rates reached 12% in 1933, compared to an overall 19% in the empire. Nazi era Pomeranian Nazi movement before 1933 Throughout the existence of the Weimar Republic, politics in the province was dominated by the nationalist conservative DNVP (, German National People's Party); an entity composed of nationalists, monarchists, radical volkisch and anti-semitic elements, and supported by Pan-German League an old organisation believing in superiority of German people over others. The Nazi party (NSDAP) did not have any significant success at elections, nor did it have a substantial number of members. The Pomeranian Nazi party was founded by students of the University of Greifswald in 1922, when the NSDAP was officially forbidden. The university's rector Theodor Vahlen became Gauleiter (head of the provincial party) in 1924. Soon afterwards, he was fired by the university and went bankrupt. In 1924, the party had 330 members, and in December 1925, 297 members. The party was not present in all of the province. The members were concentrated mainly in Western Pomerania and internally divided. Vahlen retired from the Gauleiter position in 1927 and was replaced by Walther von Corswandt, a Pomeranian knight estate holder. Corswandt led the party from his estate in Kuntzow. In the 1928 Reichstag elections, the Nazis got 1.5% of the votes in Pomerania. Party property was partially pawned. In 1929, the party gained 4.1% of the votes. Corswandt was fired after conflicts with the party's leadership and replaced with Wilhelm Karpenstein, one of the former students who formed the Pomeranian Nazi party in 1922 and since 1929 lawyer in Greifswald. He moved the headquarters to Stettin and replaced many of the party officials predominantly with young radicals. In the Reichstag elections of September 14, 1930, the party gained a significant 24.3% of the Pomeranian votes and thus became the second strongest party, the strongest still being the DNVP, which however was internally divided in the early 1930s. In the elections of July 1932, the Nazis gained 48% of the Pomeranian votes, while the DNVP dropped to 15.8%. In March 1933, the NSDAP gained 56.3%. Nazi government since 1933 Immediately after their gain of power, the Nazis began arresting their opponents. In March 1933, 200 people were arrested, this number rose to 600 during the following months. In Stettin-Bredow, at the site of the bankrupt Vulcan shipyards, the Nazis set up a short-lived "wild" concentration camp from October 1933 to