Nazi SA paramilitaries outside Israel’s Department Store in Berlin in 1933. The signs read: “Germans! Defend yourselves! Don’t buy from Jews.”
On this day in 1933, all non-Nazi parties were banned in Germany under the rule of Adolf Hitler.
The Law Against the Formation of New Parties meant only the Nazi Party was allowed to exist. Therefore, when the Reichstag and local governments met, which was infrequently, all the deputies were Nazis.
In January the following year, the Law for the Reconstruction of the State abolished Germany’s state governments, apart from Prussia.
These changes made Germany a one-party state and destroyed democracy in the country.
When a new Reichstag election was held in December 1933, the Nazis won 92 per cent of the vote.
Also on this day – in 1853, New Zealand held its first General Election; and in 1891 John T Smith patented corkboard. Instead of using a clay binder, Smith’s process used heat and pressure to combine the waste cork together, creating a pure agglomerated corkboard.
