diff --git a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/util/KrillString.java b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/util/KrillString.java
index 3e0095e..845325e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/util/KrillString.java
+++ b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/util/KrillString.java
@@ -57,6 +57,10 @@
      * @return The secured string.
      */
     public static String escapeHTML (String text) {
+
+		if (text == null)
+			return "";
+		
         return text.replace("&", "&amp;").replace("<", "&lt;")
                 .replace(">", "&gt;").replace("\"", "&quot;");
     };