View source for Enabling Act of 1933

{{short description|Transfer of the Reichstag's power to the government under Hitler}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox legislation
| short_title    = Enabling Act of 1933
| legislature    =
| image          = <!---Do not insert the Weimar Republic's coat of arms here. The CoA was that of the Weimar Republic as a whole, not of the Reichstag individually.--->
| image_size     = 150px
| long_title     = Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich
| citation       = [https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=dra&datum=1933&page=266 RGBl. I S. 141]
| territorial_extent = {{flag|Weimar Republic}} → {{flag|Nazi Germany|1933}}
| enacted_by     = [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]]
| date_enacted   =
| date_passed    =
| enacted_by2    = [[Reichsrat (Germany)|Reichsrat]]
| date_enacted2  = <!-- For bicameral legislatures only. Pick one of date_enacted2 or date_passed2 as appropriate in jurisdiction. -->
| date_passed2   = <!-- For bicameral legislatures only. Pick one of date_enacted2 or date_passed2 as appropriate in jurisdiction. -->
| date_assented  = <!-- Pick none or one of date_assented, royal_assent or date_signed as appropriate in jurisdiction. -->
| royal_assent   = <!-- Pick none or one of date_assented, royal_assent or date_signed as appropriate in jurisdiction. -->
| date_signed    = 23 March 1933
| signed_by      = [[President of Germany (Weimar Republic)|President]] [[Paul von Hindenburg]]
| date_commenced = 23 March 1933
| date_effective = <!-- Pick one of date_commenced or date_effective as appropriate in jurisdiction. -->
| date_of_expiry =
| date_repealed  = 20 September 1945
| administered_by =
| bill           = <!-- Name of relevant bill debated in the chamber listed in enacted_by or considered_by. Omit if the legislation is still a bill in this chamber and the bill name used in short_title. -->
| bill_citation  =
| bill_date      =
| introduced_by  = [[Hitler cabinet]]
| 1st_reading    =
| 2nd_reading    =
| 3rd_reading    =
| passed         = 23 March 1933
| passed_for     = 444
| passed_against = 94
| passed_absent  = 109
| conf_committee_passed =
| committee_report =
| bill2          = <!-- For bicameral legislatures only. Name of relevant bill debated in the chamber listed in enacted_by2 or considered_by2. -->
| bill_citation2 = <!-- For bicameral legislatures only. -->
| bill_date2     = <!-- For bicameral legislatures only. -->
| introduced_by2 = <!-- For bicameral legislatures only. Name of member introducing the bill in the chamber. -->
| 1st_reading2   = <!-- For bicameral legislatures only. -->
| 2nd_reading2   = <!-- For bicameral legislatures only. Specify date range for multi-day readings. -->
| 3rd_reading2   = <!-- For bicameral legislatures only. -->
| passed2        = 23 March 1933
| passed2_for    = 66
| passed2_against = 0
| conf_committee_passed2 = <!-- For bicameral legislatures only. -->
| committee_report2 = <!-- For bicameral legislatures only. -->
| date_conf_committee =
| white_paper    =
| amends         = <!-- Citations of other notable legislation that this legislation amends; wikilink or external link where possible. -->
| repeals        = <!-- Citations of other notable legislation that this legislation repeals; wikilink or external link where possible. -->
| amended_by     = <!-- Citations of other notable legislation that amends this legislation; wikilink or external link where possible.  -->
| repealed_by    = [[Control Council Law No. 1 - Repealing of Nazi Laws]]
| related_legislation = <!-- Names and citations of any other related legislation; wikilink name and external link citation where possible. -->
| summary        =
| keywords       =
| status         = Repealed
}}
{{Nazism sidebar}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-14439, Rede Adolf Hitlers zum Ermächtigungsgesetz.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Hitler's Reichstag speech promoting the bill was delivered at the [[Kroll Opera House]], following the [[Reichstag fire]].]]
The '''Enabling Act of 1933''' ([[German language|German]]: ''{{lang|de|Ermächtigungsgesetz}}''), officially titled '''''{{lang|de|Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich}}''''' ({{literal translation|Law to Remedy the Distress of People and [[Reich]]}}),<ref>{{cite book |title=The Third Reich Sourcebook |last1=Rabinbach |first1=Anson |last2=Gilman |first2=Sander L. |year=2013 |isbn=978-0520276833 |page=52|publisher=University of California Press }}</ref> was a law that gave the [[Hitler Cabinet|German Cabinet]] – most importantly, the [[Chancellor of Germany#Nazi Germany (1933–1945)|Chancellor]] – the power to make and enforce laws without the involvement of the [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]] or [[Weimar Republic|Weimar]] President [[Paul von Hindenburg]], leading to the rise of [[Nazi Germany]]. Critically, the Enabling Act allowed the Chancellor to bypass the system of checks and balances in the government.
