From democracy to dictatorship in 53 days — the Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act

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From democracy to dictatorship in 53 days — the Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act

The Reichstag building burning against the night sky in Berlin, February 1933, with small distant figures watching from the street below

GCSE History

On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building burned. By 23 March, Hitler had used the emergency to push through the Enabling Act - giving himself the power to rule by decree without Parliament. Germany went from a democracy to a one-party state in under two months. This page traces exactly how it happened, step by step.

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