the reichstag fire

Question 1

who was in the frame for the reichstag fire

Answer 1

Van der Lubbe

Question 2

what evidence is there to suggest van der lubbe was guilty

Answer 2

• he admted to it at trial
• he was found with matches and fire lighters in his pockets
• he was descovered inside the building by the police whilst it was on fire
• a couple of days prior van der lubbe had also bade attempts to set fire to a public toilet, the town hall and Imperial Palace

Question 3

why did the fact large amounts of chemicals and petrol had been used to start the fire lead people to believe the nazis set fire to the building

Answer 3

the fire could have begun from at least 20 different places and many questioned wether it was actually possible for one man to do this alone

Question 4

what did foreign newspapers and some historiens believe about the fire

Answer 4

the nazis could have started it as it gave hitler a very convenient excuse to clamp down on communists (votes for communism had been rissing at this time)

Question 5

why did the nazis want the excuse to ask president hindenurg to declair a state of emergancy?

Answer 5

they believed this would help the party in the uppcomming reichstag elections