Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich

Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich was a pivotal statute enacted by the German Reich on 1 August 1934. It formally merged the offices of President and Chancellor following the death of Paul von Hindenburg, consolidating supreme power under the title of Führer und Reichskanzler held by Adolf Hitler. The law represented the final legal step in the Gleichschaltung process, fundamentally abolishing the remaining constitutional separation of powers outlined in the Weimar Constitution and establishing a legal dictatorship.

Background and legislative history

The law's origins lie in the political crisis triggered by the death of the aging Paul von Hindenburg, the last significant counterweight to Adolf Hitler's authority within the state framework. Since the passage of the Enabling Act of 1933, the Reichstag had been effectively neutered, and the Nazi Party had systematically dismantled opposition through measures like the Reichstag Fire Decree and the suppression of parties such as the SPD and the KPD. The Weimar Constitution provided for presidential succession by the Reichsgericht president, but the Nazi regime sought to avoid any constitutional continuity. Drafted hastily by Wilhelm Frick and Otto Meissner in the Reich Ministry of the Interior, the law was presented to a compliant Reichstag and approved unanimously on the day of Hindenburg's death, with the SA and SS ensuring a climate of intimidation.

Provisions of the law

The statute was deliberately brief, containing only two substantive articles. Article 1 declared that the office of the Reich President was merged with that of the Reich Chancellor. Consequently, the former powers of the President were transferred to the Führer und Reichskanzler, Adolf Hitler. Article 2 mandated that Hitler would henceforth appoint a deputy, a provision that would later be used to name individuals like Hermann Göring. The law effectively invalidated the relevant sections of the Weimar Constitution, particularly those pertaining to the separate election and powers of the head of state, without formally repealing the constitution itself. It also rendered moot the planned plebiscite on the succession, which was held weeks later to provide a veneer of popular legitimacy.

Constitutional and political significance

Constitutionally, the law completed the transformation of Germany from a presidential dictatorship under Article 48 into a personal, monolithic leadership dictatorship. It abolished the last independent institution of state that could, in theory, dismiss the chancellor or control the Reichswehr, as Hindenburg had done during the Night of the Long Knives. Politically, it symbolized the absolute fusion of party and state, with Adolf Hitler's position as Führer of the Nazi Party now constitutionally enshrined as head of state. This move was endorsed by the Reichswehr leadership, which subsequently required all soldiers to swear a personal oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler, bypassing the state. The law was a cornerstone of the Gleichschaltung process, alongside the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service and the First Gleichschaltung Law.

Implementation and immediate effects

The law was implemented immediately upon Hindenburg's death on 2 August 1934. Adolf Hitler assumed the new title of Führer und Reichskanzler, and the Wehrmacht oath was altered the same day, binding the military directly to his person. The referendum on 19 August, which approved the merger with 89.9% of the vote, was heavily manipulated by propaganda from Joseph Goebbels's Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda and coercion by the Gestapo. Internationally, the move was noted by foreign offices but did not provoke significant diplomatic reaction, as many powers like the United Kingdom under Stanley Baldwin were still pursuing policies of appeasement. Domestically, it eliminated any remaining pretense of legal opposition, further empowering agencies like the SS under Heinrich Himmler.

Subsequent legal status and legacy

The law remained the formal constitutional basis for Adolf Hitler's position throughout the existence of Nazi Germany. It was never repealed, but was rendered void by the German Instrument of Surrender and the Potsdam Agreement, which dissolved the German Reich's government. During the Nuremberg trials, the law was cited as evidence of the dictatorship's legal consolidation. In postwar West Germany, the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany explicitly forbade the merger of the offices of Federal President and Federal Chancellor to prevent a similar concentration of power. The law stands as a stark case study in the use of legal formalism to establish totalitarian rule, a process analyzed by jurists like Carl Schmitt and historians such as Ian Kershaw and Richard J. Evans.

Category:1934 in law Category:Law of Nazi Germany Category:German laws