In January 1933, [[Adolf Hitler]], leader of the [[Nazi Party]], was appointed as chancellor, the head of the German government.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Enabling Act Exhibition |url=https://www.bundestag.de/resource/blob/189778/d0f948962723d454c536d24d43965f87/enabling_act-data.pdf|journal=German Bundestag}}</ref> On 27 February, the German parliament building – the [[Reichstag building|Reichstag]] – [[Reichstag fire|caught fire]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Reichstag fire – Nazi rise to power – National 5 History Revision|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zpknb9q/revision/4|access-date=2021-07-12|website=BBC Bitesize|language=en-GB}}</ref> Acting as chancellor, Hitler immediately accused the [[Communist Party of Germany|Communists]] of being the perpetrators of the fire and claimed the arson was part of a larger effort to overthrow the German government. Using this justification, Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to enact the [[Reichstag Fire Decree]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-25 |title=The Reichstag Fire Decree (1933) |url=https://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/the-reichstag-fire-decree-1933/ |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=Nazi Germany |language=en-US}}</ref> The decree abolished most civil liberties, including the right to speak, assemble, protest, and due process. Using the decree, the Nazis declared a state of emergency and began a violent crackdown against their political enemies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kellerhoff |first=Sven |title=The Reichstag Fire: The Case Against the Nazi Conspiracy |publisher=Stroud: History Press |year=2016}}</ref> As Hitler cleared the political arena of anyone willing to challenge him, he contended that the decree was insufficient and required sweeping policies that would safeguard his emerging dictatorship.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reichstag Fire Decree |publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |url=https://www.ushmm.org/learn/timeline-of-events/1933-1938/reichstag-fire-decree |access-date=2022-08-30}}</ref> Hitler submitted a proposal to the Reichstag that if passed would immediately grant all legislative powers to the cabinet, and by extension Hitler. This would in effect allow Hitler's government to act without regard to the constitution.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pinfield |first1=Nick |title=A/AS Level History for AQA Democracy and Nazism: Germany, 1918–1945 Student Book |date=2015 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=98}}</ref>
Despite outlawing the communists and repressing other opponents, the passage of the Enabling Act was not a certainty. Hitler allied with other nationalist and conservative factions,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Larry |date=June 2011 |title=Franz von Papen, Catholic Conservatives, and the Establishment of the Third Reich, 1933–1934 |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/659103 |journal=Journal of Modern History |volume=83 |issue=2 |pages=272–318 |doi= 10.1086/659103|s2cid=143231402 |access-date=April 12, 2022}}</ref> and they steamrolled over the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrats]] in the [[March 1933 German federal election|5 March 1933 German federal election]]. Germans voted in an atmosphere of extreme [[voter intimidation]] perpetrated by the Nazi {{lang|de|[[Sturmabteilung]]}} (SA) militia. Contrary to popular belief, Hitler did not win an outright majority in the Reichstag as the majority of Germans did not vote for the Nazi Party.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 1933 election and Enabling Act – Consolidation of power – WJEC – GCSE History Revision |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z3kqrwx/revision/3 |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=BBC Bitesize |language=en-GB}}</ref> The election was a setback for the Nazis; however, it was insufficient in stopping the ratification of the Enabling Act.
In order to obtain the act's passage, the Nazis implemented a strategy of coercion, bribery, and manipulation. Hitler removed any remaining political obstacles so his coalition of conservatives, nationalists, and Nazis could begin building the Nazi dictatorship. Once the Enabling Act was introduced, it was hastily passed by the Reichstag and [[Reichsrat (Germany)|Reichsrat]] on 23 March 1933.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act of March 23, 1933|encyclopedia=Britannica Blog|url=http://blogs.britannica.com/2007/03/the-reichstag-fire-and-the-enabling-act/|access-date=2017-03-30|language=en-US|archive-date=11 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190311083054/http://blogs.britannica.com/2007/03/the-reichstag-fire-and-the-enabling-act/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="DW 2013">{{cite web|first1=Marc |last1=von Lüpke-Schwarz |access-date=9 April 2020|title=The law that 'enabled' Hitler's dictatorship |url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-law-that-enabled-hitlers-dictatorship/a-16689839|date=23 March 2013 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Mason|first=K. J.|title=Republic to Reich: A History of Germany 1918–1945|publisher=McGraw-Hill}}</ref> Later that day, the Enabling Act was signed into law by President Paul von Hindenburg.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kitson |first=Alison |title=Germany, 1858–1990: Hope, Terror, and Revival |pages=153–154 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001}}{{ISBN?}}</ref> Unless extended by the Reichstag, the act would expire after four years. With the Enabling Act now in force, the cabinet (in practice, the chancellor) could pass and enforce laws without legislative oversight.
