Hitler's speech to the German Reichstag on March 23, 1933

Excerpt from the Reichstag protocol: Abolition of the power of the Reichstag.

The speech of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor before the German Reichstag on March 23, 1933 is as a speech to enabling act known. The speech was after the Day of Potsdam Hitler's second appearance before the Diet and led to a vote in Parliament that for four years the separation of powers of the Weimar Constitution and thus de facto the democracy abolished in Germany. As Reich Chancellor appointed by the Reich PresidentHitler applied that day for parliamentary approval of this constitutional amendment. He got it three hours after his speech. The Enabling Act came into force one day later. The speech was like a programmatic government statement; It already contained essential features of Nazi politics .

Course of the speech

For most members of parliament, this was the first opportunity to see Hitler and hear him speak live. Some key figures on the left, such as Rudolf Breitscheid (SPD), were either on vacation or, like Ernst Torgler (KPD), were already in custody. Hitler appeared in a brown shirt and began his nearly 50-minute speech very calmly with the alleged lie that Germany was solely to blame for the First World War . The "war guilt lie" and the massive influence of the Marxists on German politics are responsible for the misery and grievances in the Reich. He promised for the execution of in connection with the Reichstag fire deploy arrested "Marxists" and extended the threats to all groups that " country - and people betrayal " operated. Here the speech became fiery, and the members of the NSDAP clapped euphoric applause.

Hitler announced that he would weaken the federal structure of the Reich. He spoke of the basic values that the National Socialists had in common with both Christian churches, gave the churches protection under the new government, but advised them that they too should not oppose them. The media (radio, newspapers) would have to serve the government in the future, and art would have to be based on “blood and race”. It was the only part of the speech where the "race" occurs. The anti-Semitic politics and thus the Holocaust were the only central topic that was missing from this appearance. Hitler announced that he would reorganize the judiciary. The judges would have to show an "elasticity in reaching a judgment for the purpose of preserving society" and proceed with "barbaric ruthlessness".

In the second half of the speech, Hitler addressed the economy: the needy peasants must be saved from bankruptcy, also because they were the only large group of workers who resisted Marxism. Work must make sense again and serve the volkish whole. He announced that he would strengthen the middle class and let the industry follow its own market laws. Private property is the pillar of the economy.

With the statement that he wanted to strengthen the Reichswehr , Hitler came to the foreign policy part of the speech. He mentioned the closeness to fascist Italy , sympathy for Austria and the groups of people of German origin in the area around the empire. Germany wants to export, but only as an equal partner with other countries. He rejected the distinction between victorious and defeated and thus the Versailles Treaty . Anyone who questions this must expect a confident reaction from the new government. The statement was greeted with enthusiasm by the right in the hall.

Towards the end he turned to the Enabling Act. It is absolutely necessary to enforce the new policy. The Reichstag will not be abolished, but will no longer be needed in its current form. Only at the end of his speech did Hitler threaten that the government would also be ready to face rejection and resistance. He concluded with the words:

"May you, honorable Members, now make the decision yourself about peace or war."

This was followed by ovations and the singing of the Deutschlandlied, which was intoned while standing .

Hitler's later Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels wrote about the speech in his diary a day later: “The Führer speaks to the German Reichstag. He is in great shape. All his speech is the accountability of a superior, wise statesman. Many in the house are seeing him for the first time and are stunned by the magnitude of his appearance. "

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Reichstag shorthand protocol, full text at the Bavarian State Library
German Broadcasting Archive, archive number 2590218, sound carrier 01-A-001

