The
Nero Decree was issued by
Adolf Hitler on March 19, 1945 ordering the destruction of German infrastructure to prevent their use by
Allied forces as they penetrated deep within
Germany. It was officially titled
Demolitions on Reich Territory Decree (
Befehl betreffend Zerstörungsmaßnahmen im Reichsgebiet) and has subsequently become known as the Nero Decree, after the Roman Emperor
Nero, who supposedly engineered the
Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. The decree was deliberately disobeyed by
Albert Speer.