History glossary
Reichstag Fire
the February 1933 burning of the German parliament building, used by Hitler as a pretext for emergency repression.
- Category
- Political crisis
- Region
- Germany
- Date range
- 1933
What it means
The Reichstag Fire was the burning of the German parliament building on 27 February 1933. Hitler's government blamed a communist threat and used the crisis to suspend civil liberties, arrest opponents and accelerate the destruction of Weimar democracy.
Related terms
Stories using this term
Nazi Germany
From Weimar collapse to WWII, Nazi Germany imposed totalitarian rule, expansion, and genocide.
Weimar Republic
A fragile democracy marked by crisis and innovation, whose collapse paved the way for Nazi rule.
The Rise of Adolf Hitler
From the ashes of World War I to the Night of the Long Knives, this story traces the political rise of Adolf Hitler and the collapse of the Weimar Republic.
