Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and State of 28 February 1933
In virtue of Section 48 (2) of the German constitution, the following is decreed as a defensive measure against Communist acts of violence, endangering the state:
Article 1
Sections 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124, and 153 of the Constitution of the German Reich are suspended until further notice. Thus, restrictions on personal liberty, on the right of free expression of opinion, including freedom of the press, on the right of assembly and the right of association, and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic, and telephonic communications, and warrants for house-searches, orders for confiscations as well as restrictions on property, are also permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed.
Article 2
If in a 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 highest state authority.
Article 3
According to orders decreed on the basis of Article 2, by the Reich Government, the authorities of states and provinces [Gemeindeverbaende], if concerned, have to abide thereby.
Article 4
Whoever provokes, or appeals for or incites to the disobedience of the orders given out by the supreme state authorities or the authorities subject to them for the execution of this decree, or the orders given by the Reich Government according to Article 2, is punishable—insofar as the deed is not covered by other decrees with more severe punishments—with imprisonment of not less than one month, or with a fine from 150 up to 15,000 Reichsmarks.