The combined effect of the Enabling Act and the Reichstag Fire Decree transformed Hitler's government into a legal dictatorship and laid the groundwork for his totalitarian regime. By July, the NSDAP was the only legally permitted party in Germany. The Reichstag [[Reichstag (Nazi Germany)|from 1933 onward]] effectively became the [[Rubber stamp (politics)|rubber stamp parliament]] that Hitler had desired.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Edinger |first=Lewis J. |date=April 1953 |title=German Social Democracy and Hitler's 'National Revolution' of 1933: A Study in Democratic Leadership |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/abs/german-social-democracy-and-hitlers-national-revolution-of-1933-a-study-in-democratic-leadership/40A2DDC744E785ADCE7E169031F7CAA3 |journal=World Politics |language=en |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=330–367 |doi=10.2307/2009137 |jstor=2009137 |s2cid=153745010 |issn=1086-3338}}</ref> The conservative elite, which included the vice-chancellor [[Franz von Papen]], who miscalculated the true intention of the Nazis to monopolize state power, were soon marginalized by the Nazi regime.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The role of the conservative elite in the Nazi rise to power – The Holocaust Explained: Designed for schools|date=10 April 1933 |url=https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/the-nazi-rise-to-power/the-nazi-rise-to-power/the-role-of-the-conservative-elite/|access-date=2021-07-12|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Beck |first=Hermann |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qdcpj |title=The Fateful Alliance: German Conservatives and Nazis in 1933: TheMachtergreifungin a New Light |date=2010 |publisher=Berghahn Books |jstor=j.ctt9qdcpj |isbn=978-1-84545-680-1 |edition=new}}</ref> By mid-March, the government began sending communists, labor union leaders, and other political dissidents to [[Dachau concentration camp|Dachau]], the first Nazi concentration camp.<ref>{{Cite web |author=<!-- Staff -->|date=1933-03-21 |title=Communists to be interned in Dachau |url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1933/mar/21/fromthearchive |access-date=2021-07-12 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref>
The passing of the Enabling Act marked the formal transition from the democratic [[Weimar Republic]] to the totalitarian Nazi dictatorship. From 1933 onward, Hitler continued to consolidate and centralize power via purges and propaganda. In 1934, Hitler and [[Heinrich Himmler]] began removing non-Nazi officials together with Hitler's rivals within the Nazi Party, culminating in the [[Night of the Long Knives]]. Once the purges of the Nazi Party and German government concluded, Hitler had total control over Germany. Armed with the Enabling Act, Hitler could begin [[German rearmament]] and achieve his aggressive foreign policy aims which ultimately resulted in the [[World War II|Second World War]].
The Enabling Act was renewed twice, but was rendered moot when [[Nazi Germany]] surrendered to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in 1945, and was repealed by [[Control Council Law No. 1 - Repealing of Nazi Laws|a law passed by the occupying powers]] in September of that year.
The [[Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany]] of 1949 stipulates that only bodies that are constitutionally endowed with legislative power may enact laws, so the current German constitution does not allow the adoption of an enabling act similar to the one from 1933.
==Background==
After being appointed Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933, Hitler asked President von Hindenburg to dissolve the [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]]. A [[March 1933 German federal election|general election]] was scheduled for 5 March 1933. A [[Secret Meeting of 20 February 1933|secret meeting]] was held between Hitler and 20 to 25 industrialists at the official residence of [[Hermann Göring]] in the Reichstag Presidential Palace, aimed at financing the election campaign of the [[Nazi Party]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Daniela Kahn |title=Die Steuerung der Wirtschaft durch Recht im nationalsozialistischen Deutschland. Das Beispiel der Reichsgruppe Industrie |year=2006 |publisher=Klostermann |isbn=978-3-465-04012-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Rüdiger Jungbluth |title=Die Quandts. Ihr leiser Aufstieg zur mächtigsten Wirtschaftsdynastie Deutschlands |year=2002 |publisher=Campus Verlag |isbn=3-593-36940-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/diequandtsihrlei0000jung }}</ref>
The [[Reichstag fire|burning of the Reichstag]] was depicted by the Nazis as the beginning of a communist revolution, and Hitler urged Hindenburg to pass the presidential [[Reichstag Fire Decree]]. The decree significantly curbed [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]] for German citizens and suspended [[freedom of press]] and ''[[habeas corpus]]'' rights just five days before the election. Hitler used the decree to have the [[Communist Party of Germany|Communist Party]]'s offices raided and its representatives arrested, effectively eliminating them as a political force.
