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In only a couple of weeks time Donald Trump will be sworn in as 47th US President. He has promised to arbitrarily deport millions of people, politicise the civil administration and attack any media that has accused him of any wrong doing.
Even before he has been inaugurated he wants to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal, by force if necessary.
In 1933 Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. The National Socialists were a minority party in the Reichstag. And yet 53 days later he had legally and constitutionally assumed full power in Germany and started the political process of reshaping Germany to his views.
This is a long read by highly qualified historian. He goes into the weeds detailing how Hitler used the constitution to destroy all opposition in less than 2 months.
Have a think.
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By Timothy W. Ryback
Adolf Hitler and his cabinet, January 30, 1933, the day he became Chancellor of Germany. (Everett Collection / Alamy)
January 8, 2025, 8:30 AM ET
Listen
1.0x
0:0032:43
Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (Noa) using AI narration. Listen to more stories on the Noa app.
Ninety-two years ago this month, on Monday morning, January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed the 15th chancellor of the Weimar Republic. In one of the most astonishing political transformations in the history of democracy, Hitler set about destroying a constitutional republic through constitutional means. What follows is a step-by-step account of how Hitler systematically disabled and then dismantled his country’s democratic structures and processes in less than two months’ time—specifically, one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours, and 40 minutes. The minutes, as we will see, mattered.
Hans Frank served as Hitler’s private attorney and chief legal strategist in the early years of the Nazi movement. While later awaiting execution at Nuremberg for his complicity in Nazi atrocities, Frank commented on his client’s uncanny capacity for sensing “the potential weakness inherent in every formal form of law” and then ruthlessly exploiting that weakness. Following his failed Beer Hall Putsch of November 1923, Hitler had renounced trying to overthrow the Weimar Republic by violent means but not his commitment to destroying the country’s democratic system, a determination he reiterated in a Legalitätseid—“legality oath”—before the Constitutional Court in September 1930. Invoking Article 1 of the Weimar constitution, which stated that the government was an expression of the will of the people, Hitler informed the court that once he had achieved power through legal means, he intended to mold the government as he saw fit. It was an astonishingly brazen statement.
“So, through constitutional means?” the presiding judge asked.
“Jawohl!” Hitler replied.
www.theatlantic.com
Even before he has been inaugurated he wants to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal, by force if necessary.
In 1933 Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. The National Socialists were a minority party in the Reichstag. And yet 53 days later he had legally and constitutionally assumed full power in Germany and started the political process of reshaping Germany to his views.
This is a long read by highly qualified historian. He goes into the weeds detailing how Hitler used the constitution to destroy all opposition in less than 2 months.
Have a think.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days
He used the constitution to shatter the constitution.By Timothy W. Ryback
Adolf Hitler and his cabinet, January 30, 1933, the day he became Chancellor of Germany. (Everett Collection / Alamy)
January 8, 2025, 8:30 AM ET
Listen
1.0x
0:0032:43
Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (Noa) using AI narration. Listen to more stories on the Noa app.
Ninety-two years ago this month, on Monday morning, January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed the 15th chancellor of the Weimar Republic. In one of the most astonishing political transformations in the history of democracy, Hitler set about destroying a constitutional republic through constitutional means. What follows is a step-by-step account of how Hitler systematically disabled and then dismantled his country’s democratic structures and processes in less than two months’ time—specifically, one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours, and 40 minutes. The minutes, as we will see, mattered.
Hans Frank served as Hitler’s private attorney and chief legal strategist in the early years of the Nazi movement. While later awaiting execution at Nuremberg for his complicity in Nazi atrocities, Frank commented on his client’s uncanny capacity for sensing “the potential weakness inherent in every formal form of law” and then ruthlessly exploiting that weakness. Following his failed Beer Hall Putsch of November 1923, Hitler had renounced trying to overthrow the Weimar Republic by violent means but not his commitment to destroying the country’s democratic system, a determination he reiterated in a Legalitätseid—“legality oath”—before the Constitutional Court in September 1930. Invoking Article 1 of the Weimar constitution, which stated that the government was an expression of the will of the people, Hitler informed the court that once he had achieved power through legal means, he intended to mold the government as he saw fit. It was an astonishingly brazen statement.
“So, through constitutional means?” the presiding judge asked.
“Jawohl!” Hitler replied.
How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days
He used the constitution to shatter the constitution.
