Ermächtigungsgesetz [Enabling Act]
The German Enabling Act of 1933, formally known as the "Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich" (Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich), was a critical piece of legislation that played a central role in Adolf Hitler's consolidation of power and the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship. In early 1933, Germany was in the midst of an economic depression, and the Weimar Republic was politically unstable. On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag building, home to the German parliament, was set on fire. The Nazis used this event to claim that communists were planning a violent uprising, which created an atmosphere of fear and urgency.
The Enabling Act was passed on March 23, 1933. the "Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich" presented by Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler . The law was intended to empower the government to pass laws without the consent of the Reichstag and Reichsrat and without the countersignature of the Reich President. Such an enabling law amending the Weimar Constitution required a two-thirds majority of parliament, although only two-thirds of the members of parliament had to be present. After Hitler's tactical assurance of a controlled application of the law and his promise to preserve the rights of the constitutional bodies, the states and the church, the middle-class parties signaled their approval.
Hitler and the Nazi Party used intimidation and the arrest of Communist and Socialist deputies to ensure the necessary votes. The act was supported by the Centre Party and other conservative allies, giving it the needed majority. The law was passed in a roll-call vote with 444 votes from the governing coalition of the NSDAP and DNVP as well as from the Zentrum , the Bavarian People's Party (BVP) and the German State Party . Only the 94 SPD representatives were not intimidated by the threatening gestures of the Sturmabteilung (SA) marching in the Reichstag and voted against the self-disempowerment of parliament. In his speech to the Reichstag, their party chairman Otto Wels had previously made an impressive commitment to parliamentary democracy.
The 81 KPD deputies were not able to take part in the vote . Their mandates had already been annulled on March 8, 1933, on the basis of the Reichstag Fire Decree. 26 SPD deputies were also unable to take part in the vote. They were in so-called "protective custody" or had also fled from imminent persecution. One deputy was in hospital after being beaten up by SS and SA men.
After the plenary hall of the Reichstag building had been destroyed by fire on the night of February 27, 1933, the Great Theater Hall of the Opera House was converted into a provisional meeting room. The SS took over the cordon in front of the Kroll Opera. Inside the provisional parliament building, armed members of the so-called Sturmabteilung (SA), a subdivision of the NSDAP, provided "hall security". Opposition parliamentarians, especially the Social Democrats, were insulted and intimidated. The entire scene of the session was dominated by the colors and symbols of the National Socialists.
In a speech to the deputies on the afternoon of March 23, which was designed as a government statement, Adolf Hitler advocated the adoption of the Enabling Act. "Since the government itself has a clear majority, the number of cases in which there is an internal necessity to resort to such a law is limited. But the government of the national uprising insists all the more on the passing of this law. In any case, it prefers a clear decision."
Otto Wels (1873-1939), chairman of the Social Democrats , gave a courageous counter-speech. He combined his rejection of the "Enabling Act" with a passionate commitment to parliamentary democracy: "The elections of March 5 gave the government parties a majority and thus the opportunity to govern strictly according to the letter and spirit of the constitution. Where this opportunity exists, there is also an obligation. Criticism is beneficial and necessary. Never since the German Reichstag was founded has the control of public affairs by the elected representatives of the people been eliminated to such an extent as is now happening, and as the new Enabling Act is set to further. Such omnipotence on the part of the government must have an even more serious impact, as the press is also deprived of any freedom of movement." Undaunted by the terror of the National Socialists, he said: "You can take our freedom and our lives, but not our honor."
Hitler could not let this counter-argument go unanswered and worked himself into a rage. "And do not confuse us with a bourgeois world! You think that your star could rise again! Gentlemen, Germany's star will rise and yours will sink." He was clear: "Your hour has also struck, and only because we see Germany and its distress and the necessities of national life, we appeal at this hour to the German Reichstag to grant us what we could have taken anyway."
On May 17, 1933, the Reichstag met for its last session as a multi-party parliament. On June 22, 1933, the SPD was banned, all bourgeois parties dissolved themselves, and the "Law Against the Formation of New Parties" of July 14, 1933, which permitted the NSDAP as the only political party. For the Reichstag election on November 12, 1933, voters were left with only one option: to vote for unity lists, which they could either unconditionally approve of or reject.
The Enabling Act allowed the Reich government (essentially Hitler and his cabinet) to enact laws without the involvement of the Reichstag. The law "to alleviate the distress of the people and the Reich", consisted of just five articles, states: "In addition to the procedure provided for in the Reich Constitution, Reich laws can also be passed by the Reich government. (...) Reich laws passed by the Reich government can deviate from the Reich Constitution." Laws enacted under the Enabling Act could deviate from the Weimar Constitution. These laws did not require the approval of the President of Germany, Paul von Hindenburg, effectively bypassing the checks and balances of the Weimar Republic.
The act allowed Hitler to establish a legal dictatorship. It enabled the rapid implementation of policies that suppressed opposition, controlled the media, and consolidated Nazi control over all aspects of German life. With the Reichstag sidelined, democratic governance in Germany was effectively abolished. The government could rule by decree, removing any legislative oversight. The Enabling Act laid the foundation for the totalitarian regime, leading to widespread persecution, including the targeting of Jews, political dissidents, and other minority groups. The unchecked power granted by the Enabling Act allowed the Nazis to pursue aggressive expansionist policies and implement the atrocities of the Holocaust. The act marked the end of the Weimar Republic, transitioning Germany from a fragile democracy to a dictatorship under Hitler's rule. The Enabling Act of 1933 is a stark reminder of how legal mechanisms can be used to dismantle democratic institutions and concentrate power in the hands of a single ruler or party, leading to severe consequences for a nation and the world.
The Enabling Act, initially passed for four years, was extended in 1937, 1939 and 1943 and remained the legal basis of German legislation until the end of the Nazi regime in May 1945.
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