In the novel, Germany concentrates on the containment of the Soviet Union. Hitler has taken some steps to soften his image over the years and now usually wears civilian clothes, instead of the party uniform. Nonetheless, no substantive changes have taken place in the regime's basic character. The Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act of 1933, the legal basis for Hitler's dictatorship, remain in effect. The press, the radio and the television are tightly controlled. Dissenters are still sent to concentration camps. Conditions in the camps are reputed to be as harsh as they were in the 1930s and 1940s, but the International Red Cross is occasionally given staged inspections.