Video: 'Today In History: Adolf Hitler Bans Political Parties In Germany'

(Friday, July 14, 1933) — The Law Against the Formation of Parties (German: Gesetz gegen die Neubildung von Parteien), sometimes translated as the Law Against the Founding of New Parties, was a measure enacted by the government of Nazi Germany today that established the Nazi Party (NSDAP) as the only legal political party in Germany.

The law formalized what had already been accomplished through the campaign of Nazi terror and the complete capitulation of the opposition: it legalized a one-party state in Germany that would last for twelve years.

At the subsequent Reichstag election of Nov. 12, 1933, all 661 seats were won by the Nazi Party.

The Reichstag, once the scene of democratic debate and deliberation, was reduced to a forum where Hitler would deliver speeches and other political pronouncements to a docile audience, and where the occasional piece of legislation was adopted by acclamation.