1907 - 1910
1911 - 1920
1921 - 1930
1931 - 1940
1941 - 1950
1951 - 1960
1961 - 1970
1971 - 1980
1981 - 1990
1991 - 2000
2001 - Today
UPI Archives
Tuesday, February 28, 1933

Germany gets martial law, constitutional safeguards suspended

BERLIN, Feb. 28, 1933 (UP) - President Paul von Hindenburg signed a decree tonight completely disbanding all constitutional safeguards for freedom of the press, speech and assembly.

The decree completely disbands all constitutional safeguards for freedom of the press, speech and assembly. Postal and telegraphic privacy was abolished and the death penalty established for a long series of offenses, including assaults on the President or members of Cabinet.

The restrictions are to last "until Communism no longer is a menace."

Constitutional guarantees of freedom, privacy and inviolability of property against confiscation are abolished. The Reich is empowered to take over federal States.

Among penalties for which the death penalty can be imposed are high treason, poisoning, arson, attacks on railroads, possessing arms while opposing forces of the state and kidnapping.

A communiqu? said the government would proceed "with all brutality" against Communists and that, since it seemed attacks on Germany were now being launched abroad, the government had taken precautions to stop them.

Police already have suppressed the Communist and Social-Democratic press and arrested 130 Communists and their sympathizers, including Ernst Torgler, Communist whip in the Reichstag. Ernest Thaelmann and Wilhelm Pieck, high Communist leaders, have so far not been arrested. Police searched the houses of those arrested and seized documents.

The Reichstag fire evidently strengthened the determination of the Nazis to outlaw the Communist party-a measure which might yield them a majority in the coming Reichstag to be elected March 5, thus paving the constitutional road to Hitler's exclusive control of the administration.

Despite his equal detestation of the Communists, Alfred Hugenberg, Nationalist leader, doubtless would do his utmost to prevent measures that would result in the possible ousting of his party form the Cabinet and delivery of sole power into Hitler's hands.

It was officially announced that Communist leaders were directly involved in the Reichstag fire and had prepared further terrorism, wearing police, brown shirt and steel helmet uniforms as disguises.

The announcement said documents found in a raid on Liebknecht House, Communist headquarters, proved that the preparations for terrorism included forged orders to police and instruction to agents about poisoning of food and fountains.


Copyright 2007 by United Press International.