Trials of war criminals before the Nuernberg military tribunals under control council law no. 10, volume IIIVarious
History
Trials of war criminals before the Nuernberg military tribunals under control council law no. 10, volume III
Various
Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946; War crime trials -- Germany -- Nuremberg
The Reichstag in every demand of
repeal risked its own life.
* * * * * * *
Perhaps at this moment I can jump ahead into the Hitler era. When the
Hitler government had received the right to pass laws it no longer
needed the Reichstag. If one wanted to use the Reichstag at all as a
legislative body, one did so to save face. But, now the government did
no longer make any suggestions as was, in former times, the normal
procedure. The government was the legislator itself. But that way was
chosen; a way, which during the Weimar era played no part.
Under Hitler the Reichstag since November 1933, consisted only of
one faction. That is just as senseless as one party. This faction
introduced a bill with the name of Adolf Hitler and three others.
Frick, the faction chairman accomplished this, Goering acted surprised,
being the president, and then, the whole game went on as you know it.
That abnormal way, therefore, was chosen in order to stage the play.
Now I go back to the Weimar era. As to whether the bill was introduced
this way or that way, for the Reichstag, that was only raw material.
It could say, “We will not do anything.” It could say, “We will pass
it.” It could say, “We will change it.” If a bill is passed, it means
that the bill is accepted or amended; then the Reich President received
the law which was had been passed by the Reichstag for his signature.
Signing a law, that meant as to whether the law was passed in the
proper way, and as to whether the text which had been submitted to
the president was actually the text which was passed under the law by
the Reichstag. (It did, in effect, happen that other documents were
submitted to him than those passed by the Reichstag, of course, by
mistake. Next, the Reichsgesetzblatt had to publish it with a special
wrapper in the changed form.) And when that happened, then, the
president gave the order for promulgation. In Germany we usually call
it promulgation, too. So far so good.
So much so good. But, now, it could happen that the Reich council
or the Reich President with the consent of the government or the
government with the consent of the president or some of the members
of the Reichstag, itself, were dissatisfied with the law, and, in
that case, the constitution provided that those unsatisfied persons
or bodies could appeal to the people. That is very complicated, Your
Honors, and I do not think that we need it for our purpose here. You
will find it written down but I don’t think I need to elaborate on it
here.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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