1. Unless heavier punishment is provided for in other provisions, imprisonment up to 2 years shall be imposed upon anybody deliberately making false or grossly distorted statements, which are apt to debase the welfare of the Reich or the prestige of the Reich government, the NSDAP or its affiliated agencies. Whoever makes or disseminates such statements in public, will be imprisoned for not less than 3 months.
2. Anyone committing the offense with gross neglect shall be punished with imprisonment up to 3 months, or with a fine.
3. If the offense is directed solely against the prestige of the NSDAP or its affiliated agencies, the offender shall be prosecuted only with the consent of the Fuehrer’s Deputy or of agencies authorized by him.
Article 2
1. Whoever makes statements showing a malicious, inciting or low-minded attitude toward leading personalities of the State or the NSDAP, or about orders issued by them or about institutions created by them, which are apt to undermine the confidence of the people in its political leadership—shall be punished with imprisonment.
2. Statements of this kind which are not made in public shall be punished equally if the offender reckons or has to reckon that his statements will eventually circulate in public.
3. The offender shall be prosecuted only by order of the Reich Minister of Justice; in case the offense was committed against a leading personality of the NSDAP, the Reich Minister of Justice will issue the order in agreement with the Fuehrer’s Deputy.
4. The Reich Minister of Justice in agreement with the Fuehrer’s Deputy shall determine who is to be regarded as a leading personality according to paragraph 1.
Article 3
1. Anyone who, when committing or threatening to commit a punishable act, is wearing or is carrying on his person the uniform or an insignia of the NSDAP, without being entitled to do so as a member of the NSDAP or its affiliated agencies, will be punished with hard labor or in minor instances with imprisonment for at least 6 months.