More than 5,000,000 German men and women, despite all efforts at intimidation, voted against Adolf Hitler’s seizure of the Reichpresident’s office and his merger of it with the Chancellorship in yesterday’s plebiscite, late returns received here indicated early today.
This was the strongest expression of opposition to the Nazi regime since it entrenched itself in the Reich.
Out of almost 46,000,000 ballots cast in the referendum on Hitler’s action following the death of the late President Paul von Hindenburg, only 38,000,000, in round numbers, were “Ja,” while more than 5,000,000 were against, and millions either stayed away from the polls in open defiance or spoiled their ballots.
CATHOLICS, JEWS VOTE “NAY”
Reports received here said that in districts thickly populated by Catholics and workers the vote against Hitler was increasing as the ballots were counted, and a strong percentage of disapproval was recorded in Wilmersdorff, Berlin suburb in which hundreds of Jews reside.
That so large a negative vote should be cast, despite terrific pressure exerted by the Nazi Propaganda Ministry and constant threats that anyone who voted “No” would be marked a traitor, was considered in well-informed circles here as clear evidence that the Nazi chieftain is losing ground. The same view was expressed in the local newspapers. The Daily Herald called the vote “the biggest yet against Hitler.”
Hitler himself had declared the plebiscite the real test of his regime.
MANY FOR THAELMANN
One of the most popular methods of spoiling ballots in this odd “election,” in which the electorate had no one to vote for except Der Fuehrer, was to mark the name of Ernst Thaelmann, Communist leader now in prison.
The turnout against Hitler would have been even greater, some observers contended, but for a widespread rumor that the Nazis had erected specially built ballot boxes capable of detecting “No” votes.
The Morning Post characterizes as “most pathetic” the appeal last Friday of the League of National German Jews, in which all Jews “who feel themselves Germans” were admonished to vote for Hitler.
The size of the opposition vote
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