The Reichstag Fire Lesson starter: Explain three reasons why the Nazis had become the biggest party in the Reichstag by 1933.

Today we will… Describe the events of the Reichstag Fire Explain why it allowed the Nazis to seize power

Hitler had been appointed Chancellor in January 1933 By 1933 the Nazis had a lot of votes but not enough to control The Reichstag (196 of 584 seats) Hitler had been appointed Chancellor in January 1933 President Hindenburg had been convinced to give Hitler the job by other right wing politicians and by his son Hitler called a new election for March 1933 – he wanted to get more than 50% of the votes to be able to make his own laws in the Reichstag President Hindenburg

On 27 February, just before the elections The Reichstag was set on fire A young Dutch Communist Van der Lubbe was arrested Burning down the Reichstag was a serious crime Hitler and The Nazis blamed it on The Communists

German Parliament building

Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to declare a State of Emergency (article 48) That meant normal rules & rights did not apply The SA and police rounded up Communists and imprisoned them 4000 Communist leaders were arrested Communists were banned The Reichstag Hitler persuaded the other members of The Reichstag to give him extra powers

Article 48 Cancelled freedom of speech, press and assembly Gave police power to search homes & arrest people Gave the police power to close newspapers & send opponents to camps Basically turns Germany into a dictatorship!

Reichstag Fire a conspiracy? It emerged there was an underground passage linking the Reichstag with offices used by Nazi members Some who gave evidence against Van der Lubbe were Nazis

Van der Lubbe on trial

It is not the actual fire that is important, but the fact that Hitler took advantage of the event and used it to give him more power

5 March 1933 Election called 27 February 1933 Reichstag Fire Hitler blames it on The Communists Hitler persuades Hindenburg to declare a state of emergency (Article 48) Communists arrested and banned from Reichstag Hitler persuades other members of Reichstag to give him more powers

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Reichstag Fire number 2?

Source B is about the Reichstag Fire of February 27th 1933. Source B Goebbels informed Hitler that the Reichstag was in flames. The whole building was destroyed. Hitler blamed the Communists for starting the fire. He said that it was a signal from God. Hitler used that as an excuse to crush them with an iron fist. The burning Reichstag building 1. Describe the results of the Reichstag Fire. (3 marks)

Optional Task Design a newspaper front page reporting about the Reichstag Fire the previous night You will need to decide whether to give your views from a pro-Hitler or anti-Hitler stance You should create a newspaper name, headline, etc as well as text and pictures.

Today we will… Understand the events of the Reichstag Fire Explain why it allowed the Nazis to seize power