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The Reichstag fire was a pivotal event in the establishment of was in flames. Inside the building, the police quickly found a shirtless Marinus Van Der Lubbe . Van der Lubbe was a Dutch insurrectionist Council Communist and Unemployed bricklayer who had recently arrived in Germany , ostensibly to carry out his political activities. The fire was used as evidence that the Communists were beginning a plot against the German government. Van der Lubbe and 4000 Communist leaders were arrested. Then-chancellor Adolf Hitler urged President Hindenburg to pass an emergency decree in order to counter the "ruthless confrontation of the KPD". Meanwhile, investigation of the Reichstag Fire continued, with the . PRELUDE Hitler had been sworn in as Chancellor and head of the Coalition Government on January 30 , 1933 . As Chancellor, Hitler asked German President ('' Reichspräsident '') Paul Von Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag and call for a new parliamentary Election . The date set for the elections was March 5 , 1933 . Hitler's aim was first to acquire a National Socialist majority in order to secure his position and eliminate the communist opposition. If prompted or desired, the President could remove the Chancellor. Hitler hoped to abolish Democracy in a more or less Legal fashion by passing the Enabling Act . The Enabling Act was a special law which gave the Chancellor the power to pass laws by decree without the involvement of the ''Reichstag''. These special powers would remain in effect for four years, after which time they were eligible to be renewed. Under the existing Weimar constitution, under Article 48 , the President could rule by decree in times of emergency. The unprecedented element of the Enabling Act was that the Chancellor himself possessed these powers. An Enabling Act was only supposed to be passed in times of extreme emergency, and in fact had only been used once before, in 1923 - 24 when the government used an Enabling Act to rescue Germany from Hyperinflation . To pass an Enabling Act, a party required a vote by a two-thirds majority in the Reichstag. In January 1933, the Nazis had only 32% of the seats and thus were in no position to pass an Enabling Act. During the election campaign, the Nazis alleged that Germany was on the verge of a Communist members of parliament who could vote against the Enabling Act, Hitler had planned to Ban the '' Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands '' (the Communist Party of Germany or ''KPD''), which at the time held 17% of the parliament's seats, after the elections and before the new ''Reichstag'' convened. The ''Reichstag'' Fire allowed Hitler to accelerate the banning of the Communist Party. The Nazis capitalized on the fear that the Reichstag fire supposed to serve as a signal launching the Communist revolution in Germany, and promoted this claim in their campaign. THE FIRE At 10:00 PM on February 27, 1933, the Berlin Fire Department received a message that the ''Reichstag'' was on fire. Despite the best efforts of the firemen, the building was gutted by the blaze. Only by 11: 30 PM was the fire put out. The firemen and policemen inspected the ruins, and found twenty bundles of flammable material unburned laying about. At the time the fire was reported, Adolf Hitler was having dinner with Joseph Goebbels at Goebbels' apartment in Berlin. When Goebbels received a phone call informing him of the fire, he regarded it as a joke at first, and only after the second call did he report the news to Hitler. Hitler, Goebbels, the Vice-Chancellor Franz Von Papen and Prince Heinrich Günther von Hohenzollern were taken by car to the ''Reichstag'' where they were met by Hermann Göring . Göring told Hitler "This is a Communist outrage! One of the Communist culprits has been arrested". Hitler called the fire a "sign from heaven", and claimed the fire was a ''Fanal'' (signal) meant to mark the beginning of a Communist ''Putsch'' (coup). The next day, the ''Preussische Pressedienst'' (Prussian Press Service) reported that "this act of incendiarism is the most monstrous act of terrorism carried out by Bolshevism in Germany". The ''Vossische Zeitung'' newspaper warned its readers that "the government is of the opinion that the situation is such that a danger to the state and nation existed and still exists".Snyder, Louis, ''Encyclopedia of the Third Reich''. