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The Reichsgesetzblatt was the official illustrated publication containing announcements of new laws and amendments of existing laws in Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist Germany, as published by the Reichsministerium des Innern (Interior Ministry) and printed by the Reichsverlagsamt in Berlin. The huge annual or semi-annual publications contained laws and by-laws, ordinances, Hitler decrees, treaties, budgets, amendments to existing laws, and so on. The minutia in these books is incredible! During the Third Reich the Reichsgesetzblatt was published in two editions, Teil 1 and Teil 2, with Part 2 containing international agreements, traffic laws (railroad, shipping), budgets, parliamentary matters, financial matters of the Reichsbank, and Part 1 all other matters. The last edition of the Reichsgesetzblatt was published in early April 1945. The Reichsgesetzblatt is invaluable to anyone involved in research regarding the Third Reich in general, Third Reich law, and the process by which proposed laws became law in Nazi Germany and territories incorporated or occupied by German Armed Forces.

There were so many new laws, ordnances, and decrees in expanding Greater Germany in 1938 that the Reichsgesetzblatt for that year had to be printed in two books. The hardbound book offered for sale on this USMBOOKS web page is a rare original example of Reichsgesetzblatt Teil 1 containing laws and by-laws, regulations and ordinances, Hitler decrees, treaties, budgets, amendments to existing laws, etc. for the second part for the year 1938. The huge 8-1/2 x 11-5/8 inch 1440+ page, 7 pound (!) hardbound book has an embossed gold eagle and swastika on the red cover, and gold blocking on the black spine.

This in-depth Nazi law book was published after Austria became part of Hitler’s Germany (Wiedervereinigung Österreichs mit dem Deutschen Reich) in the spring of 1938 so many of the particulars deal with the application of German law to Austria. The detail covered is incredible - displaying of the Nazi symbol, civil servants laws, hunting and animal protection laws, forestry, agriculture, telephone and telegraph laws, citizenship, wine and spirits, penal code, postal tariffs, military draft, police, sport, family farms, legal testaments and inheritance, trade, criminal court, wages, financial assistance for all early Austrian Nazis who had been jailed when the NSDAP was illegal in Austria, railroad traffic, weapon use, the take-over of the Austrian National Bank, horse breeding standards, patents, mortgages, anesthesia, opening hours for shops and businesses, etc., were only some of the aspects of Austrian law that had to be equalized with Third Reich German law as the two countries were reunified.

This edition of the Reichsgesetzblatt also contains the announcement of new laws for the yarn industry, the protection and the use of the name of the city of Solingen [because of its importance as a producer of high-quality steel items such as swords, daggers, etc.], the founding of the official Reichsautobahnen company, the introduction of the Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13. März 1938 (the 13 March 1938 Commemorative Medal), new carrier pigeon law, the introduction of the Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938 (the 1 October 1938 Commemorative Medal) and the Luftschutz Honor Medal, changes to the lead paint law, clemency announcements by the Führer, Deutsche Reichslotterie laws, and the introduction of the Nazi Mother’s Cross.

In November 1938 several new laws were introduced throughout Germany regarding Jews. Jews were no longer allowed to own weapons, Jews were excluded from jobs in certain sectors of the economy and industry, citizenship restrictions (“due to the animosity of Jews against the German population and state….”), German and non-German Jews living in Germany were forced to make payments to the German State, and the 3-page law requiring Jews to declare their assets (Judenvermögensabgabe), decrease of public assistance for Jews, expansion of the use of Jewish assets as part of the economic Four Year Plan, just to name a few.

This nearly 3 inch thick edition of the Reichsgesetzblatt 1938 Teil 1 has new ordinances and decrees about or for, among other things:
vegetable and fruit prices in different areas of Nazi Germany, hunting, school vacations, marriage and divorce, advertising, land appropriation and plans for the construction of the VW factory or Volkswagenstadt at Fallersleben, manure and fertilizers, accident insurance, German and foreign gold coins, tobacco taxes, obligatory civilian identity documents (Kennkarte), electricity tariffs, the presence of foreign military near German borders, changes to finance laws, citizen rights, military punishment, wallpaper sales, wineries, family name changes, potato prices, postal savings banks in Nazi Germany, civil servant retirement benefits, bread and butter prices, rental property, death benefits for the survivors of members of the Wehrmacht, obligatory labor service for young women, import and export duties, timber prices, civilian taxation, lodging for construction workers, the change to the SS service medal, special orthopedic shoes, pensions for retired members or survivors of members of the Wehrmacht and SS-Verfügungstruppen, police inspectors for National Socialist building projects, prevention of genetic diseases, child labor and child abduction, and much more.

After the Munich Agreement was signed on 30 September 1938, German law was applied to the Sudetenland portion of the former Czechoslovakia as well. Customs regulations with the Sudetenland were changed, as were currency and consumer prices, labor laws, the justice system, weapons laws, taxation, mail service, the civil servant system, the railway and aviation, social and welfare programs, agriculture, health insurance, the introduction of obligatory asset registration by Jews, opening hours for shops and businesses, regulation of oil and steel prices, cultural performances, foreign tourism, etc., etc.

Page 13 and 25 have corrections and there are black & white illustrations of the SS-Dienstauszeichnung, ballots to vote for Adolf Hitler, the Ehrenkreuz der deutschen Mutter, and many examples of tables, documents and official forms and instructions about how to fill them out properly.

This rare Third Reich law book is complete and in nice used condition and has no offensive odor. The original silver endpapers with swastika motif are somewhat damaged and the spine is a bit loose in the back of the heavy book. The original owner wrote his name on the first page of this 83 year old Reichsgesetzblatt.

Have a look at other examples of the Reichsgesetzblatt for sale on USMBOOKS.com
1936	1937	1939	1940	1942	1943
We are happy to combine shipping of multiple purchases!