Before the war (WW II), under the Weimar Republic, there was this article (#48) which briefly talks over this power that the German President (not the Chancellor or the Bundestag, or states) had.
Under Article 48, the President of Germany could act without permission or authority of the Bundestag. One should note....Article 48 sat there from 1919, until 1933....then got 'lost'.
The beginning of the text:
"If a country does not fulfill the obligations incumbent on it according to the imperial constitution or the imperial laws, the imperial president can urge it to do so with the help of armed force."
Suspension of rights? That's in the next paragraph.
The text goes on to say that you have to notify the Bundestag of what you did. It doesn't give the Bundestag any tool to hinder or stop your action.
Why Article 48 matters? As you get into the fall of 1929 and the collapse of the German economic system.....the Bundestag could find any way to resolve the mess on their own....so the President acted. While probably doing the positive thing, it opened the door to criticism and another election....all bringing the Nazis closer to full control of Germany.
It's one of those things rarely brought up or discussed....unless you get some economic experts talking over 1929 and how the collapse occurred.
No comments:
Post a Comment