The Reichstag Fire and the Birth of a Totalitarian Regime
Amidst the flames, chaos descended up on Berlin. Within a month of the ashes, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party had seized power of Germany.
On a cold February night in Berlin in 1933, good fortune fell upon Germany’s National Socialist Party as the Reichstag building was set ablaze. The fire would be pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany and its rule over Germany until its collapse at the end of World War II.
Adolf Hitler was in just his fourth week as Chancellor of Germany. His appointment by President Hindenburg the night of January 30 was a momentous occasion for the Nazis, but they still had be unable to shake Germany’s democracy.
The party’s struggle for political legitimacy had gained a strong foothold with the appointment. Despite Hitler’s role as Chancellor however, the Nazis still suffered from a parliamentary minority. Their pursuit of power still not fully realized, the timing of the Reichstag Fire could be described for the Nazi Party as heaven sent.
From the Ashes the Nazi Party Arose
The fire itself was first reported around 9:00 p.m. on February 27, 1933 - a Monday night. The Reichstag building, comparatively as famous throughout Germany as the dome of the Capitol in Washington D.C., was quickly engulfed in flames.
A Dutch mason, Marinus van der Lubbe, was accused by Hitler and his supporters as the culprit. Amidst the chaos and confusion, the fire was the perfect event to expose the rival community party as a group of agitators. More importantly, it was an opportunity to crush them as a political opposition in Germany.
Headlines ran with the story that the unemployed Dutch bricklayer, with nondescript ties to the communist party had started the fire. Meanwhile, spun a narrative of a communist attack on Germany and pressured German President Paul von Hindenburg to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree.
The Reichstag Fire Decree’s Precedent
One day after the fire, the decree, which suspended civil liberties and fueled a pursuit of investigation and confrontation with the Communist Party of Germany was passed. Mass arrests of communists, including delegates of parliament were almost instantaneous. Germany was placed in a state of emergency. Rights to speak, assemble, protest, and due process were gone.
The arrests of communist party parliament members resulted in empty seats in Germany’s parliament and for all intents and purposes, the successful removal of any communist party opposition.
Just like that, the Nazi Party seized a majority and the road to Hitler’s consolidation of power was set. Hitler’s ability to persuade Hindenburg to enact the Reichstag Fire Decree established the precedent he needed to pursue his Enabling Act.
The Enabling Act, Hitler, and the Birth of a Dictator
Consumed with desires destroying Germany’s democracy and gaining absolute power, Hitler would successfully pass the Enabling Act within a month of the Reichstag fire and the Reichstag Fire Decree.
The Enabling Act gave the German Cabinet - and most importantly Germany’s Chancellor - the power to make and enforce laws without the involvement of the Reichstag or consultation with then President von Hindenburg.
Hitler was now empowered to pass and enforce laws without any objections. With these new powers, Hitler’s cabinet had successfully, and largely legally, transformed itself into a dictatorship. The foundation for his totalitarian regime was set.
When looking retrospectively, it becomes clear that historic events often happen slowly over time, and then suddenly all at once. For Adolf Hitler and his aspirations of a Nazi rule of Germany, the Reichstag Fire was his ‘all at once moment.’
Did Van der Lubbe Act Alone?
As for the accused Marinus van der Lubbe, he would be tried and executed for starting the Reichstag Fire in 1934. He was just three day shy of his 25th birthday. Many questioned his guilt as he appeared the framed victim of a clever and opportunistic Nazi Party agenda.
In 1981, a court in Berlin declared his trial a miscarriage of justice. In 2001, new evidence was brought forth that supported belief that he was the victim of an elaborate conspiracy theory. While no one can say for certain who started the fire, dispute around Van der Lubbe’s role is largely believe to be an independent act.
In 2008, Van der Lubbe was pardoned posthumously on the grounds that anyone convicted under Nazi Germany could not officially be guilty as the laws of Nazi Germany were said to be against the basic ideas of justice.
Theories abound however. While many believe Van der Lubbe acted alone, with no political affiliation. Others suspect he was working for the Nazi Party. The accused affiliation would mean he was a part of the conspiracy the Nazis used to seize power of Germany.
History for the Hurried:
September 8, 1565: America’s first Catholic settlement was founded by Spaniard Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles at St. Augustine, Florida.
September 8, 1941: Nearly one million Russian civilians will die as a result of the German blockade of Leningrad, which would last through January 1944.
September 9, 1776: The Continental Congress changes the name of the United Colonies to the United States as the name of the new American nation.