Though Germany was still largely in ruins, local elections were still held in the Soviet Zone in the fall of 1946. Persisting in the narrative that Soviet totalitarianism was completely the opposite of Fascist totalitarianism by every important metric, the German Communists tried to win control through democratic processes. Despite Soviet efforts, the Social Democrats were the clear victors with 49% of the vote in a three-way race. Worse, the center-right Christian Democratic Union came in second. The Communist Party was a distant third, with 20% of the vote. In no district did they come in
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