Although they received five million more votes than in the previous election, the Nazis failed to gain an absolute majority in parliament, and depended on the 8% of seats won by their coalition partner, the [[German National People's Party]], to reach 52% in total.
To free himself from this dependency, Hitler had the cabinet, in its first post-election meeting on 15 March, draw up plans for an Enabling Act which would give the cabinet legislative power for four years. The Nazis devised the Enabling Act to gain complete political power without the need of the support of a majority in the Reichstag and without the need to bargain with their coalition partners. The Nazi regime was unique compared to its contemporaries, most famously [[Joseph Stalin]]'s, because Hitler did not seek to draft a completely new constitution whereas Stalin did so. Technically the Weimar Constitution of 1919 remained in effect even after the Enabling Act, only losing force in 1945 when [[German Instrument of Surrender|Germany surrendered]] at the end of [[World War II]] and ceased to be a [[sovereign state]].
===Preparations and negotiations===
The Enabling Act allowed the National Ministry (essentially the cabinet) to enact legislation, including laws deviating from or altering the constitution, without the consent of the Reichstag. Because this law allowed for departures from the constitution, it was itself considered a constitutional amendment. Thus, its passage required the support of two-thirds of those deputies who were present and voting. A [[quorum]] of two-thirds of the entire Reichstag was required to be present in order to call up the bill.
The Social Democrats (SPD) and the Communists (KPD) were expected to vote against the Act. The government had already arrested all Communist and some Social Democrat deputies under the Reichstag Fire Decree. The Nazis expected the parties representing the middle class, the [[Junker]]s and business interests to vote for the measure, as they had grown weary of the instability of the [[Weimar Republic]] and would not dare to resist.
Hitler believed that with the [[Centre Party (Germany)|Centre Party]] members' votes, he would get the necessary two-thirds majority. Hitler negotiated with the Centre Party's chairman, [[Ludwig Kaas]], a Catholic priest, finalizing an agreement by 22 March. Kaas agreed to support the Act in exchange for assurances of the Centre Party's continued existence, the protection of Catholics' civil and religious liberties, religious schools and the retention of civil servants affiliated with the Centre Party. It has also been suggested that some members of the SPD were intimidated by the presence of the [[Sturmabteilung|Nazi Sturmabteilung (SA)]] throughout the proceedings.<ref>Martin Collier, From Kaiser to Fuhrer: Germany, 1900–45, p. 131</ref>
Some historians, such as [[Klaus Scholder]], have maintained that Hitler also promised to negotiate a [[Reichskonkordat]] with the [[Holy See]], a treaty that formalized the position of the Catholic Church in Germany on a national level. Kaas was a close associate of Cardinal Pacelli, then Vatican Secretary of State (and later [[Pope Pius XII]]). Pacelli had been pursuing a German concordat as a key policy for some years, but the instability of Weimar governments as well as the enmity of some parties to such a treaty had blocked the project.<ref>Klaus Scholder "The Churches and the Third Reich" volume 1 pp. 160–61</ref> The day after the Enabling Act vote, Kaas went to Rome in order to, in his own words, "investigate the possibilities for a comprehensive understanding between church and state".<ref>Letter from Kaas to von Bergen, German ambassador to the Vatican, translation quoted in Scholder, p. 247</ref> However, so far no evidence for a link between the Enabling Act and the Reichskonkordat signed on 20 July 1933 has surfaced.
