The Reichstag Fire
On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag Parliament Building in Berlin was burned down. Historians still question the identity of the people who caused the fire. Most people, however, agree that the one major culprit was Marinus Van Der Lubbe, a faithful Communist. Although he claimed to have been working alone, Hitler still took emergency measures, declaring that the Communists were getting ready for an ultimate assault on the government.
Hitler's first few moves were actually attempts at gaining control of the government and beginning his dictatorship. It basically gave Hitler a cover for eliminating his opposition. An Emergency Decree passed within days basically harnessed the majority of Germany. People suspected of being the enemy (Communists and such) could be murdered or made missing.
On the 23rd of March, less than a month after the Reichstag fire, Hitler and the newly elected Reichstag put together the Enabling Act, more or less making Hitler the dictator everyone feared. He could now pass laws with impunity, regardless of whether others thought ill of it, because they didn't have the power to veto it.
The Reichstag Fire ultimately led to the chain of effects that allowed Hitler to gain total control over Germany.
Hitler's first few moves were actually attempts at gaining control of the government and beginning his dictatorship. It basically gave Hitler a cover for eliminating his opposition. An Emergency Decree passed within days basically harnessed the majority of Germany. People suspected of being the enemy (Communists and such) could be murdered or made missing.
On the 23rd of March, less than a month after the Reichstag fire, Hitler and the newly elected Reichstag put together the Enabling Act, more or less making Hitler the dictator everyone feared. He could now pass laws with impunity, regardless of whether others thought ill of it, because they didn't have the power to veto it.
The Reichstag Fire ultimately led to the chain of effects that allowed Hitler to gain total control over Germany.