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Enabling Act of 1933

Constitutional and Governmental Structure Acts

The Enabling Act of 1933 (German: Ermachtigungsgesetz), officially titled Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich ("Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich"), was a law passed by the German Reichstag on 23 March 1933 that gave the German Cabinet, most importantly Chancellor Adolf Hitler, the power to make and enforce laws without the involvement of the Reichstag or President Paul von Hindenburg. It passed by a vote of 444 to 94, with all opposing votes cast by the Social Democrats and 109 deputies absent, after Reichstag President Hermann Goring reduced the effective quorum by excluding the 81 absent Communist deputies from the count, and after Hitler secured the Centre Party's support with assurances protecting Catholic civil liberties and schools. The act permitted government laws to deviate from the constitution so long as they did not affect the institutions of the Reichstag and the Reichsrat, and it was formally declared repealed by the Allied Control Council in Control Council Law No. 1 following Germany's surrender at the end of the Second World War. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Enacted Year
1933 1
Enacted Date
1933-03-23 1
Jurisdiction
Germany 1
Enacted By
German Reichstag 1
Official Citation
Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich 1
Legal Status
Formally declared repealed by the Allied Control Council in Control Council Law No. 1 following Germany's surrender at the end of World War II. 1
Legal Status
Legal Status (category)
Repealed 1
In Other Languages (1 name)
  • Ermachtigungsgesetz
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Source Enabling Act of 1933 (Wikipedia)Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 2
Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
By allowing the chancellor to override the checks and balances in the constitution, the Enabling Act of 1933 was a pivotal step in the transition from the democratic Weimar Republic to the totalitarian dictatorship of Nazi Germany.
Sources
1. Enabling Act of 1933 (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Lede (opening sentence)
    was a law that gave the German Cabinet-most importantly, the chancellor, Adolf Hitler-the power to make and enforce laws without the involvement of the Reichstag or President Paul von Hindenburg
  • Infobox: date_commenced
    23 March 1933
  • Manoeuvring section
    Reichstag President Goring changed procedures by reducing the required quorum to 378 by not counting the 81 KPD deputies who were absent
  • Lede (official title)
    officially titled Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich lit. 'Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich'
  • Allied Repeal note
    The Enabling Act was formally declared to be repealed by the Allied Control Council in Control Council Law No. 1, following the surrender of Germany at the end of World War II.
  • Lede (German name)
    German: Ermachtigungsgesetz
  • In Group: Federation, Crisis and Church-State Acts, Introduction, sentence 2
    'Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich') was a law that gave the German Cabinet-most importantly, the chancellor, Adolf Hitler-the power to make and enforce laws without the involvement of the Reichstag or President Paul von Hindenburg.
View the Source
Wikidata: Enabling Act of 1933
Wikidata Q310218, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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