What Is The Cause Of The Reichstag Fire Essay

Before the reichstag fire In 1929 the americans stock market crashed and sent U,S,A into a disaster economic depression. Countries around the world began to feel the effects of this depression. American bankers and businessmen lost huge amounts of money in the crash . To pay off their debts they asked german banks to repay the money they had borrowed. The results was economic collapse in germany. Businesses went bankrupt, workers were laid off. The Nazis capitalized on the situation by criticizing the ruling government and began to win elections. In the July elections, they captured 230 out of 608 seats in the Reichstag. In January 1933, Hitler was appointed German chancellor and his Nazi government soon came to control every aspect of German life. Once Hitler gained control of the government, he directed Nazi Germany’s foreign policy toward undoing the Treaty of Versailles

All three declared that the fire was the work of the Communists and Socialists and the SA was put on alert to maintain order when the communist insurrection started.Rudolf Diels, head of the Prussian Political Police, arrived after Hitler, Goebbels and Goering. Diels later claimed that Goering told him that the fire was the start of a communist revolt and that “not a moment must be lost. Diels claimed that Hitler ordered that every communist official should be “shot where he is found” and that “communist deputies must be hanged this very night”. It is said that Hitler also ordered no leniency for the Social Democrats.The SA did what was required of it and rounded up. In July 1933 Marinus van der Lubbe, Ernst Torgler, Georgi Dimitrov, Blagoi Popov, and Vasil Tanev were tried on a charge of arson and attempting to overthrow the government. Van der Lubbe, who confessed to the crime, was found guilty but the others were acquitted as there was insufficient evidence against them. Marinus van der Lubbe was beheaded on 10th January