On 23 March 1933 German President, Paul von Hindenburg signed the Enabling Act giving Hitler total power in Germany. Hitler had managed to get a two thirds majority in the Reichstag for this thanks not only to threats which meant that many socialist candidates were now in exile and the banning of the communist party but also the support of the Catholic Centre Party. At the same time Hitler reached a concordat with the Pope which was a remarkably small price to pay for his dictatorship. The act became effective as of 24 March 1933.

So how was this possible? In the November 1932 the Nazis lost around 15% of their vote compared to the previous election but remained the largest single party in the Reichstag. On 30 January 1933, Hitler had been appointed Chancellor with a minority of Nazis in the cabinet but with Hermann Goering commanding the police in the largest German state, Prussia. On 27 February 1933 arsonists set alight to the Reichstag and as a result of this Hitler persuaded von Hindenburg to suspend many civil liberties in what has been called the Reichstag Fire Decree. This meant the arrest of opposition members of parliament who were thus unable to contest seats in the 5 March 1933 election. In the climate of fear created by the Nazis, they got 43.8 percent of the vote. The 8% of their partners, DNVP, took them over the line.

What we now call the Enabling Act was then called the Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich. It allowed the cabinet to enact laws that deviate from the constitution as long as they did not affect parliamentary institutions and the rights of the President. Laws would be published in the official gazette in the normal way and take effect on the following day, unless a different date was specified. The government could make treaties with foreign powers bypassing the legislative authorities. The fifth point clearly stated that it expired at the latest on 1 April 1937, assuming that the Reich government was not replaced by another.

It needs to be pointed out that there was nothing new with Enabling laws as other chancellors of the Weimar Republic had virtually ruled with them. However none of them turned the system into a dictatorship as Hitler did. I think this came about because of the Nazi control of the police (which was already a quite conservative organisation), the laws allowing them to arrest political opponents following the Reichstag fire and President Hindenburg;s failing health which meant that he was coming under more pressure from his son Oskar and Franz von Papen, both of whom thought that they could control Hitler for their own ends. Given that the Enabling Act had been used in the past, that his own rights remained unaffected and that the law placed strict limits on it, Hindenburg may have felt less uneasy about it as he should have done.

Hindenburg lived a little over another 16 months and during that time, the respect for his office may have placed a slight brake on Hitler but one could also suggest that it was a time when the Nazis were able to consolidate their power. Hindenburg wrote in his will that Hitler needed to be removed from power. However Hindenburg had not more right to appoint his successor than Lenin would have done in allegedly writing that Stalin was not to follow him.

The Enabling Act was valid for four years. In March 1933, Hitler emphasized that the new law was not the abolition of the Reichstag as he only intended to use the act in cases of emergency which is what it was planned for. However from then on Hitler and his cabinet ruled independently and within a few months the Nazi party was the only party left in the Reichstag.

The Enabling Act was renewed in 1937 and 1939. In 1943, Hitler announced that it did not need to be renewed any more and that it was permanently in force.

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