The Treachery Act of 1934 was a German law established by the
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
on 20 December 1934. Known as the ''Heimtückegesetz'', its official title was the "Law against Treacherous Attacks on the State and Party and for the Protection of Party Uniforms" (''Gesetz gegen heimtückische Angriffe auf Staat und Partei und zum Schutz der Parteiuniformen''). It established penalties for the abuse of
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
badges and uniforms, restricted the right to
freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
, and criminalized all remarks causing putative severe damage to the welfare of the Third Reich, the prestige of the Nazi government or the Nazi Party.
The law drew on nearly identical provisions in the "Regulations of the
Reich president
''Reich'' (; ) is a German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word "realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emperor") and ' (lit ...
for Defense from Treacherous Attacks Against the Government of the National Uprising", established 21 March 1933,
[''Reichsgesetzblatt'' 1933, I p. 135f] and expanded the range of sentences.
See also
*
Malicious Practices Act 1933
*
Wehrkraftzersetzung
''Wehrkraftzersetzung'' or ''Zersetzung der Wehrkraft'' (German for "undermining defence force") was a sedition offence in German military law during the Nazi Germany era from 1938 to 1945.
''Wehrkraftzersetzung'' was enacted in 1938 by decree ...
References
External links
Reich Legal Gazette (Reichsgesetzblatt)Harvard Law School Library, Nuremberg Trials Project. Retrieved September 5, 2011
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Law in Nazi Germany
1934 in Germany
German criminal law
1934 in law