To mark today's Constitutional disaster

[The Blue Flower]

THE ENABLING ACT

The Nazis devised the Enabling act to gain complete political power without the need of the support of a majority in the Reichstag and without the need to bargain with their coalition partners. The Act essentially allowed the chancellor and his cabinet to enact legislation without the Reichstag, including changes to the constitution. Both the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Communist Party (KPD) were expected to vote against such an Act, but the Nazis knew that the parties representing the middle class, the Junker landowners and business interests had grown weary of the instability of the Weimar Republic and therefore, were likely to vote for the measure.

Within 24 hours of being appointed chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, Hitler withdrew from the coalition of centrist parties and asked President von Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag. A general election was scheduled for March 5, 1933. This campaign was one of the first times the mass media was a major force in an election. Skillfully used to influence the outcome by propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels who wrote:

Now it will be easy to carry on the fight, for we can call on all the resources of the State. Radio and press are at our disposal. We shall stage a masterpiece of propaganda.<3>

more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_Act
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/dictator.htm

[AndyA]

1. Welcome to America, 2006! History repeats itself. n/m