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976, pp. 286-287 POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE FIRE The day after the fire, Hitler asked for and received from President Hindenburg the Reichstag Fire Decree , signed into law by Hindenburg using Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution. The Reichstag Fire Decree suspended most civil liberties in Germany. As a consequence of the Reichstag Fire Decree, the Communist Party Of Germany was banned on March 1 , 1933 under the grounds that they were preparing a ''putsch''. In the March 5, 1933 ''Reichstag'' elections, the Nazis increased their share of the vote to 44 percent, which gave the Nazis and their allies - the German National People's Party won 8% of the vote - a majority of 52% in the ''Reichstag''. The Nazis emerged as winners, but they had fallen short of their goal, which was 50%–55% of the vote. This would make it more difficult to obtain the two-thirds majority needed to pass the Enabling Act . Nevertheless, the Nazis were able to capitalize on national security concerns and obtain the additional support needed, thus granting Chancellor Hitler the right to rule by decree. The vote took place on March 23, 1933, and only the Social Democrats opposed the measure, which came into effect on March 27. Had the Communist Party participated, its representatives would have contributed 17% of the Reichstag votes. Instead, their representatives were under arrest for their suspect role in the Reichstag Fire. THE REICHSTAG FIRE TRIAL In July 1933, Marinus Van Der Lubbe , Ernst Torgler , Georgi Dimitrov , Blagoi Popov , and Vassil Tanev were indicted on charges of setting the ''Reichstag'' on fire. From September 21 to December 23 1933 , the Leipzig Trial took place and was presided over by judges from the old German Imperial High Court, the '' Reichsgericht ''. This was Germany's highest court. The presiding judge was Judge Dr. Wilhelm Bürger of the Fourth Criminal Court of the Fourth Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court. Snyder, Louis, ''Encyclopedia of the Third Reich''. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976, p. 288 The accused were charged with arson and with attempting to overthrow the government. The Leipzig Trial was widely publicized and was broadcast on the radio. It was expected that the court would find the Communists guilty on all counts and approve the repression and terror exercised by the Nazis against all opposition forces in the country. At the end of the trial, however, only van der Lubbe was convicted, while his fellow defendants were found not guilty. In 1934, van der Lubbe was beheaded in a German prison yard. In 1981, a West German court posthumously overturned van der Lubbe's 1933 conviction and found him not guilty by reason of insanity. The trial began at 8:45 on the morning of September 21, with van der Lubbe testifying. Van der Lubbe's testimony was very hard to follow as he spoke of losing his sight in one eye, wandering around Europe as a drifter, and that he had been a member of the Dutch Communist Party, which he quit in 1931, but still considered himself a Communist. Dimitrov began his testimony on the third day of the trial. Georgi Dimitrov gave up his right to a court appointed lawyer and defended himself successfully. When warned by Judge Bürger to behave himself in court, Dimitrov stated: "Herr President, if you were a man as innocent as myself and you have passed seven months in prison, five of them in chains night and day, you would understand it if one perhaps becomes a little strained". During the course of his defence, Dimitrov claimed that the organizers of the fire were senior members of the Nazi Party, and frequently verbally clashed with Göring at the trial. The highpoint of the trial occurred on November 4, 1933 when Göring took the stand, and was cross-examined by DimitrovSnyder, Louis, ''Encyclopedia of the Third Reich''. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976, pp. 288-289. The following exchange took place: :Dimitrov: Herr Prime Minister Göring stated on February 28 that when arrested the "Dutch Communist van der Lubbe had on his person his passport and a membership card of the Communist Party". From whom was this information taken? :Göring: The police search all common criminals, and report the result to me. :Dimitrov: The three officials who arrested and examined van der Lubbe all agreed that no membership card of the Communist Party was found on him. I should like to know where the report that such a card had been found came from. :Göring: I was told by an official. Things which were reported to me on the night of the fire...could