They who will not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Recent events raise ghosts of the past.
January 30, 1933
Weimar Republic President Paul von Hindenburg appoints Adolph
February 27, 1933
The German Parliament (Reichstag) burns down. A dazed Dutch
Communist named Marinus van der Lubbe is found at the scene
and charged with arson. [He is later found guilty and executed].
February 28, 1933
President Hindenburg and Chancellor Hitler invoke Article 48
of the Weimar Constitution, which permits the suspension
of civil liberties in time of national emergency. This
Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the
People and State abrogates the following constitutional
- Free expression of opinion
- Freedom of the press
- Right of assembly and association
- Right to privacy of postal and electronic communications
- Protection against unlawful searches and seizures
- Individual property rights
- States' right of self-government
A supplemental decree creates the SA (Storm Troops) and SS
(Special Security) Federal police agencies.
Who Did It?
Historians do not agree on who is actually responsible for the
Reichstag Fire: van der Lubbe acting alone -- a Communist
plot -- or the Nazis themselves in order to create an
incident. Writers such as Klaus P. Fischer feel that most
likely the Nazis were involved.
But regardless of who actually planned and executed the fire,
it is clear that the Nazis immediately took advantage of the
situation in order to advance their cause at the expense
of civil rights. The Decree enabled the Nazis to
ruthlessly suppress opposition in the upcoming election.
March 5, 1933
National elections give Nazis 44% plurality in the Reichstag.
Herman Göring [who later played a central role in the
Nazi government and war effort]
declares that there is no further need for State governments.
Over the next few weeks, each of the lawful Weimar State
governments falls to the same ruse:
- Local Nazi organizations instigate disorder;
- The disorder is quelled by replacing the
elected state government by appointed Nazi Reich Commissioners.
March 24, 1933
The Reichstag passes the Law for Terminating the
Suffering of People and Nation , also known as the
Enabling Law , essentially granting Adolph Hitler
The events in 1933 can be summarized as follows:
- While it is not clear whether the Nazis intentionally set
the Reichstag fire in order to create a national
crisis, or whether the Nazis simply were opportunistic,
the event was used as justification for a sharp
curtailment in constitutionally guaranteed civil
- The Nazis took advantage of the additional Federal
police powers to suppress opponents.
- It is clear that in other situations, the
Nazis did use the tactic of creating
a "law and order" crisis so that they could
provide a solution which further eroded civil
liberties and entrenched their power.
- The right-wing Nazis and the left-wing communists
were cut from the same cloth -- the point is
not that the far right destroyed civil rights.
Rather, the point is
that a democracy can be destroyed by creating
a law-and-order crisis and offering as a 'solution'
the abdication of civil liberties and state's rights
to a powerful but unaccountable central authority.
- Randy Weaver Family [COMING SOON]
- Branch Davidians [COMING SOON]
- Oklahoma City Bombing [COMING SOON]
- Sunset Limited Derailment
Copyright © 1995
"Orville R. Weyrich, Jr."
Last updated: December 31, 1997; Version: 1.6