Variable Descriptions for the Weimar Aggregate Data Set
These are aggregate electoral and census data for the Weimar Republic during the years 1919-1933, which encompasses all elections leading to the rise of the Nazis. The data are at the level of Kreise, which are somewhat comparable to census tracts in the United States. The electoral data were originally supplied by the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). I added detailed occupational census data to the original electoral data.
Most of the electoral data in this data set are expressed as proportions of the total population. To retrieve the original raw data, simply multiply the proportions by total population for that year. It is useful to obtain the original codebook for these data from the ICPSR. Most of the variable names in the data for my version of the data set are written as "V###" where ### is 500 plus the variable number given in the original ICPSR codebook for these data. For example, from the original data set, V012 is the variable for the number of votes cast for the German Nationalist People's Party for the 6 June 1920 election. In my data set, V512 is the number votes cast for the German Nationalist People's Party for that same election expressed as a proportion of the total population as of 10 August 1919. To help identify relevant variables associated with parties and election years, the following table may be useful:
| 1920 | 5 April 1924 | 11 July 1924 | 20 May 1928 | 14 Sept. 1930 | 31 July 1932 | 11 Nov. 1932 | 5 March 1933 | |
| DNVP | V512 | V529 | V546 | V564 | V581 | V601 | V617 | |
| DDP | V515 | V533 | V550 | V568 | V585 | V604 | V619 | V638 |
| DVP | V513 | V531 | V548 | V566 | V584 | V602 | V618 | V634 |
| Center | V514 | V532 | V549 | V565 | V582 | V600 | V616 | V632 |
| SPD | V516 | V534 | V551 | V563 | V580 | V597 | V614 | V630 |
| Communist | V518 | V535 | V552 | V567 | V583 | V599 | V615 | V631 |
| NSDAP | V570 | V587 | V598 | V613 | V629 | |||
| Business | V554 | V569 | V586 | V605 | V621 | |||
| Total population | V5 | V24 | V41 | V58 | V75 | V92 | V108 | V124 |
| Total eligibles | V508 | V525 | V542 | V559 | V576 | V593 | V609 | V625 |
| Total votes | V511 | V528 | V545 | V562 | V579 | V596 | V612 | V628 |
DNVP: German Nationalist People's Party
DDP: German State Party
DVP: German People's Party
Center: Center (Catholic) Party and the Bavarian People's Party
SPD: German Social Democratic Party
Communist: German Communist Party
NSDAP: Nationalist-Socialist German Worker's Party (the Nazi Party)
Business: The German Nationalist Middle-Class Party (the Business Party)
The occupational variables are expressed both as raw numbers and as proportions of the population. The raw numbers are variables V450-V465, whereas the same variables expressed as proportions of the population are variables V750-V765. (Simply add 300 to the variable name.) The occupational variables are grouped according to industry.
Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery
V450: owners and independent business people
V451: white collar workers
V452: blue collar workers
V453: family members that help out
Industry and Manufacturing
V454: owners and independent business people
V455: white collar workers
V456: blue collar workers
V457: family members that help out
Trade and Transportation
V458: owners and independent business people
V459: white collar workers
V460: blue collar workers
V461: family members that help out
Civil Servants, Army and Navy, Clergy, and Professions (not medical)
V462: owners and independent business people
V463: white collar workers
V464: blue collar workers
V465: family members that help out