Nazi storm troopers on duty at election booths during the plebiscite of August 19, which gave Hitler absolute power over Germany, forced Germans to vote “Yes” and intimidated others, the Trans-Atlantic Information Service declares.
The manner in which the plebiscite worked was described in a special report of a German citizen in Pirmasens:
“On the morning of August 19, I went to my polling place. Many storm troopers were waiting at the entrance. They were very quiet, but every voter was carefully observed and noted. Inside many Nazi officials in uniform hung around the voting booths.
“I had occasion to note the manner in which two men and a woman in line before me were induced to vote “Yes.” The woman received a ballot which was already marked “Yes.” She called the attention of the election official to the fact and received from a uniformed Nazi official the following reply: ‘Go ahead, put the ballot in the envelope. We have prepared the ballots for good Germans and our friends.’
‘NO SECRETS, PLEASE’
“One of the men wanted to mark his ballot in secret as provided by German law. When he approached the reserved corner of the room he was stopped by a storm trooper who pointed to a large sign reading: ‘Every German votes openly. Who votes secretly?’ The storm trooper told the voter not to bother himself with formality and mark his ballot openly at the table behind which the election officials were seated. While marking his ballot, six men watched him, two over his shoulder and four seated before him.
“In my case, they did not even bother with formalities and explanations. I was given an envelope with the prepared ballot and instructed to drop it in the ballot box. How many people would have the courage to protest openly against the ‘democratic’ methods employed in the Third Reich.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
