The Enabling Act

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Created by
Hollie Adams

Cards (11)

  • Following the March elections Hitler had a much stronger position in the Reichstag. However, he still did not have dictatorial powers. Hitler's next step to extend his powers was to put forward an Enabling Act.
  • It will give him the power to make laws - a power that the constitution gave to the Reichstag - thus making Hitler independent of the Reichstag. Therefore, they had the power to manipulate the German parliament in order to ensure that the constitutional change was passed.
  • 23rd March 1933 the Reichstag met to debate the proposed law. Deputies met at the Kroll Opera House, as the Reichstag building was still unusable after the fire.
  • To get the 2/3rd majority they took these steps:

    A total of 81 KPD deputies and 26 SPD deputies were refused admission to the debate. This was justified on the grounds that was the left was implicated in the Reichstag fire and these politicians posed a threat to the stability of Germany.
  • To get the 2/3rd majority they took these steps:

    Hitler publicly promised to respect the traditional rights of the Catholic Church within Germany in order to win the support of the Centre Party.
  • To get the 2/3rd majority they took these steps:

    The SA surrounded to the Reichstag, intimidating elected deputies.
  • To get the 2/3rd majority they took these steps:

    Hitler announced that the law was only temporary and that his new powers would be in effect for only 4 years.
  • Hitler's tactics were successful. The SPD deputies who were able to enter the Reichstag voted against the law, arguing that it destroyed German democracy.
  • However, by excluding the KPD deputies and some SPD deputies, and by winning over the Centre Party, and the Nazis gained a 2/3rd majority.
  • The Enabling Act passed by 444 votes to 94
  • The Enabling Act radically extended Hitler's formal powers, fundamentally altering the nature of the German constitution. It gave Hitler the power to make laws and effectively made the Reichstag redundant. In doing so, the Act finally killed German democracy.