At the time of the Reichstag Fire Decree (Germany, 1933), there were still two legislative bodies that voted on legislation before it was enacted in to law - the Reichstag and Reichsrat.
I’m trying to understand how President Paul von Hindenburg had the power to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree, which effectively suspended parts of the German constitution, which among other things, “restrict(ed) the rights freedom of (opinion) expression, including the freedom of the press, the freedom to organize and assemble, the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications…” etc.
That’s obviously some fairly beefy, significant stuff. Under what powers was von Hindenberg acting on when he issued this decree? Seems hard to believe there wouldn’t be much you couldn’t do “by decree” as German President in February 1933, if doing this was considered within your powers.
(Soon after this decree, Hitler would of course start ruling the entire country by decree, but the Enabling Act at least gives clear context as to how he had such power.
It seems to explain it in the Wiki article you cited…
Within hours of the fire, dozens of Communists had been thrown into jail. The next day, officials in the Prussian Ministry of the Interior, which was led by Hermann Göring, discussed ways to provide legal cover for the arrests. Ludwig Grauert, the chief of the Prussian state police, proposed an emergency presidential decree under Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, which gave the president the power to take any measure necessary to protect public safety without the consent of the Reichstag. It would have suspended most civil liberties under the pretense of preventing further Communist violence. There had already been discussions within the cabinet about enacting such measures. Justice Minister Franz Gürtner, a member of the Nazis’ coalition partner, the German National People’s Party (DNVP), had actually brought a draft decree before the cabinet on the afternoon of 27 February.
When the proposed decree was brought before the Reich cabinet, Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick, the only Nazi in the cabinet who had a portfolio, added a clause that would allow the cabinet to take over the state governments if they failed to maintain order. Notably, the cabinet would have been allowed to do this on its own authority. Frick was well aware that the Interior portfolio had been given to the Nazis because it was almost powerless; unlike his counterparts in the rest of Europe, he had no power over the police. He saw a chance to extend his power over the states and thus begin the process of Nazifying the country.
At an emergency cabinet meeting, Hitler declared that the fire made it now a matter of “ruthless confrontation of the KPD”–a confrontation that could not be “made dependent on judicial considerations.” Though Vice Chancellor Franz von Papen objected to the clause giving the Reich cabinet the power to take over the state governments if necessary, the decree was approved. Shortly thereafter, President von Hindenburg signed the decree into law.
Which is a textbook example of the difference of the US Constitution from nearly all others. You can read almost any constitution on earth - China, Russia, any Central or South American country - and find all kinds of delineations of rights and balances and protections and lofty notions… but somewhere in there is a “gotcha” paragraph that says, “Except when we decide all this is a bad idea and suspend it.” The US lacks that trapdoor. I believe that’s unique even among staunch western democracies.
As I recall, there were supposed checks on Hitler’s power but he figured out ways to work around them. For example, the President could declare a state of emergency which gave the Chancellor the power to issue decrees. But the President could revoke the state of emergency at any time, so this was a check on the Chancellor. Hitler was the Chancellor and he got around this by also assuming the office of the President when Hindenburg died. So two offices that were supposed to act on a check on each other were held by one person.
The Reichstag also gave Hitler emergency powers in the aftermath of the fire. These emergency powers were supposedly only valid for four years. But Hitler used those four years to eliminate any organizations that could have challenged his power: other political parties, state and regional governments, labor unions, the independence of government bureaucracies and the military staff, and rivals in the Nazi party. By 1937, Hitler controlled the Nazis and the Nazis controlled all political power. The Reichstag renewed Hitler’s powers for another four years and did it again in 1941. Finally, in 1942 these powers were officially extended for the duration of the war.
Not really. In the United States, there are laws that give the President the power to declare a state of emergency but the powers this grant him are enumerated. And Congress has the power to override the President’s declaration at any time. These are checks that the German constitution did not place on its Chancellor.