In history class at school, we learned the following saying: “Those who sleep in a democracy wake up in a dictatorship.” We have always borne this motto in mind ever since.
On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. On that day, Reich President Paul von Hindenburg appointed the leader of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) as Chancellor. Shortly thereafter, on March 5, 1933, the last elections to the Reichstag took place, based on the “Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State.” Then the NSDAP received 43.9 percent of the vote.
Although this made the Nazis by far the strongest party in Germany, it was still not enough for an absolute majority in parliament. Therefore, on March 23, 1933, they put the “Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich” to a vote. This “Enabling Act” was intended to allow the government to rule by decree without parliamentary approval. It was passed by a parliamentary majority; only the Social Democratic Party (SPD), under its chairman Otto Wels, voted against it. This self-dissolution of parliament, as Wikipedia states, “formed the basis for the establishment of the National Socialist dictatorship.”
Yesterday, I received the following report from the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF):
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The path to aid for Ukraine
EU freezes Russian assets permanently
The EU has laid an important foundation for the use of Russian state assets for Ukraine. 25 of the 27 member states voted to permanently prohibit the return of funds held in the EU to Russia, as announced by the Danish EU Council Presidency on Friday evening. Hungary and Slovakia voted against. Most EU governments intend to clear the way for the use of frozen Russian state funds for Ukraine by Thursday.
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This seemingly innocuous news item is nothing less than a declaration of war by the European Union against the Russian Federation. The confiscation of Russian assets amounting to 210 billion euros by the EU will one day be recorded in history books, if there are any left. The consequences for Europe’s financial sector are incalculable, as are the consequences for the deposits of individuals and companies.
The explanation for children is quite simple: Europe has run out of money.
The explanation for adults is as follows: The Russian assets are almost exclusively held with the Belgian financial market group Euroclear. Both Euroclear, and the Kingdom of Belgium, as well as even the European Central Bank have declared the freezing of the Russian funds unlawful. When Belgium refused to agree to this illegal action, the European Commission threatened to treat Belgium like Hungary, including infringement proceedings and fines. Belgium then agreed, provided that the entire Union would bear all financial and legal risks.
Legally, however, this decision was only possible because the EU broke its OWN laws. As of yesterday, the European Union is no longer a democracy. In 1933, the National Socialists overcame democracy using democratic means, when Parliament decided to abolish itself. Yesterday the European Union didn’t even manage that.
Normally and legally, this law should have been passed yesterday both by the European Parliament with an absolute majority, and by the European Council unanimously. Neither(!) happened. The European Commission invoked Article 122 of the EU treaties, the economic state of emergency. Thus, European democracy was effectively dismantled yesterday, without democratic institutions even having a chance to intervene. While democracy effectively abolished itself under National Socialism, yesterday it wasn’t even consulted.
Aside from the fact that Russia can now sue anywhere in the world and subsequently confiscate European assets, which we will all then have to pay for, war is now a certainty. There is no one left to mediate between the European Union and the Russian Federation, along with all its allies worldwide. Since yesterday, there is no turning back.
On March 23, 1933, it was “The Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich.” Six and a half years later, in September 1939, the Second World War broke out. Yesterday, December 12, 2025, it was “The Internal Policies and Measures of the Union.” The countdown is on.
The explanation for children goes as follows: “Yesterday, we fell asleep in our democracy…”
https://youtube.com/shorts/twzlGYiMnGE
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Vienna Calling 