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NARRATOR: February 27th, 1933,

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Berlin, Germany.

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9:17pm.

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Black smoke veils the night sky
over the German capital.

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The Reichstag, the German
parliament building, is burning.

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The beating heart of democracy.

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Police cordons quickly blocked
the roads around the Reichstag.

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Flames rise up
to its 75-metre-high dome,

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before warning of the terrible fire

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that would soon sweep
through all of Germany.

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Hitler has been in power 29 days.

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29 days, which have so far
been insufficient for him

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to impose his dictatorship.

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But in a single night,

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the Reichstag fire
will give him the means to do so.

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The culmination of a bitter struggle
between Nazis and Communists.

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Five men
were designated as culprits.

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One of them, the youngest,

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was discovered alone
inside the burning Reichstag

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and placed in the prisoner's dock
for a show trial.

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Miraculously preserved recordings
of the trial

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have enabled us
to reconstruct the proceedings

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through the voices
of both the accused and the accusers.

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Almost a century later,
questions remain.

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Who started the Reichstag fire?

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And how did it provide
the death blow to German democracy?

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(WHISTLE BLOWS)

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March 1933.

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Adolf Hitler used the Reichstag fire

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as a pretext
to start a reign of terror.

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Even before the investigation
of the suspects had begun,

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the Fuhrer
cracked down on the Communists.

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Thousands of men were arrested
over the following days and nights,

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when only one man was found inside
the Reichstag once it was burning.

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Marinus van der Lubbe,

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whose personality and history
sat uneasily with the fire scenario.

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Easy to manipulate.

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Sight impaired. Dutch.

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Nothing linked him
to German communism.

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And nothing linked him to the
Communist leader Ernst Torgler,

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apart from a false statement
given by a Nazi member of parliament

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who claimed to have seen
the two men plotting together

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inside the Reichstag
on the day of the fire.

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Another witness,
a member of the Nazi Party,

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claimed to have seen Marinus
in a restaurant with other men

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just before the fire.

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After the fire,

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the witness stated he had seen
the same so-called Bolsheviks

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once again at the restaurant.

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He called the police
to claim his reward.

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An officer recounted.

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Blagoi Popov and Vasil Tanev,

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two Bulgarians recently arrived
from Moscow under false identities,

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didn't speak a word of German.

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Georgi Dimitrov, also Bulgarian,
was a bigger catch.

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He had already taken part
in a coup d'etat in Bulgaria

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and had the ideal profile
of a communist conspirator.

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The three Bulgarians
were associated with the Dutchman,

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with the German member of parliament
Torgler, the link-up man.

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This gave the plot
more of an international dimension.

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In Hitler's mind,
this was an affair of state.

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He promised a fast-tracked trial
of the five accused.

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In this red-hot atmosphere,

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the agents of Nazi terror
were on the lookout everywhere.

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While Hitler stood alongside
Hindenburg to reassure the people.

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The political opponents of yesterday

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appeared to unite
in the face of danger.

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The Reichstag In Flames became
the Nazis' new campaign slogan.

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The election,
held six days after the fire,

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was no longer a free one.

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The Nazis supplied shuttle buses to
take voters to the polling stations.

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In his diary, the intellectual
Victor Klemperer wrote...

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"I find it hard to believe that,
deep down, the masses still support.

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"Everybody, absolutely everybody,
is terrified.

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"No more letters,
no more phone conversations.

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"Not a single word on the street
is safe from denunciation.

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"Everybody suspects
their interlocutor of being a traitor

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"or an informer.

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"To tell the truth, it's terribly
unwise to write this in my diary."

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(BRAKES SQUEAL AND BELL RINGS)

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The Brownshirts
controlled the streets

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and occupied trade union
and newspaper head offices.

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Democracy was in ashes.

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Nazis, like Goebbels,

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wanted to have the public believe

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that joining their movement
was spontaneous.

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With 44% of the vote and 288 seats,

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the Nazi triumph was mainly owed
to the removal of the opposition

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before election day.

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Goering's mood was rejoiceful.

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On March 21st,
the new Reichstag was inaugurated.

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The left wing was absent.

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The Social Democrats
boycotted the event.

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Only the conservatives remained.

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The fear that arose from the fire
closed ranks around the Chancellor.

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He manoeuvred to gain full power
and talks were already underway.

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In this puppet show,
Hindenburg had a role to play.

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The last weakened link
of the Weimar Republic,

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barely able to step from his car,
was forced out by Hitler.

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The French ambassador to Berlin
recounted,

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"Hitler walks close to him
like a shy newcomer

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"that a considerate protector
has introduced to a society

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"which is not his own.

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"Who would believe that this pale,
common-looking man

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"is the one who, in reality,
rules over the other?"

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Just opposite the burned down
Reichstag stood the building

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which the Nazis had chosen
for parliament -

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an opera house.

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A tragedy was being performed there.

