The enabling act, or Ermächtigungesetz, which was passed in 1933 was an amendment to the German constitution. The act gave the German Cabinet the power to enact laws without the approval of the Reichstag. Effectively this act gave Adolf Hitler the power to create whichever law he saw fit. The law was passed in the Reichstag, led by Hermann Göring on March 23rd 1933, after ruls of procedures were changed to make it easier to pass the act.
This act, together with the limitations of civil rights after the Reichtags Fire Decree passed in February 1933, made Hitler into the de facto dictator of Germany. The Enabling act was to last for four years before it had to be re-instated by the Reichstag, which was done in
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| Hitlers speech after the act was passed. From the Bundesarchive. |
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