- Hitler used the Reichstag fire event to prevent the Communists from voting.
- He accused them of conspiracy to overthrow the government.
- He persuaded President von Hindenburg to issue a decree that enabled him to ban political activities by any party that was seen to endanger the safety of the German people.
- Hitler therefore banned the Communist Party from the Kroll Opera House, where the Reichstag was meeting. The SA and SS surrounded the building and prevented the Communists from entering.
The SPD was a moderate party, in the middle of the political spectrum, from 1919 until 1933. When the Reichstag met in the Kroll Opera House to vote about the Enabling Act, the SPD sat on the extreme left of the hall. That is a clear sign of how right wing the country had become.
Thus the Communists could not vote against the Enabling Act.
- The Enabling Act was passed on 23 March 1933 by 441 votes to 84.
- Only the SPD and a few others voted against it.
- It became a law on March 24, 1933.
- Hitler now had the power to rule by decree for a period of four years.
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