284
THE TRUTH IS
THAT MEN ARE
TIRED OF LIBERTY
THE REICHSTAG FIRE (1933)
W
hen fire broke out at the
Reichstag, the German
parliament building,
just after 9pm on February 27, 1933,
Chancellor Adolf Hitler claimed it
was a communist plot to bring down
the government—a cynical ploy that
gave Hitler an excuse to decimate
his communist rivals.The timing was perfect: elections
were due to take place in March- While Hitler’s National
Socialist, or “Nazi,” Party was
the largest party in parliament, he
lacked a working majority because
the two next-largest parties (the
Social Democrats and Communists)
were both on the left, and he feared
IN CONTEXT
FOCUS
Rise of fascismBEFORE
1918 World War I leaves
Europe politically and
economically unstable.1920 The National Socialist
(or Nazi) Party is founded
in Germany, with racism
a central tenet.1922 Benito Mussolini is
made Italian premier by
King Victor Emmanuel III.AFTER
1935 Mussolini invades
Abyssinia (Ethiopia) as part
of his ambitious foreign policy.1936–39 The Spanish Civil
War is fought.1938 Adolf Hitler invades
Austria. The Munich Pact
grants Hitler control of the
Sudetenland.1939 Hitler orders the
invasion of Poland, which
triggers World War II.Slowing European
economies make
everyday life harder.Extremist fascist and communist ideologies seem to offer
easy solutions to national problems.The disintegration of formal structures of government
clears the way for Adolf Hitler to become dictator.German resentment
festers over the terms of the
Treaty of Versailles.The Reichstag Fire is blamed on the
communists and is used as a pretext
to curb civil liberties and jail dissenters.US_284-285_Reichstag_fire.indd 284 15/02/2016 16:44
285
The Reichstag Fire is said to have
burned so fiercely that flames could
be seen for miles around. Hitler blamed
the communists in an attempt to build
support for his Nazi Party.See also: The Expedition of the Thousand 238–41 ■ The Battle of Passchendaele 270–75 ■ The Treaty of Versailles 280 ■
The Wall Street Crash 282–83 ■ Nazi invasion of Poland 286–93 ■ The Wannsee Conference 294–95THE MODERN WORLD
his party would not fare well in the
elections. Hitler rushed to blame
the fire on a lone Dutch communist,
which prompted suspicions that
the Nazis were behind the arson,
given that they had so much to gain
from discrediting the communists.
The next day, the Reichstag Fire
Decree banned the Communist
Party. Hitler’s response fed on fears
of a communist takeover, and many
Germans believed that Hitler’s
decisive action had saved the
nation. By April, under pressure
from the Nazis, the Enabling Act
was passed by the Reichstag. This
granted Hitler the right to make his
own laws without involving the
Reichstag, and it solidified his
place as a fascist dictator with
complete control over Germany.Dictators seize power
Fascism emerged across Europe in
the 1920s and 30s. As governments
struggled with post-war economic
hardship and the fear of communist
revolutions, extreme right-wing
movements—fascism in Italy and
Nazism in Germany—were set up
as defenders against communism.They used paramilitary groups to
intimidate opponents, and spread
propaganda to gain popularity. In
Italy, Benito Mussolini was seen as
the only man able to restore order.
Once appointed prime minister in
1922, Mussolini gradually assumed
dictatorial powers, becoming Il
Duce, the leader. By 1928, Italy was
a totalitarian state.
In Germany, Hitler worked
ceaselessly to transform the Nazis
into a major political force. Relying
on a mix of nationalist rhetoric, anti-
communism, vicious anti-Semitism,
and an unceasing call to reverse
the peace terms made at Versailles
in 1919, Hitler rode a wave of
popularity. In 1933 he became
Chancellor, then, shortly after,
dictator, calling himself Führer.Fascists united
In 1936 Hitler and Mussolini began
to send military support to aid
General Franco in the Spanish
Civil War, which pitted right-wing
nationalists against left-wing
republicans. Franco’s victory
against the left-wing PopularFront government emboldened
the dictators and emphasized the
weakness of Western democracies.
The Reichstag Fire was a key
moment in Nazi history. It led to the
absolute dictatorship of Adolf Hitler
and the growth of fascism, setting
Europe on the path to world war. ■Fascism across Europe
European fascism blossomed in
a climate of economic disarray in
the 1920s and 30s. Democracies
lost legitimacy with their people,
and fascist parties, offering a
form of extreme right-wing
nationalism, boasted that they
would provide strength where
weakness had prevailed.
In the 1930s, no European
country, with the exception of
the Soviet Union, was without
a form of fascist party. Britain
had Sir Oswald Mosley’s British
Union of Fascists (BUF). Irelandhad the Blueshirts; France, Le
Faisceau; and Denmark and
Norway had many far-right
parties. Engelbert Dollfuss’s
Fatherland Front was installed
in Austria in 1934, while Greece
was under the rule of General
Ioannis Metaxas between 1936
and 1941. Portugal and Bulgaria
also came under right-wing
dictatorships, as did Romania.
By the end of the 1930s,
authoritarian governments had
assumed power in virtually
every corner of central and
Eastern Europe, and democracy
was in decline.Ours is a fight to the
finish until communism
has been absolutely
uprooted in Germany.
Hermann Göring
Leading Nazi Party memberUS_284-285_Reichstag_fire.indd 285 15/02/2016 16:44