862.00/3185
The Ambassador in Germany ( Dodd ) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 9.]
Sir: I have the honor to report that during the session which was held on January 30, the Reichstag unanimously approved a law providing for important changes in the political formation of the Reich. (For the text see Reichsgesetzblatt No. 11 of January 30, 1934.)
- Article 1 provides that the legislative bodies of the various states will be abolished. These legislatures have already been dissolved and the law now terminates their existence.
- Article 2 states that the rights of sovereignty pertaining to the states are transferred to the Reich and that the state governments are subordinated directly to the Government of the Reich. It will be remembered that even after the founding of the Empire in 1871, certain states, such as Bavaria, Saxony and Württemburg, retained certain of their sovereign powers. Bavaria, for instance, owned her own post offices and railways and retained jurisdiction over her police. Various countries continued to send diplomatic representatives to Munich.
- Article 3 provides that the Statthalter of the Reich are placed under the supervision of the Federal Minister of the Interior. After the taking over of the Federal Government by the National Socialists, the latter sent their representatives, called Statthalter, to the different states to assume control over their governments. These officials are now subordinated directly to the Federal Government.
- Article 4 stipulates that the Government of the Reich can enact new constitutional laws. This is apparently a most important measure and would empower the executive to amend the Federal Constitution in any way which seems desirable. It has been believed for some time that the Nazis would change the present Constitution in order to make it conform to their political theories. The law of January 30, 1934, indicates that such amendments may now be expected.
The other articles carry out the National Socialist plan of unifying the Reich and centralizing its authority in Berlin. The states would seem to be reduced to mere shadows of their former selves. It is significant, however, that they still exist as territorial entities instead of being divided up into districts and completely extinguished. The latter plan is said to have been favored by Hitler. President Hinden-burg and General Goering, however, expressed their opposition. Goering, it will be recalled, is Minister President of Prussia.2
Respectfully yours,
- Hermann Göring was also German Minister for Aviation.↩