Individual evidence

↑ Diaries 1924-1945. Retrieved August 6, 2017 .
↑ Indexing text in the German Broadcasting Archive: "Adolf Hitler (Reich Chancellor): On the application for the Enabling Act / The" disintegration of the nation systematically brought about by the Marxist heresy "is to be prevented / Reconstruction of people and nation by the" government of the national revolution "/ Fight against the "Marxist heresy" / Propagation of the permanent revolution against all foundations of our community life / On the Reichstag fire / Complete extermination of communism / For the creation of a real national community / Achievement of ideological unity of the German national body / The "spiritual leaders" of the annihilation tendency to responsibility pull * Against a moral restoration / theater, film, literature, press, radio have to serve the "preservation of the eternal values lying in the essence of our nationality" / "blood and race" as "source of artistic intuition" / The government is determined that "politically e and moral detoxification of our public life / "The national government sees in the two Christian denominations the most important factors for the preservation of our nationality. It will respect the treaties made between them and the countries; their rights should not be touched. "/ Fight against the materialistic worldview /" Our legal system must primarily serve the preservation of this national community. On the one hand, the irretrievability of the judges must correspond to the elasticity of judgment for the purpose of preserving society. Not the individual can be the focus of legal concern, but the people! "(Bravo!) /" In principle, the government will not pursue the economic interests of the German people via the detours of an economic bureaucracy to be organized by the state, but through strong promotion of the private initiative recognizing private property "(Bravo!) / saving the German farmers / integrating the unemployed into the production process / solidarity with the workers, the" companions of my youth "/ pride in the Reichswehr / unilateral German disarmament / Geneva negotiations remained without result / For a peaceful cooperation of the four powers to secure Europe / "Likewise, the imperial government, which sees Christianity as the unshakable foundations of the moral and moral life of our people, attaches great importance to further cultivating and developing the friendly relations with the Holy See. " / Moderate application of the enabling laws / "The existence of the states will not be eliminated, the rights of the churches will not be curtailed, their position towards the state will not be changed." / Possibility of understanding with the other parties, the government has a sufficient majority in any case / "May you, gentlemen, now make the decision about war and peace yourself" (duration 48'50 )

[1] Diaries 1924-1945. Retrieved August 6, 2017 .

[2] Indexing text in the German Broadcasting Archive: "Adolf Hitler (Reich Chancellor): On the application for the Enabling Act / The" disintegration of the nation systematically brought about by the Marxist heresy "is to be prevented / Reconstruction of people and nation by the" government of the national revolution "/ Fight against the "Marxist heresy" / Propagation of the permanent revolution against all foundations of our community life / On the Reichstag fire / Complete extermination of communism / For the creation of a real national community / Achievement of ideological unity of the German national body / The "spiritual leaders" of the annihilation tendency to responsibility pull * Against a moral restoration / theater, film, literature, press, radio have to serve the "preservation of the eternal values lying in the essence of our nationality" / "blood and race" as "source of artistic intuition" / The government is determined that "politically e and moral detoxification of our public life / "The national government sees in the two Christian denominations the most important factors for the preservation of our nationality. It will respect the treaties made between them and the countries; their rights should not be touched. "/ Fight against the materialistic worldview /" Our legal system must primarily serve the preservation of this national community. On the one hand, the irretrievability of the judges must correspond to the elasticity of judgment for the purpose of preserving society. Not the individual can be the focus of legal concern, but the people! "(Bravo!) /" In principle, the government will not pursue the economic interests of the German people via the detours of an economic bureaucracy to be organized by the state, but through strong promotion of the private initiative recognizing private property "(Bravo!) / saving the German farmers / integrating the unemployed into the production process / solidarity with the workers, the" companions of my youth "/ pride in the Reichswehr / unilateral German disarmament / Geneva negotiations remained without result / For a peaceful cooperation of the four powers to secure Europe / "Likewise, the imperial government, which sees Christianity as the unshakable foundations of the moral and moral life of our people, attaches great importance to further cultivating and developing the friendly relations with the Holy See. " / Moderate application of the enabling laws / "The existence of the states will not be eliminated, the rights of the churches will not be curtailed, their position towards the state will not be changed." / Possibility of understanding with the other parties, the government has a sufficient majority in any case / "May you, gentlemen, now make the decision about war and peace yourself" (duration 48'50 )