==Text==
As with most of the laws passed in the process of ''[[Gleichschaltung]]'', the Enabling Act is quite short, especially considering its implications. The full text, in German<ref>Uwe Brodersen, Gesetze des NS-Staates, p. 22</ref> and English, follows:
{| border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
| width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" valign="top" align="center" | '''{{lang|de|Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von [[Volk]] und [[Reich]]}}'''
| width="50%" style="background:#ffdead;" valign="top" align="center" | '''Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich'''
|-
| width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" valign="top" align="left" | {{lang|de|Der Reichstag hat das folgende Gesetz beschlossen, das mit Zustimmung des Reichsrats hiermit verkündet wird, nachdem festgestellt ist, daß die Erfordernisse verfassungsändernder Gesetzgebung erfüllt sind:}}
| width="50%" style="background:#ffdead;" valign="top" align="left" | The [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]] has enacted the following law, which is hereby proclaimed with the assent of the [[Reichsrat (Germany)|Reichsrat]], it having been established that the requirements for a constitutional amendment have been fulfilled:
|-
| width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" valign="top" align="center" | '''{{lang|de|Artikel 1}}'''
| width="50%" style="background:#ffdead;" valign="top" align="center" | '''Article 1'''
|-
| width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" valign="top" | {{lang|de|Reichsgesetze können außer in dem in der Reichsverfassung vorgesehenen Verfahren auch durch die Reichsregierung beschlossen werden. Dies gilt auch für die in den Artikeln 85 Abs. 2 und 87 der Reichsverfassung bezeichneten Gesetze.}}
| width="50%" style="background:#ffdead;" valign="top" | In addition to the procedure prescribed by the constitution, laws of the Reich may also be enacted by the government<ref>The word ''government'', as used here, means just the chancellor and the cabinet, not the entire national government as it is used in the United States.</ref> of the Reich. This includes the laws referred to by Articles 85 Paragraph 2 and Article 87 of the constitution.<ref>Article 85 outlined the process by which the Reichstag and Reichsrat approved the Reich budget. Article 87 restricted government borrowing.</ref>
|-
| width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" valign="top" align="center" | '''{{lang|de|Artikel 2}}'''
| width="50%" style="background:#ffdead;" valign="top" align="center" | '''Article 2'''
|-
| width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" valign="top" | {{lang|de|Die von der Reichsregierung beschlossenen Reichsgesetze können von der Reichsverfassung abweichen, soweit sie nicht die Einrichtung des Reichstags und des Reichsrats als solche zum Gegenstand haben. Die Rechte des Reichspräsidenten bleiben unberührt.}}
| width="50%" style="background:#ffdead;" valign="top" | Laws enacted by the government of the Reich may deviate from the constitution as long as they do not affect the institutions of the Reichstag and the Reichsrat. The rights of the President remain unaffected.
|-
| width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" valign="top" align="center" | '''{{lang|de|Artikel 3}}'''
| width="50%" style="background:#ffdead;" valign="top" align="center" | '''Article 3'''
|-
| width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" valign="top" | {{lang|de|Die von der Reichsregierung beschlossenen Reichsgesetze werden vom Reichskanzler ausgefertigt und im Reichsgesetzblatt verkündet. Sie treten, soweit sie nichts anderes bestimmen, mit dem auf die Verkündung folgenden Tage in Kraft. Die {{lang|de|Artikel 6}}8 bis 77 der Reichsverfassung finden auf die von der Reichsregierung beschlossenen Gesetze keine Anwendung.}}
| width="50%" style="background:#ffdead;" valign="top" | Laws enacted by the Reich government shall be issued by the Chancellor and announced in the [[Reich Law Gazette]]. They shall take effect on the day following the announcement, unless they prescribe a different date. Articles 68 to 77 of the Constitution do not apply to laws enacted by the Reich government.<ref>Articles 68 to 77 stipulated the procedures for enacting legislation in the Reichstag.</ref>
|-
| width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" valign="top" align="center" | '''{{lang|de|Artikel 4}}'''
| width="50%" style="background:#ffdead;" valign="top" align="center" | '''Article 4'''
|-
| width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" valign="top" | {{lang|de|Verträge des Reiches mit fremden Staaten, die sich auf Gegenstände der Reichsgesetzgebung beziehen, bedürfen für die Dauer der Geltung dieser Gesetze nicht der Zustimmung der an der Gesetzgebung beteiligten Körperschaften. Die Reichsregierung erläßt die zur Durchführung dieser Verträge erforderlichen Vorschriften.}}
| width="50%" style="background:#ffdead;" valign="top" | Treaties of the Reich with foreign states, which relate to matters of Reich legislation, shall for the duration of the validity of these laws not require the consent of the legislative authorities. The Reich government shall enact the legislation necessary to implement these agreements.
|-
| width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" valign="top" align="center" | '''{{lang|de|Artikel 5}}'''
| width="50%" style="background:#ffdead;" valign="top" align="center" | '''Article 5'''
|-
| width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" valign="top" | {{lang|de|Dieses Gesetz tritt mit dem Tage seiner Verkündung in Kraft. Es tritt mit dem 1. April 1937 außer Kraft; es tritt ferner außer Kraft, wenn die gegenwärtige Reichsregierung durch eine andere abgelöst wird.}}
| width="50%" style="background:#ffdead;" valign="top" |This law enters into force on the day of its proclamation. It expires on 1 April 1937; it expires furthermore if the present Reich government is replaced by another.
|}
Articles 1 and 4 gave the government the right to draw up the budget, approve treaties, and enact any laws whatsoever without input from the Reichstag. By the rules of pre-1933 (and post-1945, if such a law were not now unconstitutional) German legal interpretation, this means that such laws are put to vote in the Cabinet and there decided by majority vote (which was not followed). - Note the position of the Chancellor in Article 3. In the years immediately preceding, government had relied on [[Article 48]] emergency decrees; those had to be decided by the President; also, all laws issued in the regular manner were, not decided, but still enacted by the President. In the passing of Enabling-Act-based laws however, the President had no role to play at all (Thus creating, until Hitler effectively became President in 1934, the unique situation in German history that laws were passed entirely without any contribution by the Head of State.).
