Editor’s Note: Far-right and fascist governments throughout history have regularly latched onto episodes of political violence and terrorism—real or contrived—as a pretext for repression, to silence dissent, and to destroy constitutional rights.
One of the most infamous such instances is the Reichstag Fire of 1933 in Germany. The Reichstag building in Berlin, home of the German parliament, was set ablaze late in the evening on Feb. 27, just four weeks after Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor.
Though he now headed the government, Hitler and his Nazi Party did not yet have dictatorial power; other parties still existed and sat in the parliament, including the Social Democratic Party, the Communist Party, and a handful of right-wing and centrist parties. What the Nazis needed was an excuse to crush their political opponents; the Reichstag fire gave them just what they wanted.
A Dutch national named Marinus van der Lubbe, whom the Nazis labeled a Communist, was arrested and charged with this act of terror. Even though the Communist Party denied any connection to him and published proof from the Dutch Communist Party that he’d long ago been expelled as an agent provocateur, the German authorities said even if van der Lubbe wasn’t himself a Communist, he had “carried out his action in the interests of the Communist Party.”.
The Nazis seized on the fire, blaming the Communists and the supposed radical left as a whole, trying to smear the entire German left and labor movement. The next day, a decree was issued suspending constitutional rights and allowing detention without trial.
Nazi stormtroopers and the German police, now under Nazi control, unleashed a campaign of violence against all those who opposed Hitler. The Communist press and other left-wing outlets were silenced. More than 25,000 people were arrested and sent to concentration camps, where many were tortured and eventually murdered.
The Communist Party was crippled in the elections held a few days later, and within weeks, democracy was officially killed in Germany. The Reichstag, now stripped of its Communist deputies, handed over dictatorial power to Hitler with the Enabling Act.
Many Communists were put on trial for the fire, including the famous anti-fascist leader Georgi Dimitrov, who beat the Nazis in their own courtroom. As for van der Lubbe, he was found guilty and beheaded in 1934. Years later, evidence would be unearthed suggesting that Hermann Göring, the Nazi police chief, and/or SA leader Karl Ernst orchestrated the fire and used van der Lubbe as their front man. Others claim he acted alone, though a West German court cancelled his guilty verdict in 1980. Regardless, no one today contends that the Communist Party was involved in any way.
Whatever the true circumstances were that led to the fire, the consequences were undeniable. It was exploited ruthlessly by the fascist government to suppress the left and workers’ movements and finish off democracy in Germany.
The article below was published in the Daily Worker, predecessor of People’s World, on March 1, 1933. We reprint it now as a reminder to question the claims of politicians who are quick to blame their opponents for criminal acts without evidence or who use those acts as a basis for launching attacks on constitutional rights and democracy.
NAZI PLOT TO ATTACK COMMUNISTS
Press is Banned as Hitler Starts Mass Arrests
Daily Worker – March 1, 1933
BERLIN (Feb. 28)—The Reichstag was heavily damaged by fire of incendiary origin last night. The, fire, evidently set by the fascists to lay the basis for new attacks on the Communist workers who are falsely charged with the arson outrage, was followed today by a series of heavy blows against the Communist Party by the fascist cabinet and the wildest kind of anti-red lying in the fascist and nationalist press.
Police today turned over the Karl Liebknecht House, headquarters of the Communist Party, to detachments of fascist stormtroopers, who marched to the building and hoisted their swastika flag.
The Communist Party declared the wild charges to be absolutely without foundation. The “arrested Dutch Communist,” Marinus van der Lubbe, who is alleged to have started the fire, is notorious as a police provocateur in the ranks of the Dutch workers’ movement and was expelled by the Dutch Communist Party over two years ago for provocative counterrevolutionary activities.
The Dutch Communist Party today issued a special edition of its central organ, De Tribune, recounting the career of this criminal adventurer and declaring that the Dutch Communist Party, like the German Communist Party and all sections of the Communist International, strictly reject individual terror and proceed ruthlessly all spies, agents provocateurs, and similar elements who penetrate their ranks.
The Dutch Communist Party has organized mass meetings in all cities and big towns for this evening to protest against the fascist attempt to make the Communist Party of Germany and the Communist International responsible for the criminal activities of an exposed, expelled agent provocateur.
Press is banned
The whole Communist press throughout Germany was suppressed for four weeks by a drastic “emergency” decree issued by the government today. The whole Socialist press is suppressed for 14 days. Today’s editions of the left-wing newspapers Welt Am Bergen and the Berlin Am Morgen were confiscated and their editorial offices occupied by the police. All Communist and Socialist election campaign posters were confiscated.
In connection with the suppression of the Communist press, a fascist spokesman declared: “There will be no more Communist press in Germany. We shall get all those who cooperate with the Communist press.”
Wholesale arrests
Orders were issued for the arrest of all Communist deputies in the Reichstag and Town Councils. Twelve members of the Reichstag were arrested so far. One hundred and thirty persons were arrested in Berlin, including Wilhelm Pieck, a member of the central committee of the Communist Party, Remmele and Ludwig Renn, author of War, and many other non-communists, including Ossietzky, Hodmann, Muehsam. etc.
Raids and mass arrests were carried out in many other cities. One hundred forty are reported arrested in Hanover.
Ernst Torgler, leader of the Communist fraction in the Reichstag, is charged with direct connection in the Reichstag fire, the police alleging he was “seen” talking with the arsonist immediately preceding the outrage. Torgler appeared before the Police Presidium today indignantly denying these lying charges.
Wildest anti-red lies
The fascist and nationalist press are conducting a terrific campaign of vicious incitement against the Communist Party, publishing the wildest stories concerning alleged Communist plans, including poisoning of reservoirs and foodstuffs and attacks on the children of political opponents. The hectic atmosphere of 1914 has been revived.
Today’s cabinet session decided to issue an emergency decree against the Communist movement, containing the severest measure without, however, according to the bourgeois press, directly suppressing the Party. Related organizations, like the Labor Defense, etc., are likely to be suppressed, according to the bourgeois press, although details are as yet unavailable.
In a statement issued to the bourgeois press, the government declared direct connection of the Communist leaders with the Reichstag outrage has been “proved” but offers no evidence. It repeats the slander that Communist “provocateurs” are operating In police and fascist uniforms, thus attempting to placate the Catholics for the attacks on them by armed uniformed fascists.
The statement further says that the “arrested Dutch Communist” admitted relations with the Socialist Party. However, not the slightest shred of proof is offered to support any of these contentions. The statement further alleges the “discovery” of a Communist plan to institute a reign of terrorist acts culminating in an armed revolt.
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