Cameron Miranda
Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi regime ruled Germany and controlled most of Europe. During this time, the Nazis introduced an ideology of biological racism into the country's legal and judicial systems, which enabled all of the subsequent acts of the Hitler regime to be performed legally. The Nazis passed hundreds of laws, decrees, guidelines, and regulations that restricted the civil and human rights of Jews, homosexuals, Romani and Black people, and political opponents. These laws provided a legal framework for the persecution of minority populations and culminated in the Holocaust.
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What You'll Learn
The Enabling Act of 1933
The Enabling Act completed the effect of the Reichstag Fire Decree, which abolished most civil liberties, including the right to speak, assemble, and protest, and the right to due process. A state of emergency was declared on the basis of the decree, which enabled a violent crackdown against the Nazis' political enemies, particularly the Communist Party. Hitler contended that the Reichstag Fire Decree was insufficient and demanded a more sweeping measure. He submitted to the Reichstag a proposal for an enabling law that would grant effectively untrammeled power to his cabinet.
Articles 1 and 4 of the Enabling Act gave the government the right to draw up the budget, approve treaties, and enact any laws whatsoever without input from the Reichstag. This meant that laws would be decided by a majority vote in the Cabinet, rather than by the President, as was previously the case. The Enabling Act became the cornerstone of Hitler's dictatorship and laid the foundation for the complete Nazification of German society.
The Enabling Act allowed the Reich government to issue laws without the consent of Germany's parliament. This effectively made the Reichstag a rubber-stamp parliament, marginalising the German conservative elite, including the vice-chancellor Franz von Papen. The act also enabled the Nazis to send communists, trade union leaders, and other political dissidents to Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp.
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The Nuremberg Race Laws
The Reich Citizenship Law
This law defined a Jew as someone with three or four Jewish grandparents and did not take into account the religious beliefs or practices of individuals. It stated that only those of "'German or kindred blood' were citizens and that only citizens could enjoy full political rights. This marked a shift from the traditional view of Jews as members of a religious or cultural community to the Nazi claim that Jews were a race defined by birth and blood.
The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour
This law prohibited marriage and sexual relations between Jews and non-Jews, and barred Jews from employing German women under 45 in their households. Jews were also forbidden from displaying the national flag or Reich colours. Punishments were imposed for any failure to adhere to these laws.
The Nuremberg Laws were not the first anti-Jewish legislation introduced by the Nazis, but they specifically targeted Jews and laid the foundation for future antisemitic measures. They reversed the process of emancipation, stripping German Jews of their citizenship and rights, and legally distinguishing between Germans and Jews. The laws also extended to Black people and Roma and Sinti (Gypsies) living in Germany, defining them as "racial aliens" and facilitating their persecution.
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The Treachery Act
The Act established penalties for the misuse of Nazi Party badges and uniforms, restricted freedom of speech, and criminalized remarks that caused damage to the welfare of the Third Reich, the prestige of the Nazi government, or the Nazi Party. It drew on similar provisions in the "Regulations of the Reich President for Defense from Treacherous Attacks Against the Government of the National Uprising", established on 21 March 1933, and expanded the range of sentences. The Treachery Act was one of many laws created by the Nazi Party to consolidate its power and target specific groups, particularly Jews.
The shift from the traditional legal system of the Weimar Republic to the Nazis' ideological mission, known as the "prerogative state", enabled the regime's subsequent acts, including its atrocities, to be performed legally. This shift required the judiciary to lose its independence and come under Nazi control. Judges who did not join the National Socialist League for the Maintenance of Law were dismissed, and Jewish lawyers and judges, as well as those with opposing views, were removed. The fundamental legal principle became "Whatever is good for Germany is legal".
The People's Court (Volksgerichtshof), established in 1934, tried people accused of political crimes, including treason. It became an instrument of the Nazi system of terror, condemning tens of thousands as "Volk Vermin" and thousands more to death for "Volk Treason". The court was overseen by Roland Freisler, who ensured that the court's decisions aligned with Nazi ideology and objectives.
While the Treachery Act of 1934 was a German law, there was also a separate Treachery Act enacted in the United Kingdom in 1940. This Act was designed to facilitate the prosecution and execution of enemy spies during World War II. It was deemed necessary because treason had its own special rules of evidence and procedure, making it challenging to prove and prosecute. The UK's Treachery Act was suspended after the war and fully repealed in 1973.
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The Malicious Practices Act
The Act was part of a series of events that occurred in 1933, marking the brutality and resilience of the Nazi Party. From here on, the lives of thousands of Germans deemed 'social outcasts' would be controlled and monitored. Many were killed, and others were forced into concentration camps to allow the German economy to flourish and eradicate opposition to the Nazi Party.
The Act portrayed some of the Nazis' key political and philosophical policies. It was introduced to rid the German state of its 'oppressors' and 'enemies'. The Nazi state imposed new legislation that made it illegal to speak wrongly of, or criticise the regime and its leaders. This was in an attempt to eliminate other political parties from German politics and eradicate their presence permanently.
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The People's Court
The Nazi regime ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945 and controlled most of Europe during World War II. During this time, the Nazis introduced an ideology of "biological racism" into the country's legal and judicial systems. This shift enabled all of the subsequent acts of the Hitler regime, including its atrocities, to be performed legally.
The accused were forced to wear shabby clothes, denied neckties, and were marched into the courtroom handcuffed to policemen. The president of the court often acted as prosecutor, denouncing defendants, then pronouncing his verdict and sentence without objection from defence counsel. The court almost always sided with the prosecution, and from 1943 onwards, being brought before it was tantamount to a death sentence. Many of those found guilty by the court were executed in Plötzensee Prison in Berlin.
Roland Freisler, the president of the People's Court, was killed in an air raid in 1945. After his death, the verdicts became somewhat more lenient, with several defendants receiving prison sentences instead of death sentences.
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Frequently asked questions
The Nuremberg Laws were announced at the Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg on September 15, 1935. They were made up of the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour. These laws stripped German Jews of their citizenship, barred marriage and sexual relations between Jews and non-Jewish Germans, and prevented Jews from flying the German flag.
The Nazis passed hundreds of laws, decrees, and regulations that restricted the civil and human rights of Jews in Germany from 1933 to 1939. For example, in 1933, Jews were banned from holding public office or civil service positions, and Jewish immigrants were denaturalized. In 1934, Jewish actors were forbidden from performing on stage or screen, and Jewish lawyers were prevented from practising law.
Yes, the Nazis also targeted Romani and Black people with their legislation. The Nuremberg Laws were expanded in November 1935 to include Romani people, and they were classified as "enemies of the race-based state". In 1938, all Romani people were ordered to be sent to Nazi concentration camps.
One of the first decrees passed by the Nazis was the Malicious Practices Act in March 1933, which allowed enemies of the state to be punished by being sent to concentration camps or murdered. Another significant law was the Treachery Act, passed in December 1934, which restricted freedom of speech and penalised any criticism of the Nazi state.
