After the war in the East began, the race defilement law was technically extended to include all foreigners (non-Germans).[30] Himmler issued a decree on 7 December 1942 which stated that any "unauthorized sexual intercourse" would result in the death penalty.[31] The Gestapo persecuted sexual relations between Germans and the peoples of Eastern Europe on the grounds of the "risk for the racial integrity of the German nation".[30] A further decree was issued that called for applying the death penalty not only to slave laborer persons in the east who had sexual relations with Germans but also to slave laborers of Western origin, such as French, Belgian or British offenders.[31]