Reichstag (institution)

:This page is about the German legislature. For others of the same name, see Reichstag (building).

The Reichstag as the German Parliament

After the implosion of the Empire in 1806, the term was subsequently used for the Parliament of the 1849 Frankfurt constitution draft that never came into effect, the Parliament of the Norddeutscher Bund from 1867--1871 and finally that of the 1871 German Empire. In all three cases, it was a parliament elected by the people, albeit with varying degrees of power.

Related Topics:
1806 - 1849 - Frankfurt - Norddeutscher Bund - 1867 - 1871 - German Empire

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In the 1919 Weimar Republic, the Reichskanzler (Chancellor, head of government) was elected by and responsible to the Reichstag, which was directly elected by the people. From 1930 on, however, the Reichstag was practically circumvented with the use of the extensive powers that the constitution granted to the President. After Adolf Hitler was appointed Reichskanzler on January 30, 1933 the process of Gleichschaltung commenced with the Reichstag Fire Decree (Reichstagsbrandverordnung) and the Enabling Act (Ermächtigungsgesetz), in which the Reichstag formally dispensed of its legislative powers. From then on it only functioned as a body of acclamation for the actions of the dictatorship. Even with this purpose, it had its last session in 1942.

Related Topics:
1919 - Weimar Republic - Reichskanzler - Head of government - Adolf Hitler - January 30 - 1933 - Gleichschaltung - Reichstag Fire Decree - Enabling Act - 1942

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The Reichstag building in Berlin was constructed as the seat of the Reichstag in the German Empire and, after a major reconstruction, has been the seat of today's German parliament, the Bundestag, since 1999.

Related Topics:
''Reichstag'' building - Berlin - Bundestag - 1999

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