Raoul Wallenberg: Part II

Chapter 3: Nazi Germany

The collapse of democracy happened quickly after Hitler was appointed Chancellor. Moving swiftly to weaken opposition and concentrate power, Hitler began laying the groundwork for a dictatorship within weeks by placing Nazi party members in key government positions. All Hitler needed was a catalyst to justify further crackdowns, and that opportunity came when a fire erupted at the Reichstag, the German parliament building, on February 27. Claiming that the blaze was the beginning of a communist revolution, Hitler persuaded the President of Germany to sign the Reichstag Fire Decree the day after, which officially suspended civil liberties and due process of law, granting the Nazis sweeping power.

With the Decree in place, Hitler wielded his authority swiftly. Freedoms of speech, assembly, and the press were suspended overnight. The police, now under Nazi influence, could arrest anyone suspected of anti-government activity, hold them without trial, and enter homes without a warrant. 4,000 people were arrested on the first night. Soon, intellectuals, journalists, professors, and even artists faced the same outcome as the Nazis sought to control not only the political landscape but the very culture of Germany. Books that challenged Nazi ideology were banned and academic freedoms stripped away.

Following the Reichstag Fire Decree came the Enabling Act, passed on March 23, 1933. It marked the next phase of Hitler's strategy. With Nazi stormtroopers standing guard in the Reichstag, German lawmakers voted to grant Hitler the power to enact laws without the need for parliamentary approval. The act effectively dissolved Germany's democratic government, giving Hitler the authority to rule by decree. In a matter of weeks, the Weimar Republic, with its promise of democracy and freedom, had been replaced by a one-man dictatorship. Germans found themselves vulnerable to the whims of a regime that answered to no one but itself, making dissent nearly impossible.