Germany’s Infection Protection Law Compared With Nazi-Era ‘Enabling Act’

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The News

Thousands of protesters gathered in Berlin in November 2020 to protest the country’s amended Infection Protection Law.
The amendment was swiftly approved by both houses of parliament.
However, right wing groups have compared Amended Information protection law 2020 to the Enabling Act of 1933, a law that had solidified Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship over Germany.

In the parliamentary elections of 1933, Adolf Hitler’s far-right Nazi party failed to secure an absolute majority, despite its many attempts to intimidate opponents during the election.
After this failure, Adolf Hitler asked the German parliament to approve what was called the “Enabling Act”, or the “Law to Remedy the Distress of People and the Reich”.
The law was passed with the required two-thirds majority, only social democrats (SPD) opposed it. German Communists (KPD) were already hounded.

The Enabling act drastically increased Hitler’s power, by allowing his government to make laws or sign agreements with other countries without legislative approval.
Constitutional liberties were suspended using this act.
All political parties except the Nazis were either banned or forced to disband after this act (March 1933).
In the next election, in November 1933 only the Nazi party was on the ballot & won resoundingly.
The Rest is History..!!

The amended Infection Protection Law provides a legal basis for the German government to restrict certain constitutional freedoms to fight Covid-19.
The act gives the government the legal basis to issue coronavirus restrictions, such as closing stores and other public venues and imposing rules about masks and social distancing.
- Amendment transfers some lawmaking power from the country’s legislature to the executive.

Protection against Misuse:
The law specifically lists the restrictions that state governments can enforce.
Law also stipulates that protective measures will be triggered only when a threshold of 50 new infections in 7 days per 1 lakh people is crossed.
Anti-corona ordinances to have a life of only four weeks.
Law separates “culture” from entertainment
- Restrictions on cultural venues would be limited.