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The suicide of the assembly
gathered together with one sole aim -

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to relinquish its powers to Hitler.

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The first law passed is remembered
as Lex van der Lubbe,

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and it ensured that
the death sentence could be applied

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to the instigators
of the Reichstag fire.

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A retroactive law,
the negation of all rule of law.

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(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

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(TRAIN HORN BLARES)

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In this climate of fear,

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half a million Germans
fled their homeland.

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They settled in neighbouring
Switzerland, Belgium and France.

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Those who left
were those who had the means,

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like Willi Munzenberg,

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one of the few
Communist parliamentarians

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to escape the round-up
on the night of the fire.

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His Communist networks
spread out across the world

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and notably to Moscow.

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With the help of Otto Katz,

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an influential Austrian Jew
and staunch supporter of Stalin,

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Munzenberg set out about organising
the counter-trial of Hitler's regime.

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(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

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The Soviet intelligence service
acted as a relay

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to the countless antifascist groups
and leagues and congresses.

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In Paris, in support
of the Bulgarian Dimitrov,

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his portrait was handed out
before meetings to raise concerns

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on the increasing number
of right-wing leagues.

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..that they have declared...

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In London, the accused family members
set out to sway public opinion.

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Four Communists are now on trial,
in danger for their lives.

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They're accused
of burning the Reichstag.

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One of them is my brother Dimitrov.

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The other is the father
of this boy, Torgler.

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The other two are Popov and Tanev.

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My father and the three Bulgarian
are innocent.

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The Communist International
didn't hold back.

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Day and night,

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Munzenberg's helpers
worked on compiling

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the Brown Book
of the Reichstag Fire...

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..a considerable document
filled with accusations,

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mixing snippets of information,
bluff calls, truths and lies.

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Munzenberg obtained the plans
of the Reichstag...

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..which showed a tunnel
leading from the building

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to the official residence
of its president...

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..Hermann Goering.

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These formulated suspicions
provided a field day for the press,

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which pointed to a Nazi plot.

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A slogan was born and soon spread.

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"Goering,
the Reichstag fire was you."

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The parliamentary president
defended himself

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in the Reichstag debating room.

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Another compromising piece
was added to the dossier -

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a memorandum
signed by Ernst Oberfohren,

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the leader of a right-wing party
allied to the Nazis.

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In it, Oberfohren directly accused
Goebbels and a Brownshirt squad

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of setting fire to the Reichstag.

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A week later, Oberfohren
was found dead in his apartment,

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a supposed suicide.

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But Goebbels was annoyed.

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The counter-propaganda of
Munzenberg's network was working.

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The Brown Book, published
by the Communists, was a best seller,

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with tens of thousands of copies
sold all over the world.

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In Germany,
it was sold under the counter,

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disguised as Goethe's epic poem

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Hermann and Dorothea.

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As a pretext
for responding to the lies

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of the international Jewish press,

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Goebbels organised
an anti-Semite boycott in Germany.

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Victor Klemperer wrote...

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"During the day, the Nazis
made a public call for a boycott.

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"The mood was just like
before a pogrom

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"in the darkest days
of the Middle Ages.

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"We, all Jews, feel threatened.

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"To tell the truth,
I feel more shame than fear.

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"I have always felt German.

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"My mistake.

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"I'm no longer German, but Jewish.

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"And must count myself lucky
that I'm still alive.

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"But we are hostages."

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For a month,
despite orders to the contrary,

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the Brownshirts had beaten Jews
to death on the streets

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and set fire to synagogues.

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The boycott had heightened
their bloodthirstiness.

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They took part in book burnings
held in a number of German cities

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of works by Jews and Communists,

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now irremediably associated.

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The Brownshirts maintained terror
in the name of the party.

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They had significantly increased in
number from 2 million to 4 million.

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After a decade of frustration,

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they eagerly awaited
the dictatorship.

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Could they have started the fire
to win Hitler's favour?

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It seems plausible,
but unlikely without his say so.

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The Fuhrer kept them firmly
under his control

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with his hypnotic eyes.

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On July 14th, the NSDAP
was decreed the sole party.

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The Nazi salute became compulsory
for all civil servants.

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It was better to obey, rather than
risk being noted as an opponent

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and ending up at a camp.

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Added to the Communists were
trade unionists, social democrats

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and an increasing number of Jews.

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The unofficial camp of Oranienburg
was made official and permanent,

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like Dachau,
the laboratory of terror,

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which became the model
for the future camps

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of Ravensbruck,

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Buchenwald,

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Mauthausen,

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Treblinka,

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Majdanek

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and Auschwitz.

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The Nazis claimed
they concealed nothing.

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German reporters were even invited to
visit the model camp of Oranienburg.

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A misleading showcase
for the other camps.

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Nazi propaganda played down
the harsh reality of the camps.

