Historic: Reichstag Fire
| Name |
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| born on | 27 February 1933 at 21:05 (= 9:05 PM ) | ||
| Place | Berlin, Germany, 52n30, 13e22 | ||
| Timezone | MET h1e (is standard time) | ||
| Data source |
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| Astrology data |   08°48'   18°04 Asc. 15°10'
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Biography
German fire that erupted at the Reichstag, the German Parliament building. The Parliament was in recess and elections were scheduled for March 5. According to the source, at 9:05 PM a student passing by saw through the building's windows a man carrying a burning torch. Ten minutes later smoke was observed and alarms triggered. At 9:30 PM, a huge explosion engulfed the central chamber in flames and the fire went out of control. Police arrested a Dutch man, Marinus van der Lubbe who was discovered at the scene.
Prussian minister Goring accused communists of setting the fire and van der Lubbe was tried and executed, but no one really knows for sure by whom or why the fire was set. In any event, by the next day over 4,000 communists, intellectuals,, and academics who had incurred the wrath of the Nazi Party were rounded up and arrested. President Hindenburg, 86 years old, was convinced by Chancellor Hitler to sign an emergency decree suspending the basic rights of the citizens supposedly for the duration of the emergency. That decree of February 28th establishing arrest on suspicion and imprisonment without trial was an early milestone in the repression of German society by the Nazi Party.
While the Nazis failed to get the two thirds majority in the election, Hitler used the decree of February 28th against those states where opposition existed, and by using strong-arm tactics, Hitler became the supreme dictator of Germany on March 23, 1933.
Source Notes
Alex Nagel quotes www.worldatwar.net/event/reichstagsbrand/
Categories
- Mundane : Political : Terrorist attacks
