Becoming Chancellor of Germany was a major victory for Hitler, but it
was not enough to satisfy his ambitions. No matter how it started, when
the "Reichstag" (Parliament) was set on fire in February of 1933,
Hitler seized the opportunity to weaken his enemies (the Communists) and
gain more control. Hitler manipulated the public's perception that the
Communists had deliberately destroyed this important building to pass
the "Reichstag Fire Decree." This gave the government (i.e. Hitler) the
legal right to take action against any perceived threat, but Hitler
mainly used it as a means to destroy his key enemies -- the Communists.
According to this week's Lecture Notes: " It ended civil rights, such
as freedom of speech and the right to assemble, for all Germans (not
just Communists), and gave the government the right to monitor mail and
telephone conversations (Hoerle, wk. 5)."
[Does anyone else think that sounds a lot like the "Patriot Act"?]
Hitler
didn't waste any time and convinced Hindenburg to deputize the S.A.
("Sturmabteilung"), making them a legitimate police force to continue
his battle against the Communists. Hitler then cozied up to the
Prussian army, because no leader can truly be effective without military
backing. Hitler gained total control though, when he was able to pass
the "Enabling Law" in Parliament. Hitler needed a 2/3 majority to
change the German constitution, and he used every means at his disposal
to convince the majority of deputies to pass the bill. This abolished
the Weimer constitution for five years, and give Chancellor Hitler the
ability to make laws without even needing Parliament. Would he have
been able to do so without the support of the Prussian army, the S.A.,
or the legal authority he achieved through the "Reichstag Fire Decree"?
Possibly; but it might have taken longer and been a more bloody
campaign. It's clear that this one vital piece of legislation handed
him the power he craved, while avoiding a possible Civil War. While
there was certainly some Communist blood shed and behind the scenes
brutality, Hitler ironically achieved this major coup with the
cooperation of the German people.
When Hindenburg died a few months
later, Hitler only had to merge the two offices and become Germany's
official dictator. While that marked the start of Hitler's
dictatorship, he was able to act the part right after the "Enabling Law"
was passed in March of 1933.
Hoerle, Professor W. Scott. Lecture Notes: Week 5 – “The Gleichschaltung.” UML - Nazi Germany. Section 031-SU12R
I also find the history of WW2 and Hitler's dictatorship interesting to learn about. We always hope that history does not repeat itself..at least with this type of event! I think your concerns about the Patriot Act are shared by a number of people, and the nice thing about this is that people are watching and oversight has been established. For example, the Patriot Act has given authorities who investigate international terrorism, subpoena authority by use of National Security Letters or NSL's. The abuse of these letters at a high level in Washington was caught, and more stringent oversight was applied. First, you would never see that in Nazi Germany, and 2nd, the abuse of power was using an "exigent circumstance" to get data....and not following up with the proper process afterward. Meaning, had the correct process been done, the data would have legally been available with oversight in the court. I don't think we can make the Nazi comparison in good conscience just yet.
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