Article 3. The national laws enacted by the Reich Cabinet shall be prepared by the Chancellor and published in the Reichsgesetzblatt. They come into effect, unless otherwise specified, the day after their publication. Articles of the Constitution do not apply to the laws enacted by the Reich Cabinet.
Article 4. Treaties of the Reich with foreign states which concern matters of national legislation do not require the consent of the bodies participating in legislation. The Reich Cabinet is empowered to issue the necessary provisions for the implementation of these treaties.
Hitler had been appointed Chancellor on January 30 th However, he had no intention of acting within a participatory democracy. His plans included the abolition of other political parties with all political powers placed into his hands.
Hitler was helped in this by the Reichstag Fire. This put the government building out of use and for the German Parliament to function it needed a suitable building to replace it. The Kroll Opera House was used. It was a convenient choice. It was small enough to make any SA presence look very menacing if Reichstag members were not going to vote accordingly.
However, Hitler could not be sure that the bill would be passed. The March 5 th election had clearly shown that the Nazis were not as popular as Hitler would have wished. The Communists were no longer an issue as their leaders had been arrested and the party banned after it was blamed for the Reichstag fire.
Hitler hoped that the other nationalists would be persuaded to vote for the act. It was the Centre Party that concerned him the most as he felt that those who did not want to vote for the act would rally around the Centre Party.
Therefore he made a deal with the party — he would protect all of the rights that Catholics had in Germany as well as foster better relations with the Vatican.
It will first explore this topic in chronological order, from the Reichstag Fire through to the death of President Hindenburg, and then explore it thematically in the last section. On the 31 January , Hitler, conscious of his lack of a majority in the Reichstag, immediately called for new elections to try and strengthen his position.
The Nazis aimed to increase their share of the vote so that they would have a majority in the Reichstag. This would allow them to rule unopposed and unhindered by coalition governments. On 27 February , as the campaign moved into its final, frantic days, the Reichstag, the German Parliament building, was set on fire and burnt down.
An atmosphere of panic and terror followed the event. The Nazi Party used the atmosphere of panic to their advantage, encouraging anti-communism.
This hysteria helped to turn the public against the communists, one of the Nazis main opponents, and people were imprisoned. This decree suspended the democratic aspects of the Weimar Republic and declared a state of emergency.
This decree gave the Nazis a legal basis for the persecution and oppression of any opponents, who were be framed as traitors to the republic. People could be imprisoned for any or no reason. The decree also removed basic personal freedoms, such as the freedom of speech, the right to own property, and the right to trial before imprisonment. Through these aspects the Nazis suppressed any opposition to their power, and were able to start the road from democracy to a dictatorship.
The atmosphere of uncertainty following the Reichstag Fire secured many voters for the Nazi party. The SA also ran a violent campaign of terror against any and all opponents of the Nazi regime. Many were terrified of voting of at all, and many turned to voting for the Nazi Party out of fear for their own safety. The elections were neither free or fair. The Nazis secured Despite this improvement, the Nazis still did not command a majority in the Reichstag. This new law gave Hitler the power to rule by decree rather than passing laws through the Reichstag and the president.
If passed, the law would establish the conditions needed for dictatorial rule. The law needed two thirds of the Reichstag to vote for it to pass. The SA and the SS had also been on a month long campaign of violence to scare or imprison other opponents to the party. They had placed many in the first concentration camp , Dachau , which opened just a few days before the vote on the 20 March After Hitler had promised to protect the interests of the Catholic Church, the party conceded and supported the bill.
Only the SPD opposed it. Although President Hindenburg and the Reichstag continued to exist, Hitler could now govern by decree. Carried out primarily by the SS and the Gestapo, over people were murdered and hundreds more were arrested.
In August there were approximately , members of the SA. By June this had grown to over 3,, members. They were often given a free rein on their activities and were violent and difficult to control. In addition to this, there was a mutual dislike between the traditional conservative elite — who maintained many key positions in the government and the army during the first years of the Third Reich — and the SA.
During the years of the rise of the Nazi Party, the SA had been instrumental in helping the party to gain support.
Hitler and the rest of the Nazi leadership disagreed with their approach. They understood the need to appear moderate and take over slowly by democratic means where possible, maintaining the stability and illusion of a democracy. The tension between the SA and the Nazi leadership grew.
0コメント