Decree for the Protection of People and State, 28 February 1933 
 Presidential Decree for the Protection of People and State, 28 February 1933 
 Source: J. Noakes & G. Pridham, Documents on Nazism 1919-1945, (London, 1974), pp.173-174. 
 By the authority of Section 48 (2) of the German Constitution the following is decreed as a defensive measure against Communist acts of violence endangering the State: 
 1. Sections 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124 and 153 of the Constitution of the German Reich are suspended until further notice. Thus restriction on personal liberty, on the right of free expression of opinion, including freedom of the press, on the right of assembly and association, and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications, and warrants for house-searches, orders for confiscation's as well as restrictions on property rights are permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed. 
 2. If in any German state the measures necessary for the restoration of public security and order are not taken, the Reich Government may temporarily take over the powers of the supreme authority in such a state in order to restore security. 
 3. States and local authorities have to comply to the limits of their responsibilities with the orders issued by the Government of the Reich under the powers conferred on it by Paragraph 2. ...