not be tested or proven. The report was made to me by a responsible official, and was accepted as a fact, and as it could not be tested immediately it was announced as a fact. When I issued the first report to the press on the morning after the fire the interrogation of van der Lubbe had not been concluded. In any case I do not see that anyone has any right to complain because it seems proved in this trial that van der Lubbe had no such card on him. :Dimitrov: I would like to ask the Minister of the Interior what steps he took to make sure that van der Lubbe's route to Hennigsdorf, his stay and his meetings with other people there were investigated by the police to assist them in tracking down van der Lubbe's accomplices? :Göring: As I am not an official myself, but a responsible Minister it was not important that I should trouble myself with such petty, minor matters. It was my task to expose the Party, and the mentality, which was responsible for the crime. :Dimitrov: Is the Reichsminister aware of the fact that those that possess this alleged criminal mentality today control the destiny of a sixth part of the world - the Soviet Union? :Göring: I don't care what happens in Russia! I know that the Russians pay with bills, and I should prefer to know that their bills are paid! I care about the Communist Party here in Germany and about Communist crooks who come here to set the ''Reichstag'' on fire! :Dimitrov: This criminal mentality rules the Soviet Union, the greatest and best country in the world. Is Herr Prime Minister aware of that? :Göring: I shall tell you what the German people already know. They know that you are behaving in a disgraceful manner! They know that you are a Communist crook who came to Germany to set the ''Reichstag'' on fire! In my eyes you are nothing, but a scoundrel, a crook who belongs on the gallows!Snyder, Louis ''Encyclopedia of the Third Reich'', New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976, p. 289. Only Van Der Lubbe was found guilty and sentenced to death. The rest were acquitted, and (with the exception of Torgler, who was taken into “protective custody" by the Gestapo after the trial), were expelled to the Soviet Union , where they received a hero's welcome. Hitler was furious with the outcome of this trial. He decreed that henceforth treason – among many other offenses – would only be tried by a newly established People's Court ('' Volksgerichtshof ''). The People's Court later became associated with the number of death sentences it handed down, including those following the 1944 Attempt To Assassinate Hitler . It was presided over by Judge-President Roland Freisler . VAN DER LUBBE'S EXECUTION At his trial, Van der Lubbe was found guilty and Sentenced To Death . He was Beheaded (the customary German execution method at the time) on January 10 , 1934 , three days before his 25th birthday. The Nazis alleged that Van der Lubbe was part of the Communist Conspiracy to burn down the Reichstag and seize power, while the Communists alleged that Van der Lubbe was part of the Nazi conspiracy to blame the crime on them. Van der Lubbe for his part maintained that he had acted alone, to protest the condition of the German working-class. DISPUTE ABOUT VAN DER LUBBE'S ROLE IN THE ''REICHSTAG'' FIRE Historians generally agree that van der Lubbe was involved in the ''Reichstag'' fire. The extent of the damage, however, has led to considerable debate over whether he acted alone. Considering the speed with which the fire engulfed the building, van der Lubbe's reputation as a mentally disturbed arsonist hungry for fame, and cryptic comments by leading Nazi officials, it was generally believed at the time the Nazi hierarchy was involved in order to reap political gain. Some have contended that van der Lubbe acted alone, and the ''Reichstag'' fire was merely a stroke of good luck for the Nazis. The idea that he was a "half-wit" or "mentally disturbed" was concluded that the Nazi leadership was in a state of panic the night of the Reichstag fire, and they seemed to have regarded the ''Reichstag'' Fire as a confirmation that all their propaganda about a Communist revolution being imminent was actually trueMommsen, Hans, "The Reichstag Fire and its Political Consequences", from ''Republic to Reich The Making of the Nazi Revolution'', edited by Hajo Holborn. New York: Pantheon Books, 1972, p. 144. British reporter Sefton Delmer witnessed the events of that night firsthand, and his account of the fire provides a number of details Sefton Delmer's account of the Reichstag fire . Delmer viewed van der Lubbe as solely responsible, that the Nazis sought to make it appear to be a "Communist gang" who set the fire, whereas the Communists sought to make it appear that van der Lubbe was working for the Nazis, and that they had plotted the whole thing. In 1960, the West German Social Democratic journalist Fritz Tobias published a series of articles in '' Der Spiegel '', later turned into a book, which showed that Van Der Lubbe had acted alone. At the time, Tobias was widely attacked for his articles, which showed that Van der Lubbe was a Pyromaniac with a long history of burning down buildings or attempting to burn down buildings. In particular, Tobias established that Van der Lubbe had attempted to burn down a number of buildings in the days prior to February 27. In March 1973, the Swiss historian Walter Hofer organized a conference intended to rebut the claims made by Tobias. At the conference, Hofer claimed to have found evidence that some of the detectives who had investigated the fire may have been Nazis. Mommsen commented on Hofer's claims by stating "Professor Hofer's rather helpless statement that the accomplices of Van der Lubbe 'could only have been Nazis' is tacit admission that the committee did not actually obtain any positive evidence in regard to the alleged accomplices' identity"Snyder, Louis ''Encyclopedia of the Third Reich'', New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976, pp. 287-288. Göring's commentary William L. Shirer 's '' The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich '' details how at Nuremberg , General Franz Halder stated in an affidavit that Hermann Göring had joked about setting the fire: :"On the occasion of a lunch on the Führer's birthday in 1942, the people around the Führer turned the conversation to the Reichstag building and its artistic value. I heard with my own ears how Göring broke into the conversation and shouted: 'The only one who really knows about the Reichstag building is I, for I set fire to it.' And saying this he slapped his thigh"Shirer, William, "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". New York: Touchstone, 1959, p. 193. Under cross-examination at Nuremberg, Göring was read Halder's affidavit and denied he had any involvement in the fire, characterizing Halder's statement as "utter nonsense". Göring stated: : "I had no reason or motive for setting fire to the Reichstag. From the artistic point of view I did not at all regret that the assembly chamber was burned; I hoped to build a better one. But I did regret very much that I was forced to find a new meeting place for the Reichstag and, not being able to find one, I had to give up my , 1946 .] 'Counter-trial' organized by the German Communist Party During the summer of 1933, a counter-trial was organized in London by a group of lawyers, democrats and other anti-Nazi groups under the aegis of German Communist émigrés. The chairman of the 'Counter-trial' was Labour barrister D N Pritt KC, but the chief organiser was KPD's Propaganda chief Willi Münzenberg . The other 'judges' were Maìtre Pierre Vermeylen of Belgium, George Branting of Sweden, Maìtre Vincent De Moro-Giafferi and Maìtre Gaston Bergery of France, Betsy Bakker-Nort of the Netherlands, Vald Hvidt of Denmark, and Arthur Garfield Hays of the United States.Tobias, Fritz, ''The Reichstag Fire''. New York: Putnam, 1964, p. 120. The Counter-trial began on September 21, 1933. It lasted one week and ended with the conclusion the defendants were innocent, and the true initiators of the fire were to be found amid the leading Communist named Otto Katz.Costello, John, ''Mask of Treachery''. London: William Collins & Sons Ltd, 1988, p. 296). The success of ''The Brown Book'' was subsequently followed by another best-seller published in 1934, again ghost-written by Katz, ''The Second Brown Book of the Reichstag Fire and the Hitler Terror''. ''The Brown Book'' was divided into three parts. The first part, which traced the rise of the Nazis (or 'German Fascists' as Katz called them in conformity with about middle-class Jews, described as a cabal of Jewish bankers. Both books are today widely seen as totally worthless by historians, with particular criticism focusing on the last chapter of the first ''Brown Book'' where it was claimed that Hitler was a merely a front-man for a group of international Jewish bankers, and that Nazi Antisemitism was just a ruse to disguise that it was Jewish bankers who really ruled Nazi Germany. FOOTNOTE REFERENCES
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