==Passage==
{{See also|23 March 1933 Reichstag speech}}
[[File:Ermächtigungsgesetz 1933-03-24 Blatt 1.jpg|thumb|Act (page 1)]]
[[File:Ermächtigungsgesetz 1933-03-24 Blatt 2.jpg|thumb|Act (page 2 with signatures)]]
Debate within the Centre Party continued until the day of the vote, 23 March 1933, with Kaas advocating voting in favour of the act, referring to an upcoming written guarantee from Hitler, while former Chancellor [[Heinrich Brüning]] called for a rejection of the Act. The majority sided with Kaas, and Brüning agreed to maintain party cohesion by voting for the Act.<ref name="RiseFall" />
The Reichstag, led by its president, [[Hermann Göring]], changed its rules of procedure to make it easier to pass the bill.  Under the [[Weimar Constitution]], a [[quorum]] of two-thirds of the entire Reichstag membership was required to be present in order to bring up a constitutional amendment bill.  In this case, 432 of the Reichstag's 647 deputies would have normally been required for a quorum.  However, Göring reduced the quorum to 378 by not counting the 81 [[Communist Party of Germany|KPD]] deputies.  Despite the virulent rhetoric directed against the Communists, the Nazis did not formally ban the KPD right away.  Not only did they fear a violent uprising, but they hoped the KPD's presence on the ballot would siphon off votes from the SPD.  However, it was an open secret that the KPD deputies would never be allowed to take their seats; they were thrown in jail as quickly as the police could track them down.  Courts began taking the line that since the Communists were responsible for the fire, KPD membership was an act of treason. Thus, for all intents and purposes, the KPD was banned as of 6 March, the day after the election.<ref name=Evans/>
Göring also declared that any deputy who was "absent without excuse" was to be considered as present, in order to overcome obstructions. Leaving nothing to chance, the Nazis used the provisions of the Reichstag Fire Decree to detain several SPD deputies. A few others saw [[Belshazzar's feast|the writing on the wall]] and fled into exile.
Later that day, the Reichstag assembled under intimidating circumstances, with [[Sturmabteilung|SA men]] swarming inside and outside the chamber.<ref name=RiseFall/> Hitler's speech, which emphasised the importance of Christianity in German culture, was aimed particularly at appeasing the Centre Party's sensibilities and incorporated Kaas' requested guarantees almost verbatim. Kaas gave a speech, voicing his party's support for the bill amid "concerns put aside", while Brüning notably remained silent.
Only SPD chairman [[Otto Wels]] spoke against the Act, declaring that the proposed bill could not "destroy ideas which are eternal and indestructible." Kaas had still not received the written constitutional guarantees he had negotiated, but with the assurance it was being "typed up", voting began. Kaas never received the letter.<ref name=RiseFall/>{{Page needed|date=December 2016}}
At this stage, the majority of deputies already supported the bill, and any deputies who might have been reluctant to vote in favour were intimidated by the SA troops surrounding the meeting. In the end, all parties except the SPD voted in favour of the Enabling Act. With the KPD banned and 26 SPD deputies arrested or in hiding, the final tally was 444 in favour of the Enabling Act against 94 (all Social Democrats) opposed. The Reichstag had adopted the Enabling Act with the support of 83% of the deputies. The session took place under such intimidating conditions that even if all SPD deputies had been present, it would have still passed with 78.7% support. The same day in the evening, the [[Reichsrat (Germany)|Reichsrat]] also gave its approval, unanimously and without prior discussion.<ref>{{cite book |last= Wheaton|first= Eliot Barculo |date= 1968|title= The Nazi Revolution 1933–35|page= 269}}</ref> The Act was then signed into law by President Hindenburg, Hitler as Chancellor, [[Wilhelm Frick]] as Interior Minister, [[Konstantin von Neurath]] as Foreign Minister, and [[Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk]] as Finance Minister.
