Today: Headlines from April 2, 1925

Today 100 Years Ago – April 2, 1925

A century ago, the world was still catching its breath after the Great War, mass media was printed on news-boys’ ink-stained fingers, and democracies across Europe were learning—sometimes painfully—how to keep the peace. Let’s step back into that tense spring day of 1925.

1. Berlin Awaits Its New Head of State

Official results of the first direct German presidential election are published.
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When Berlin’s newspapers hit the kiosks on the morning of April 2, 1925, bold black type screamed numbers rather than names: 38.8 %, 29 %, 14.5 %, 7 %. Those figures told Germans—and the watching world—that no single candidate had won a majority in the young Weimar Republic’s inaugural popular vote for president, held four days earlier. The provisional leader, business-minded Karl Jarres, promptly bowed out, opening the door for retired Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg to enter the second round. Social Democrat Otto Braun came second, and Catholic Centre Party stalwart Wilhelm Marx quietly plotted a comeback. Meanwhile, Communist firebrand Ernst Thälmann held a solid minority on the far left.

Why it mattered in 1925:
• These numbers set in motion a run-off that would eventually seat Hindenburg, a decision that—within eight turbulent years—would help Adolf Hitler secure the chancellorship.
• The vote was the first time Germans directly chose their head of state, a bold democratic experiment after monarchy and revolution.
• Behind the ballot boxes loomed runaway inflation still fresh in memory, French troops only just withdrawn from the Ruhr, and fragile coalitions in the Reichstag.

A 2025 Lens:
• Germany now casts ballots digitally in many regions, with instant tallies that would astonish the hand-counters of 1925.
• Where Weimar’s streets bristled with paramilitaries, today’s Berlin hosts climate-strike sit-ins and esports tournaments—proof that democracies can evolve, though never to be taken for granted.
• The lesson resonates globally: inconclusive elections can open unexpected political doors—sometimes toward stability, sometimes toward storm clouds.

Quick Facts & Ripples

• Second-round campaigning began within hours of the results; posters were re-inked overnight.
• Radio, only a few years old, carried live commentary to 2 million German sets—an early taste of ‘breaking news’.
• International investors watched nervously; the Dawes Plan loans that propped up Germany’s economy depended on political calm.

Thanks for traveling back with me to 1925. Tomorrow’s headlines always rest on yesterday’s footnotes—something worth remembering as we scroll, swipe, and vote our way through 2025.