Prior to 1933, Jews in Germany were full citizens, protected by the Constitution of 1919. That changed after Hitler came to power. A law passed in 1933 authorized the denaturalization of East European Jews who had become German citizens since World War I and Jews who had already fled from Germany. The laws were vague. Instead of naming Jews, they permitted denaturalization of people who were "undesirable," or were outside of Germany if their "conduct violated the duty of loyalty toward Germany or harmed German interests."