Eliza Parr - History
revolution, it is necessary to assess whether it brought about fundamental changes to
the values of the state and the political and legal systems similar to those that would
have occurred through the use of illegal force, but did so by legal and democratic
means.
Main Body
Constitutional Framework
In exploring whether Hitler's consolidation of power constituted a legal revolution, it
is necessary to consider the existing legal framework within the context of the
Weimar Constitution. The Constitution provided for democratic government, the
independence of the judiciary, the rule of law and the protection of fundamental
individual rights. Under Article 68, laws were proposed by members of the Reich
government and passed by the Reichstag, 8 and Article 76 provided that the
Constitution could only be amended by a two-thirds majority of the Reichstag and
Reichstrat. 9 Article 102 specified that “Judges are independent and subject only to the
law” 10 and Article 105 stated that “extraordinary courts are inadmissible.” 11 As
regards the protection of individual rights, Article 109 provided that “all Germans are
equal in front of the law” 12 and Article 114 provided that “the rights of the individual
are inviolable.” 13 In relation to religious freedom, Article 135 provided that “all Reich
inhabitants enjoy full freedom of liberty and conscience.” 14 The Weimar Constitution
therefore appears to have been a model for the protection of democracy and individual
rights. However, many of the rights could be suspended by Article 48 which provided
that “In case public safety is seriously threatened or disturbed, the Reich President
may take the measures necessary to reestablish law and order...” 15 As a result, the
President had the power to rule by decree and to pass laws without the consent of the
Reichstag. The Constitution therefore contained the seeds of its own destruction by
enabling its own provisions to be used to undermine the key rights which it sought to
protect.
Article 48 and the Enabling Act
The importance of Article 48 as a legal and democratic means to fundamentally
change the values of the state was realised by Goebbels as early as 1928 who, in a
speech as a Reichstag deputy, stated that: “We go into the Reichstag in order to
Anon, (2001) The Weimar Constitution. (HIS,P) PSM Data. [online]. Available at:
http://www.zum.de/psm/weimar/weimar_vve.php [accessed 9 June 2013 at 16.43], Article 68
9
Anon, (2001) The Weimar Constitution. (HIS,P) PSM Data. [online]. Available at:
http://www.zum.de/psm/weimar/weimar_vve.php [accessed 9 June 2013 at 16.43], Article 76
10
Anon, (2001) The Weimar Constitution. (HIS,P) PSM Data. [online]. Available at:
http://www.zum.de/psm/weimar/weimar_vve.php [accessed 9 June 2013 at 16.43], Article 102
11
Anon, (2001) The Weimar Constitution. (HIS,P) PSM Data. [online]. Available at:
http://www.zum.de/psm/weimar/weimar_vve.php [accessed 9 June 2013 at 16.43], Article 105
12 Anon, (2001) The Weimar Constitution. (HIS,P) PSM Data. [online]. Available at:
http://www.zum.de/psm/weimar/weimar_vve.php [accessed 9 June 2013 at 16.43], Article 109
13 Anon, (2001) The Weimar Constitution. (HIS,P) PSM Data. [online]. Available at:
http://www.zum.de/psm/weimar/weimar_vve.php [accessed 9 June 2013 at 16.43], Article 114
14 Anon, (2001) The Weimar Constitution. (HIS,P) PSM Data. [online]. Available at:
http://www.zum.de/psm/weimar/weimar_vve.php [accessed 9 June 2013 at 16.43], Article 135
15 Anon, (2001) The Weimar Constitution. (HIS,P) PSM Data. [online]. Available at:
http://www.zum.de/psm/weimar/weimar_vve.php [accessed 9 June 2013 at 16.43], Article 48
8
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