Significance of the Reichstag Fire

On the 27th of February, the Reichstag building was set on fre, with a Dutch communist arrested.

Although many believe van der Lubbe was acting in conjunction with a Nazi plot, a study has been found to show that he may have been acting alone.

Major advantage to the Nazis as....

• The Communists were blamed-4,000 members of the KPD were arrested

• Their names were left on ballot papers to split the left wing vote-it was not known that the communists were in camps and so, in order to make sure that people didn't instead turn to the SPD, the Nazis left their names on the paper and those votes were essentially, a wasted vote.

• It allowed the Nazis to introduce a police state under Article 48

• Hindenburg signed the Decree for the Protection of People and State on the 28th of February.

Basic rights were taken away by the emergency decree such as freedom to form unions and societies as well as the freedom of speech.

The decree also allowed the searching of mail, houses and confiscation.

The Decree for the Protection of People and State helped to set up a police state and a dictatorship. It was important because it meant the Reichstag was 'dead' and not in use anymore and it did not have to make any laws. Neither was in it place to stop the government if it got too powerful.

Instead, Hitler could freely make laws.