===Voting on the Enabling Act===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+Voting on the Enabling Act
|-
! width=250px colspan=3| Party
! width=80px|Deputies
! width=80px|For
! width=80px|Against
! width=80px|Absent
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Nazi Party}}|
| [[Nazi Party]]
| align=right|NSDAP
| align=center| 288
| bgcolor=#BBF3BB align=center| '''288'''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|
| [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]]
| align=right|SPD
| align=center| 120
| {{N/A}}
| bgcolor=#FFBBBB align=center|'''94'''
| align=center| 26
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Communist Party of Germany}}|
| [[Communist Party of Germany|Communist Party]]
| align=right|KPD
| align=center| 81
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
| bgcolor=#FEDCBA align=center| '''81'''
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Centre Party (Germany)}}|
| colspan=2|[[Centre Party (Germany)|Centre]]
| align=center| 73
| bgcolor=#BBF3BB align=center| '''72'''
| {{N/A}}
| align=center| 1
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|German National People's Party}}|
| [[German National People's Party|National People's Party]]
| align=right|DNVP
| align=center| 52
| bgcolor=#BBF3BB align=center| '''52'''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Bavarian People's Party}}|
| [[Bavarian People's Party]]
| align=right|BVP
| align=center| 19
| bgcolor=#BBF3BB align=center| '''19'''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|German State Party}}|
| [[German State Party|State Party]]
| align=right|DStP
| align=center| 5
| bgcolor=#BBF3BB align=center| '''5'''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Christian Social People's Service}}|
| [[Christian Social People's Service]]
| align=right|CSVD
| align=center| 4
| bgcolor=#BBF3BB align=center| '''4'''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|German People's Party}}|
| [[German People's Party|People's Party]]
| align=right|DVP
| align=center| 2
| bgcolor=#BBF3BB align=center| '''1'''
| {{N/A}}
| bgcolor=#FEDCBA align=center| '''1'''
|-
| bgcolor=#008000|
| [[German Farmers' Party|Farmers' Party]]
| align=right|DBP
| align=center| 2
| bgcolor=#BBF3BB align=center| '''2'''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| bgcolor=#3F6441 |
| colspan=2| [[Agricultural League|Landbund]]
| align=center| 1
| bgcolor=#BBF3BB align=center| '''1'''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
! colspan=3| Total
! align=center| 647
! bgcolor=#BBF3BB align=center| '''444 (68.62%)'''
! align=center| 94<br>(14.53%)
! align=center| 109 (16.85%)
|}
==Consequences==
{{more citations needed section|date=March 2015}}
Under the Act, the government had acquired the authority to enact laws without either parliamentary consent or control. These laws could (with certain exceptions) even deviate from the Constitution. The Act effectively eliminated the Reichstag as an active player in German politics.  While its existence was protected by the Enabling Act, for all intents and purposes it reduced the Reichstag to a mere stage for Hitler's speeches. It only met sporadically until the end of [[World War II]], held no debates and enacted only a few laws. Within three months of the passage of the Enabling Act, all parties except the Nazi Party were banned or pressured into dissolving themselves, followed on 14 July by a law that made the Nazi Party the only legally permitted party in the country. With this, Hitler had fulfilled what he had promised in earlier campaign speeches: "I set for myself one aim ... to sweep these thirty parties out of Germany!"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=dra&datum=1933&page=604&size=45|title=ÖNB-ALEX – Deutsches Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I 1867–1945|last=Nationalbibliothek|first=Österreichische|website=alex.onb.ac.at|access-date=2016-10-14}}</ref>
During the negotiations between the government and the political parties, it was agreed that the government should inform the ''Reichstag'' parties of legislative measures passed under the Enabling Act. For this purpose, a working [[committee]] was set up, co-chaired by Hitler and Centre Party chairman Kaas. However, this committee met only three times without any major impact, and rapidly became a dead letter even before all other parties were banned.
Though the Act had formally given legislative powers to the government as a whole, these powers were for all intents and purposes exercised by Hitler himself. After its passage, there were no longer serious deliberations in Cabinet meetings. Its meetings became more and more infrequent after 1934, and it never met in full after 1938.
Due to the great care that Hitler took to give his dictatorship an appearance of legality, the Enabling Act was renewed twice, in 1937 and 1941. However, its renewal was practically assured since all other parties were banned. Voters were presented with a single list of Nazis and Nazi-approved "guest" candidates under far-from-secret conditions. In 1942, the ''Reichstag'' passed a law giving Hitler power of life and death over every citizen, effectively extending the provisions of the Enabling Act for the duration of the war.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/image/372571204/?terms=hitler%20seizes%20life%20of%20death%20rule&match=1|title=Hitler Seizes Life and Death Rule of Nazis|date= April 27, 1942|access-date=2023-11-04|website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>
At least two, and possibly three, of the penultimate measures Hitler took to consolidate his power in 1934 violated the Enabling Act. On 14 February 1934, the ''Reichsrat'', representing the states, was abolished by the "[[Law on the Abolition of the Reichsrat]]" even though Article 2 of the Enabling Act specifically protected the existence of both the ''Reichstag'' and the ''Reichsrat''.  It also can be argued{{Says who|date=September 2024}} that the Enabling Act had been breached two weeks earlier by the "[[Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich]]" (30 January 1934), which dissolved the state parliaments, transferred the states' sovereign powers to the Reich and effectively rendered the ''Reichsrat'' irrelevant. Article 2 stated that laws passed under the Enabling Act could not affect the institutions of either chamber.
