German federalism Germany long had a federal system of government composed of numerous independent states. The
German Empire (1871–1918) contained 25 such
states. Twenty-two were hereditary monarchies consisting of four
kingdoms, six
grand duchies, five
duchies and seven
principalities. In addition, there were three city-states (
Hamburg,
Bremen and
Lübeck) that were
republics. All the states also had some sort of representative assembly, with varying degrees of popular representation and authority. These ranged from freely elected assemblies which acted as true legislatures in the republics, to representatives of
the estates in
Mecklenburg. was still under a
League of Nations mandate.) Following the
German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the abolition of the monarchies, the
Weimar Republic (1919–1933) was established. After some consolidation, it ultimately consisted of 17 republics, largely styled "free states," each with its own popular assembly. Most were named
Landtag but those in the three city-states were called
Bürgerschaft (literally, citizenry). All these parliaments were freely elected by
universal suffrage and the state governments were responsible to them. The states were largely autonomous in terms of internal affairs and had control over matters such as education and public order, including the police and the courts. Until 1919, the German
municipalities also had far-reaching autonomy. This autonomy of both the municipalities as well as the
Länder, was eroded by the reforms of Finance Minister
Matthias Erzberger. On 19 August 1919, Erzberger informed the delegates of the
National Assembly about his structural reforms: "I am confident in my position and I want to make that position clear: The implementation of a unified tax organisation for the
Reich will be a step towards the construction of a unitarian national state." The states and municipalities lost their financial independence with passage of the
Landessteuergesetz (State Tax Law) of 30 March 1920. Such moves toward more central government found support among those aspiring to create a unitary state. There were some adherents of this policy in most political parties of the time. Some, such as the Nazi Party and the
Communist Party of Germany (KPD), even advocated an authoritarian government. Even some of the bourgeois parties wished to accompany centralization with an increase of power for the
Reichspräsident (Reich President).
Federation for the Renewal of the Reich In 1928, the was founded. This organization was composed of several interest groups of industrialists, bankers, farmers, politicians, administrators, scientists, and journalists. This umbrella organization, first chaired by former
Reich Chancellor Hans Luther, worked to establish an authoritarian presidential government. One of their proposals involved a major reorganization of the states. At the time,
Prussia was by far the largest state with about two thirds of Germany's land and three fifths of its population. To strengthen the central government
vis-à-vis the states, the Federation proposed that all the states in northern Germany should be merged into Prussia to form a
Reichsland directly governed by the Reich government. The four southern states of
Baden,
Bavaria,
Saxony and
Württemberg, where feelings for
federalism were strongest, would remain autonomous. Although this actual plan was never implemented, the philosophy behind it contributed to subsequent developments.
Prussian coup d'état of 1932 The first major step towards the abolition of the German federal system was taken on 20 July 1932 with the so-called
Prussian coup d'état. Using the outbreak of violence that occurred on
Altona Bloody Sunday as a pretext, Reich Chancellor
Franz von Papen obtained the consent of Reich President
Paul von Hindenburg to supersede the
Social Democratic government of Prussian
Minister-President Otto Braun through invocation of the policy of
Reichsexekution. Papen became the
de facto ruler of Prussia, with the title of
Reichskommissar. Braun remained the titular premier but with little power; he was finally dismissed by presidential decree on 6 February 1933. In the aftermath of the coup, Papen used his new position of power to replace dozens of Social Democratic and liberal police-presidents and regional administrators throughout Prussia with more conservative and autocratic officials. The coup was a flagrant violation of the
Weimar Constitution. Papen's coup dealt a staggering blow to the Republic by destroying the principle of federalism, seizing control of the largest state and opening the door to further centralization. Around the time of this coup, the term
Gleichschaltung ("coordination" or "synchronization") meaning the abolition of the autonomy of the German states first came into use. Other terms such as
Verreichlichung (roughly "Reichification") as well as
Unitarisierung ("unitization") also were used by the German public to describe this centralization of power. After the Nazis came to power, the term
Gleichschaltung was expanded to apply to the process by which other institutions of government and society were also centralized and put under the Reich's control.
Hitler's accession and the Enabling Act When Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor on 30 January 1933, the Nazi Party had control of only five of the state governments. Hitler perceived that elements in the remaining states could form the nucleus of an opposition to the central government. Using the
Reichstag Fire as a pretext, the Nazi government persuaded Reich President Hindenburg to issue the
Reichstag Fire Decree (28 February 1933) which significantly curtailed civil liberties. They then passed through the
Reichstag, in the form of a constitutional amendment, the
Enabling Act (23 March 1933) which granted to the chancellor and his cabinet emergency powers to enact and enforce laws without the involvement of the
Reichstag for a period of four years. Having thus obtained essentially dictatorial control of the central government, Hitler set about curtailing the independence of the
Länder and seizing control of the state government institutions. == Issuance of the provisional (first) law ==