tim Communists are holding the balance of power with 56 sets.