In August, Hindenburg died, and Hitler seized the president's powers for himself in accordance with [[Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich|a law passed the previous day]], an action confirmed via a [[1934 German referendum|referendum later that month]]. Article 2 stated that the president's powers were to remain "undisturbed" (or "unaffected", depending on the translation), which has long been interpreted to mean that it forbade Hitler from tampering with the presidency. A 1932 amendment to the constitution made the president of the High Court of Justice, not the chancellor, first in the line of succession to the presidency—and even then on an interim basis pending new elections.<ref name="RiseFall">William Shirer, ''[[The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich]]'' Touchstone Edition, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990</ref>  However, the Enabling Act provided no remedy for any violations of Article 2, and these actions were never challenged in court.
The Enabling Act was formally declared to be repealed by the [[Allied Control Council]] in [[Control Council Law No. 1 - Repealing of Nazi Laws|Control Council Law No. 1]], following the [[Surrender of Germany]] in World War II.<ref>[http://images.library.wisc.edu/History/EFacs/GerRecon/omg1945n013/reference/history.omg1945n013.i0006.pdf "Control Council Law No. 1 - Repealing of Nazi Laws"] [[University of Wisconsin]] website</ref>
=== In the Federal Republic of Germany ===
Article 9 of the [[German Constitution]], enacted in 1949, allows for social groups to be labeled {{lang|de|verfassungsfeindlich}} ("hostile to the constitution") and to be proscribed by the federal government. Political parties can be labeled enemies to the constitution only by the {{lang|de|Bundesverfassungsgericht}} ([[Federal Constitutional Court]]), according to Art. 21 II. The idea behind the concept is the notion that even a majority rule of the people cannot be allowed to install a totalitarian or autocratic regime such as with the Enabling Act of 1933, thereby violating the principles of the German constitution.
==Validity==
In his book, ''[[The Third Reich Trilogy#The Coming of the Third Reich|The Coming of the Third Reich]],'' British historian [[Richard J. Evans]] argued that the Enabling Act was legally invalid. He contended that Göring had no right to arbitrarily reduce the quorum required to bring the bill up for a vote. While the Enabling Act only required the support of two-thirds of those present and voting, two-thirds of the entire Reichstag's membership had to be present in order for the legislature to consider a constitutional amendment. According to Evans, while Göring was not required to count the KPD deputies in order to get the Enabling Act passed, he was required to "recognize their existence" by counting them for purposes of the quorum needed to call it up, making his refusal to do so "an illegal act". (Even if the Communists had been present and voting, the session's atmosphere was so intimidating that the Act would have still passed with, at the very least, 68.7% support.)  He also argued that the act's passage in the Reichsrat was tainted by the overthrow of the state governments under the Reichstag Fire Decree; as Evans put it, the states were no longer "properly constituted or represented", making the Enabling Act's passage in the Reichsrat "irregular".<ref name=Evans>{{cite book|last=Evans|first=Richard J.|author-link=Richard J. Evans|title=[[The Third Reich Trilogy#The Coming of the Third Reich|The Coming of the Third Reich]]|publisher=[[Penguin Group|Penguin Press]]|location=New York |date=2003|isbn=978-0141009759}}</ref>
==In popular culture==
The 2003 film ''[[Hitler: The Rise of Evil]]'' contains a scene portraying the passage of the Enabling Act.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stanley |first=Alessandra |date=2003-05-16 |title=TV WEEKEND; Architect of Atrocity, The Formative Years |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/16/movies/tv-weekend-architect-of-atrocity-the-formative-years.html |access-date=2023-10-30 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Streitbare Demokratie]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Constitutions of Germany}}
{{NSDAP}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1933 in Germany]]
[[Category:1933 in law]]
[[Category:1933 in politics]]
[[Category:Constitutional amendments]]
[[Category:Emergency laws in Germany]]
[[Category:Government of Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:Law of Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:Legal history of Germany]]
[[Category:Repealed German legislation]]
[[Category:March 1933 events]]
[[Category:Political repression in Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:Democratic backsliding in the interwar period]]
[[Category:Law of the Weimar Republic]]