Come Hitler smantellò una democrazia in 53 giorni

92 years ago this month, on 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.

Following his failed Beer Hall Putsch of Nov 1923, Hitler renounced trying to overthrow the Weimar Republic by violent means but not commitment to destroy the country’s democratic system, a determination he reiterated in a Legalitätseid—“legality oath”—before the Constitutional Court in Sept 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.

Abridged (shortened) article thread ⏬ 25 min

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