The
Reichstag Fire Decree is the common name of the
Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State issued by
German President Paul von Hindenburg in direct response to the
Reichstag fire of 27 February 1933. The decree nullified many of the key
civil liberties of German citizens. With
Nazis in powerful positions in the German government, the decree was used as the legal basis for the imprisonment of anyone considered to be opponents of the Nazis, and to suppress publications not considered “friendly” to the Nazi cause. The decree is considered by historians to be one of the key steps in the establishment of a
one-party Nazi state in Germany.