This article is about the German law passed in 1933 at the beginning of the
Third Reich
. For other laws of that name, see
Enabling act
.
The
Enabling Act
(
Ermachtigungsgesetz
in
German
) was passed by Germany's parliament (the
Reichstag
) on 23 March 1933. It was the second major step after the
Reichstag Fire
Decree through which the
Nazis
obtained
dictatorial
powers using largely legal means. The Act enabled Chancellor
Adolf Hitler
and his cabinet to enact laws without the participation of the
Reichstag
.
The formal name of the Enabling Act was
Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von
Volk
und
Reich
("Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Empire").
As with most of the laws passed in the process of
Gleichschaltung
, the Enabling Act is quite short, considering its consequences. It is therefore reproduced in full in German and English:
Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von
Volk
und
Reich
|
Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Empire
|
Der Reichstag hat das folgende Gesetz beschlossen, das mit Zustimmung des Reichsrats hiermit verkundet wird, nachdem festgestellt ist, daß die Erfordernisse verfassungsandernder Gesetzgebung erfullt sind:
|
The
Reichstag
has enacted the following law, which is hereby proclaimed with the assent of the
Reichsrat
, it having been established that the requirements for a constitutional amendment have been fulfilled:
|
Artikel 1
|
Article 1
|
Reichsgesetze konnen außer in dem in der Reichsverfassung vorgesehenen Verfahren auch durch die Reichsregierung beschlossen werden. Dies gilt auch fur die in den Artikeln 85 Abs. 2 und 87 der Reichsverfassung bezeichneten Gesetze.
|
In addition to the procedure prescribed by the constitution, laws of the Reich may also be enacted by the government of the Reich. This includes the laws referred to by Articles 85 Paragraph 2 and Article 87 of the constitution.
[1]
|
Artikel 2
|
Article 2
|
Die von der Reichsregierung beschlossenen Reichsgesetze konnen von der Reichsverfassung abweichen, soweit sie nicht die Einrichtung des Reichstags und des Reichsrats als solche zum Gegenstand haben. Die Rechte des Reichsprasidenten bleiben unberuhrt.
|
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 undisturbed.
|
Artikel 3
|
Article 3
|
Die von der Reichsregierung beschlossenen Reichsgesetze werden vom Reichskanzler ausgefertigt und im Reichsgesetzblatt verkundet. Sie treten, soweit sie nichts anderes bestimmen, mit dem auf die Verkundung folgenden Tage in Kraft. Die Artikel 68 bis 77 der Reichsverfassung finden auf die von der Reichsregierung beschlossenen Gesetze keine Anwendung.
|
Laws enacted by the Reich government shall be issued by the Chancellor and announced in the Reich 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.
[2]
|
Artikel 4
|
Article 4
|
Vertrage des Reiches mit fremden Staaten, die sich auf Gegenstande der Reichsgesetzgebung beziehen, bedurfen fur die Dauer der Geltung dieser Gesetze nicht der Zustimmung der an der Gesetzgebung beteiligten Korperschaften. Die Reichsregierung erlaßt die zur Durchfuhrung dieser Vertrage erforderlichen Vorschriften.
|
Treaties of the Reich with foreign states which affect matters of Reich legislation shall not require the approval of the bodies of the legislature. The government of the Reich shall issue the regulations required for the execution of such treaties.
|
Artikel 5
|
Article 5
|
Dieses Gesetz tritt mit dem Tage seiner Verkundung in Kraft. Es tritt mit dem 1. April 1937 außer Kraft, es tritt ferner außer Kraft, wenn die gegenwartige Reichsregierung durch eine andere abgelost wird.
|
This law takes effect with the day of its proclamation. It loses force on 1 April 1937 or if the present Reich government is replaced by another.
|
- ↑
Article 85 outlined how the Reichstag and Reichsrat approved the Reich budget. Article 87 restricted government borrowing.
- ↑
Articles 68 to 77 stipulated the procedures for enacting legislation in the Reichstag.
The Enabling Act was passed by the Reichstag on March 23 and proclaimed by the government the following day. Following constitutional procedure for legislation, the law was countersigned by President
von Hindenburg
, Chancellor
Hitler
, Minister of Interior
Frick
, Foreign Minister
von Neurath
, and Minister of Finance
von Krosigk
.
The Nazis wrote 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.
Within 24 hours of being appointed
chancellor of Germany
on 30 January 1933, Hitler skillfully influenced the outcome by propaganda minister
Joseph Goebbels
who wrote:
- Now it will be easy to carry on the fight, for we can call on all the resources of the State. Radio and press are at our disposal. We shall stage a masterpiece of propaganda.
[1]
In the days leading up to the elections, the Nazis organized street violence to intimidate the opposition and to build fear of communism. The
burning of the Reichstag
six days before the election was the pivotal event of the campaign.
Later that day, the
Reichstag
assembled under intimidating circumstances, with
SA men
swarming inside and outside the chamber. Hitler's speech emphasised the importance of Christianity in German culture. This was aimed particularly at appeasing the formerly allied Catholic
Centre Party
. It partly incorporated the guarantees requested by party chairman Ludwig Kaas.
All parties except the SPD voted in favour of the Enabling Act. With the Communist delegates removed and 26 of the SPD deputies arrested or in hiding, the final vote was 441 supporting the Enabling Act to 94 (all Social Democrats) opposed.
The
Communist Party
deputies ? and a few
Social Democratic
deputies as well ? were already jailed, and the Communist mandates were declared "dormant" by the government shortly after the elections. The remaining free members of parliament were intimidated by the
SA
surrounding the parliament hall. In the end, only the
Social Democrats
voted against the bill.
The British tabloid
Daily Express
described the Jewish reactions of boycott against Germany as "
Judea Declares War on Germany
" (March 25, 1933).
President von Hindenburg seemed to be pleased with Hitler's firm hand. During the cabinet conference on the Enabling Act, von Hindenburg's representative stated that the aged president was withdrawing from day-to-day affairs of government and that presidential collaboration on the laws decreed as a result of the Enabling Act would not be required.
- ↑
Shirer, William L. (1959).
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
. New York: Simon & Schuster.
ISBN
0-671-62420-2
.