GAINS BY NAZIS

Taranaki Daily News, 26 April 1932, Page 5

GAINS BY NAZIS

BITTER GERMAN ELECTION COMMUNISTS HOLD BALANCE RIGHT PARTIES COLLAPSE FATAL. CLASHES IN PRUSSIA ARMED MEN PATROL CITIES By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright. Rec. 6.30 p.m. Berlin, April 25. Communists hold the balance of power in the new Prussian Parliament, avoiding to a semi-official final count of the votes cast in the election yesterday. The state of the parties is:— Government Opposition (including 160 Nazis) . Communists A feature of the election is the swallowing of the Right parties by the Nazis, illustrated by the final return for the Opplen district, Silesia, the only one yet available, which shows the Nazis have increased their vote there from 63,000 in 1930 to 212,000 at the expense of the Na/tionalists. Other Right parties are almost wiped out. The final election results will probably fulfil the predictions that the Nazis will displace the Socialists as the strongest party in the State, but they will not achieve an absolute majority, the Communists holding the balance of power. The result of the Wurtemberg and Anhalt elections shows that the Nazis increased their vote, but are insufficiently strong to govern without the support of the Centre Party. Imperial, Republican, Nazi and Communist flags fluttered throughout Prussia on polling day, Nazi and Communist flags predominating in the workers’ districts, the Diet election polling being brisker than in the second ballot for the presidential election. The struggle reached a climax at midnight, all the leaders addressing mass meetings, although Herr Adolf Hitler’s efforts at Hamburg suffered somewhat through opponents tampering with the loudspeaker, resulting in the Nazi champion’s fulminations being temporarily Inaudible.

There were numerous partisan scuffles in Berlin, necessitating 200 arrests. The campaign was conducted, with even greater bitterness than in the provinces. One of the worst collisions occurred at Breslau, over a dozen Nazis, Communists and Socialists being sent to hospital.

Two Nazis were killed in election clashes. One was shot at Berlin and the other stabbed at Hamborn, where Communists charged a Nazi procession, wounding several distributors of leaflets and fatally injuring the storm troops’ leader. A serious outbreak occurred at the Duisberg concert hall, where a farmer relating the experiences of Russian communists threw a hand grenade into the auditorium. It did not explode but the subsequent fighting with chairs and various weapons resulted in 30 being injured, a dozen seriously. The pilot of a Nazi propaganda plane was forced to land at Dusseldorf. Communists mobbed him and attempted to set fire to his plane, but the police rescued it.

There were frequent disturbances in the Rhineland and Westphalia. Police armed with caibines patrolled the cities throughout the country. Hundreds of arrests were made.