On 4 February 1933, the Nazi government decided to invoke emergency decrees as one way to consolidate its absolute rule. The decrees were issued under Paragraph 48 of the Weimar Constitution, which empowered the government to impose control in emergencies and to enact decrees and regulations without approval of the Reichstag (the German parliament). Thus, with the approval of President Hindenburg, the Nazi government issued a string of emergency decrees that limited various rights granted by the democratic constitution, that made manifestations of anti-government protest and resistance illegal. The torching of the Reichstag on February 27 prompted the government to announce another series of decrees, ostensibly meant to prevent the eruption of a Communist revolution and to give the government extensive ruling powers. These edicts had the effect of creating a legal basis for the reign of terror pursued by the government. They included a ban on free expression including freedom of the press, prohibition of public assembly, nullification of privacy rights in telephone and telegraph communications, and authorisation to seize power in the various German states to impose order.
