Ermächtigungsgrundlagen

The *Ermächtigungsgesetz* (German for "Enabling Act") was a pivotal piece of legislation enacted in Nazi Germany on March 23, 1933. It granted the German Cabinet—the executive branch of government, led by Chancellor Adolf Hitler—legislative powers to enact laws without the involvement of the *Reichstag* (the national parliament) or the *Reichspräsident* (the president). The act was formally titled the *Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich* ("Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich").

The *Ermächtigungsgesetz* was passed following the Reichstag Fire Decree of February 28, 1933, which suspended civil liberties and expanded the government’s emergency powers. The law was justified under Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, which allowed the president to rule by decree in times of crisis. However, the *Ermächtigungsgesetz* went further by effectively abolishing parliamentary democracy, as it permitted the government to issue laws without parliamentary approval for four years, renewable annually. The act required a two-thirds majority in the *Reichstag* for passage, which was secured through a combination of intimidation, coercion, and the exclusion of opposition members.

Critics argue that the *Ermächtigungsgesetz* marked a critical step in the erosion of democratic institutions in Germany, enabling Hitler’s regime to consolidate absolute power. The law was later used to justify the persecution of political opponents, the suppression of civil rights, and the implementation of Nazi policies. It remains a significant symbol of the authoritarian turn in German history during the early years of the Third Reich. The act was formally repealed after the fall of the Nazi regime in 1945, but its legacy continues to be studied as a cautionary example of how legal mechanisms can be exploited to undermine democracy.