The German socialist party shed its working-class base and gained middle-class votes before 1933

Evidence

The German socialist party underwent a typical change from the beginning of the century to 1933. Prior to the first World War only 10 per cent of its members did not belong to the working class whereas about 25 per cent of its votes came from the middle classes. In 1930, however, only 60 per cent of its members were workers and at least 40 per cent of its votes were middle-class votes. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 2485

Categorization

• XREF: Exemplifies Arendt’s argument about class atomization paving the way for totalitarian movements — class-based parties losing stable constituencies connect to the breakdown of political representation that totalitarianism exploits.