Reichstag Fire Decree
February 28, 1933 · Berlin
Emergency decree issued by President Paul von Hindenburg on 28 February 1933, the day after the Reichstag fire, under Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution. It suspended freedom of expression, press, assembly, and association, and protections against arbitrary arrest and property confiscation: the legal foundation of the Nazi dictatorship used to arrest opponents without charge.
