How was this done? On February 28, 1933, the day after the Reichstag fire, civil rights in Germany were abolished. This decree was published in the Reichsgesetzblatt, 1933, Page 83; and an English translation of it appears in the document book as 1390-PS. I refer to this decree at this time because it carries the signature of the Reich Minister of the Interior Frick. And now something important. It is stated at the beginning of the decree, which was published on the morning after the Reichstag fire, that the suspension of civil rights is decreed as a defense measure against Communist acts of violence endangering the State. At the time of publication of this decree, the Nazi Government announced that a thorough investigation had proven that the Communists had set fire to the Reichstag building. I do not intend to go into the controversial issue of who set fire to the Reichstag, but I should like to offer proof that the official Nazi statement that the Communists were responsible for the fire was issued without any investigation and that the preamble of the decree which had Frick’s signature was a mere subterfuge.
I offer in evidence a very short excerpt of an interrogation of Defendant Göring, dated October 13, 1945, our Document 3593-PS, Exhibit Number USA-712, and I should like to read the following brief portion, beginning on Page 4:
“My question to Göring: ‘How could you tell your press agent, 1 hour after the Reichstag caught fire, that the Communists did it, without investigation?’
“Göring’s answer: ‘Did the public relations officer say that at that time?’
“My answer: ‘Yes. He said you said it.’
“Göring: ‘It is possible when I came to the Reichstag the Führer and his gentlemen were there. I was doubtful at that time, but it was their opinion that the Communists had started the fire.’