Political Impact of Hitler’s Ruling (Enabling Act, 23 March 1933)

POLITICAL IMPACT

Enabling Act, 23 March 1933

With the Communist Party decimated during the election campaigns, the Nazi Party won 44% of the vote in the March 1933 elections.

With the support of another small right-wing party (Hugenberg’s Nationalist Party), the Nazis now had the majority of the votes in the Reichstag.

Hitler now planned to pass the Enabling Act, which would enable him to pass laws without the President’s approval, thus giving him a huge amount of power.

When the Enabling Act was to be voted on March 23, SA and SS men surrounded the building where the vote was taking place.

• Only Nazis and their supporters were allowed into the building.
• Communist Party & Social Democrat Party were banned from taking part in future elections.
• The bill for Enabling Act was passed, thus greatly increasing the political authority of Hitler & the Nazis in Germany.