Transcript Reichstag Fire - presentation

How strong was Hitler’s position in
1933
Hindenburg
& Von
Papen
appointed
Hitler as a
‘puppet’
chancellor
Nazis largest
single party, but
didn’t have
overall majority
in Reichstag
Only 2 Nazis
in Cabinet
Prodigy
Study the photo and the facts about Hitler & the Nazis in 1933. How
powerful was Hitler? What would he need to do in order to survive?
 Key words: Reichstag arsonist incendiary
Who was to blame for
the Reichstag fire?
 Aims
To assess what Hitler could gain from
the Fire
To analyse the reliability of accounts
the Reichstag Fire (27th Feb 1933)
Your task
Read about the events
surrounding the Reichstag
Fire of March 1933 in SHO,
p.63. Make a note of the
ways in which before & after
the fire Hitler increased his
grip on power
 How far was Hitler
responsible for increasing his
grip on power – who else
shares the blame?
Hitler increases his power
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Hitler appointed Chancellor (Jan 1933)
Calls new elections
Nazi-controlled police used to break up political
meetings during the elections
Hermann Goering ordered Prussian police to
‘cover’ for SA & police who used firearms
against Nazi opponents
Hindenburg passed decree suspending
Constitution
How did Hitler exploit the Reichstag
fire?
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Dutch Communist, van der Lubbe
Police imprisoned 4,000 Communist activists
28 Feb, Hindenburg suspended freedom of speech &
gave police emergency powers
March 1933 NSDAP gained 288 seats; won support of
Nationalists & Catholic Centre party; abolished
Communists
Why might some
historians suggest van
der Lubbe was framed?
 Your task
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Read through the sources, decide which theory they
support and explain why:
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1. Van der Lubbe started the fire and was acting alone
2. Van der Lubbe was acting as part of a Communist plot
3. Nazis started the fire themselves
Give each source a reliability rating (out of 5) and
explain why you have reached your decision
Write a paragraph explaining who you think was
responsible for the fire. Use evidence to support your
opinion.
 Report
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Write a police report on who was to blame.
Include the following:
Brief description of build up to Fire
Key suspects
Assessment of reliability of evidence gathered
Judgement on who was to blame
Success criteria
Needs improving
Getting better
Includes a
Refers to all bullet points
limited number
of bullet points Analyses the sources but
could do so in greater
Describes key depth, e.g. NOP
events of the
Fire
Beginning to have the
‘look & feel’ of a police
report
Wow factor
Explains all 4 bullet points:
brief description of build up
to Fire; key suspects;
assessment of reliability of
evidence gathered; judgement
on who was to blame
Analyses the sources fully
according to NOP
Looks and feels like a police
report from the time
 Key words: Reichstag arsonist incendiary
Who was to blame for
the Reichstag fire?
 Aims
To assess what Hitler could gain from
the Fire
To analyse the reliability of accounts
the Reichstag Fire (27th Feb 1933)