Who was Marinus van der Lubbe?
A disaffected arsonist, Marinus van der Lubbe greatly affected modern history by aiding Hitler’s seizure of power. Born in 1909, the Dutch van der Lubbe was without both parents by the time he was twelve (his father deserted the poor family, his mother died) and he became first a mason and then a young communist. However, he was frustrated by rules and regulations, and joined a radical, anarchist influenced group who favoured direct action.
His sight and job opportunities damaged by an accident at work, he decided to travel to the only communist country, the USSR, but ended up in Berlin in February 1933.
Here van der Lubbe found the Nazi Party ruling the streets by violence, and the mainstream sitting on their hands. His solution was a plan of direct action: the unemployed workers would be shaken out of their stupor by a protest, and he decided to burn things to make one. He’d a history of poorly thought out, impulsive violence, and now began again with government buildings. A welfare office, a town hall, an old palace. All failed, and so he set his sights on something big: the former heart of government, the Reichstag. On February 27th he exhausted his cash by buying firelighters and the matches for them, entered the building at night, and started a series of fires which took and burned the building to the ground.
He was caught, arrested and interrogated, and locked up. This certainly got the attention of the press, and the German public, but the burning Reichstag enabled Hitler to blame the communists, and start a series of mass arrests and the suspension of civil liberties.
Van der Lubbe’s actions were so convenient for Hitler, and so well exploited, some thought the Nazis had started it themselves, while it fact the Dutchman had been acting alone. He was guillotined.
His sight and job opportunities damaged by an accident at work, he decided to travel to the only communist country, the USSR, but ended up in Berlin in February 1933.
Here van der Lubbe found the Nazi Party ruling the streets by violence, and the mainstream sitting on their hands. His solution was a plan of direct action: the unemployed workers would be shaken out of their stupor by a protest, and he decided to burn things to make one. He’d a history of poorly thought out, impulsive violence, and now began again with government buildings. A welfare office, a town hall, an old palace. All failed, and so he set his sights on something big: the former heart of government, the Reichstag. On February 27th he exhausted his cash by buying firelighters and the matches for them, entered the building at night, and started a series of fires which took and burned the building to the ground.
He was caught, arrested and interrogated, and locked up. This certainly got the attention of the press, and the German public, but the burning Reichstag enabled Hitler to blame the communists, and start a series of mass arrests and the suspension of civil liberties.
Van der Lubbe’s actions were so convenient for Hitler, and so well exploited, some thought the Nazis had started it themselves, while it fact the Dutchman had been acting alone. He was guillotined.
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