Reichstag w III Rzeszy (1933–1945) – symbol upadku niemieckiego systemu demokracji parlamentarnej
Reichstag in the Third Reich (1933–1945) – Symbol of the fall of the German Parliamentary Democracy System

Summary/Abstract: On February 1, 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg prematurely dissolved the 7th Reichstag. This event took place under clear pressure from Adolf Hitler, who was striving to achieve the desired constitutional majority. The Reich Chancellor outlined his political goals in a speech delivered on February 10, 1933, at the Sportpalast in Berlin. With this speech, Hitler also officially launched the NSDAP election campaign. The head of the German government harshly attacked the political system of the Weimar Republic. Less than a week before the elections, an event took place that was intended to symbolically bid Germany farewell to the democratic system. On February 27, 1933, after 9:00 PM, the Reichstag building burst into flames. The following day, the Reich President decided to invoke Article 13 of the Constitution. 48 of the Constitution on „states of emergency” by signing the decree „For the Protection of the Nation and the State” (Verordnung zum Schutz von Volk und Staat) and the „Order of the Reich President against Treason against the German Nation and the Preparation of Major Treason” (Die Verordnung des Reichpräsidenten gegen Verrat am Deutschen Volke und hochverräterische Umtriebe). The head of state’s decision to „suspend civil rights” created the basis for the further dismantling of German democracy. Germany’s final farewell to the system of parliamentary democracy came with the adoption of the Special Powers of Attorney Act on March 24, 1933. Its most serious legal consequences stemmed from the fact that it allowed the government to pass laws without the constitution. Decisions concerning budgetary matters were included among these matters. It’s hard to disagree with Hitler’s statement at the end of the debate on the bill: „Give me four years and you won’t recognize Germany.” The NSDAP’s achievement of a hegemonic dominant position in Germany did not mean the end of the Reichstag’s activities. From then on, however, it was to become a purely façade institution. Starting in November 1933, all subsequent parliamentary elections were purely rump elections. Reich citizens could only cast their votes for the single NSDAP list. All other political parties were banned. Until its final session in April 1942, the Reichstag served Hitler solely as a platform for delivering speeches replete with National Socialist propaganda slogans.

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