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Enabling Act
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History & Society

Enabling Act

Germany [1933]
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Article History
Category: History & Society
Date:
1933
Location:
Germany
Participants:
Centre Party
German National People’s Party
Nazi Party
Context:
Third Reich
Key People:
Adolf Hitler
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Enabling Act, law passed by the German Reichstag (Diet) in 1933 that enabled Adolf Hitler to assume dictatorial powers. Deputies from the Nazi Party, the German National People’s Party, and the Centre Party voted in favour of the act, which “enabled” Hitler’s government to issue decrees independently of the Reichstag and the presidency. It gave Hitler a base from which to carry out the first steps of his National Socialist revolution.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Heather Campbell.