January 30, 1933 marks the 90th anniversary of the Nazi seizure of power. Much has already been written about the horrors, atrocities, murders and misanthropy of this regime, so I will spare myself at this point to call attention to another very important facet. The Nazis took power with the help of democracy, without a majority. After the failure of the 1923 coup, the Nazis deliberately exploited the mechanisms of the democratic system at the time to gain power. As many protagonists of the time were blind to the horror of the Nazis or even dealt with them sympathetically, the Nazis finally managed to gain absolute power in a very short time. Many may now think that this is no longer possible these days, but far from it. Due to the extremely broad spectrum of democracy, the high degree of tolerance even towards the intolerant, it is always possible for authoritarian protagonists to seize power with the help of democratic mechanisms and replace freedom and tolerance in society with lack of freedom and intolerance . It’s already happening all around us – Russia and Hungary are just two examples, and of course it could happen here too. And that is precisely why it is so important that liberal democracy and its representatives know how to defend themselves against intolerants, authoritarians, the power fantasies of demagogues and propagandists, and speak clearly. Our Federal President’s announcements must be seen in this context, as they are a clear sign that power must not be placed in the hands of intolerant demagogues. Democracy has to endure a lot, but it and its representatives also have to put limits. That must be one of the most important lessons from what happened 90 years ago.
