**Civil liberties suspended**
The Reichstag Fire Decree suspended most civil liberties in Germany, including habeas corpus, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, the right of free association and public assembly, and the secrecy of postal services and telephone.
The decree was used by the Nazis to ban publications not considered friendly to their political cause. Despite the fact that van der Lubbe claimed to have acted alone in the Reichstag fire, Hitler, after having obtained his emergency powers, announced that it was the start of an insurrection to take over Germany. Nazi Party newspapers then published this fabricated "news".[18]