Nazi Germany's Editors Law bars Jewish journalists from the press and puts editors under state direction
Nine months after Adolf Hitler became chancellor, Germany's Schriftleitergesetz, or Editors Law, required journalists to register with a new state-controlled Reich Press Chamber and barred non-Aryans from the profession, while directing editors to omit anything judged harmful to the Reich's standing.123
- Country
- Germany (RSF 2026 rank: 14th of 180)
- Where
- DE
- Level of government
- National
- Tactics
- Credential control, Licensing and closure of outlets
- Stage
- Silence (see the ladder)
- Head of government at the time
- Adolf Hitler
- Issue of the day
- Hitler's government, in power only since January 1933, was consolidating control over German public life and moved within months to bring newspapers and their editors directly under state and party direction.
- Outcome
- Reversed, May 8, 1945. The Editors Law and the Reich Press Chamber ended with Nazi Germany's defeat and unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945.
- Era
- The 1930s
What happened
Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in January 1933, and his government moved quickly to bring the press under state control. On October 4, 1933, it enacted the Schriftleitergesetz, the Editors Law, which required every editor and journalist to register with the newly created Reich Press Chamber, a compulsory professional body under the state messaging Ministry, in order to practice. The Reich Press Chamber kept registries of journalists it certified as racially pure and excluded Jews, and those married to Jews, from the profession entirely. The law's Paragraph 14 required editors to omit from publication anything calculated to weaken the strength of the German state, called the Reich, at home or abroad, and the state messaging Ministry issued daily directives on what could be reported and how. Editors who defied the directives risked losing their registration, dismissal or worse, including imprisonment in a concentration camp.123
What reason was given
The law's own text required editors to keep out of print anything judged calculated to weaken the strength of the Reich at home or abroad, casting the requirement as a matter of protecting the German state's standing.2
What changed for reporting
Jewish journalists and editors were barred outright from the profession, remaining editors had to follow the state messaging Ministry's daily directives on content, and those who did not risked losing their registration, their jobs or their freedom.3
Timeline
1933
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Adolf Hitler | announced | Chancellor of Germany |
| Reich Press Chamber (Reichspressekammer) | enforced | Nazi Germany's compulsory professional body for journalists |
Sources
Claims cited
- The Editors Law forbade non-Aryans from working in journalism.
The Editors Law (Schriftleitergesetz) forbids non-"Aryans" to work in journalism.
Editors Law, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Holocaust Encyclopedia. Claim 153, checked 2026-09-22. - The law required editors to omit anything judged calculated to weaken the strength of the German state at home or abroad.
omit anything 'calculated to weaken the strength of the Reich abroad or at home.'
The Press in the Third Reich, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Holocaust Encyclopedia. Claim 154, checked 2026-09-22. - The Reich Press Chamber kept registries of editors and journalists it certified as racially pure, excluding Jews and those married to Jews from the profession.
kept registries of 'racially pure' editors and journalists, and excluded Jews and those married to Jews from the profession.
The Press in the Third Reich, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Holocaust Encyclopedia. Claim 155, checked 2026-09-22.