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100,000 men were imprisoned in them
at the same time

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without any form of trial.

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But five others were about
to undergo theirs in broad daylight.

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Held in a prison in Berlin,

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Marinus van der Lubbe
and his misfortunate companions

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were handcuffed day and night
until they bled.

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A long ordeal
which Torgler complained about.

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The judicial investigation

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was suspected
of all kinds of scheming.

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Behind the scenes,

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Goering intervened in the appointment
of an examining magistrate...

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..a card holding member
of the Nazi Party.

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The judge for the trial
would be Wilhelm Bunger,

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not a Nazi, but very anti-communist.

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The defence of the accused
was made difficult.

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Their attorneys were declined
and replaced by others,

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court appointed
and with questionable profiles.

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While Torgler ended up
accepting his - Alfons Sack, a Nazi -

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Dimitrov decided to defend himself

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and his two fellow Bulgarians,
who didn't speak German.

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In the summer of 1933, the Reichstag
fire show trial was eagerly awaited.

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The Communist press had already
determined its line of defence.

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Marinus van der Lubbe
would be the target.

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In France,
L'Humanite ran the headline,

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"Van der Lubbe,
instigator of the Reichstag fire,

247
00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:37,840
"acted on Hitler's orders."

248
00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:45,160
The Dutchman was said
to have been paid 50,000 marks

249
00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:47,000
for acting for the Nazis.

250
00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:53,360
He was accused of carrying fake ID.

251
00:26:53,360 --> 00:26:56,360
The U of his name on his passport,
presented to the press,

252
00:26:56,360 --> 00:27:01,320
had an umlaut, two dots over it,
which doesn't exist in Dutch.

253
00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:06,000
So it was obviously a fake

254
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,920
produced to mask his membership
of the Nazi Party.

255
00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:13,480
Marinus van der Lubbe,

256
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,240
two days ago, a Communist,

257
00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:16,960
yesterday, a Nazi,

258
00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:19,120
was painted as being weak minded,

259
00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:21,800
and what's more, homosexual -

260
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:25,080
the lover of
Sturmabteilung leader Ernst Rohm.

261
00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:28,160
All means were admissible.

262
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:33,840
The final warning shot

263
00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:37,040
was a counter-trial
held in mid-September in London.

264
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,760
Unsurprisingly, the four men
accused alongside van der Lubbe

265
00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:45,600
were declared innocent, but not him.

266
00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:53,800
His brother wrote him a letter
which he would never receive.

267
00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:59,440
"Yesterday, a police commissioner
from Berlin visited us.

268
00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:01,320
"I told him
you have a good character,

269
00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,640
"that you are sensitive,
upright and honest,

270
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:07,960
"and that you certainly have
no reason to commit such an act.

271
00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:12,280
"But, my dear Rinus,
what's done is done,

272
00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:14,600
"and you remain forever my brother.

273
00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:16,600
"Be brave."

274
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:28,960
On September 21st, the Reichstag
fire trial opened in Leipzig.

275
00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:35,480
124 reporters attended.

276
00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:39,520
Microphones invaded
the High Court of Justice

277
00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:41,880
for an almost live broadcast.

278
00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,760
The proceedings were recorded
on wax discs

279
00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,240
and preserved for almost a century.

280
00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:34,760
The German people
followed the trial at home.

281
00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:37,000
Goebbels had seen to that.

282
00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,440
Small, cheap transistor radios

283
00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:43,200
were produced on his orders
and sold by the millions.

284
00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:45,840
Over three months,

285
00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:49,200
the people would listen to more than
200 witnesses and experts.

286
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:56,800
It was van der Lubbe's attitude
that most struck the courtroom.

287
00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:59,280
He was alone against everyone,

288
00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:02,160
despite the permanent presence
of his interpreter.

289
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:05,600
The Nazis claimed he was a Communist,

290
00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:07,400
and the Communists, a Nazi.

291
00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:11,400
In the very first minutes,
for no particular reason,

292
00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:13,440
he was overcome with laughter,

293
00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:15,800
which caught the judge's attention.

294
00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:08,560
Serious concerns arose

295
00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:12,080
about Marinus van der Lubbe's
physical and mental health.

296
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:15,080
His condition worsened
in spectacular fashion.

297
00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:19,520
He would soon only appear
with his head bowed.

298
00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:44,640
According to Dimitrov,
between each session,

299
00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:47,520
van der Lubbe was the only one
of the accused to receive his meals

300
00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:49,520
with his name
written on the package.

301
00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:53,800
The jailers
forced him to eat everything.

302
00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:57,800
Was he drugged?

303
00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:03,640
What is sure is that his image
of a dumb, disarticulated puppet

304
00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:07,160
suited both the Nazis
and the Communists.

305
00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:15,000
After an expert declared him
sound of mind, the trial went on.

306
00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:22,360
On the 13th day of the trial,

307
00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:25,960
the court travelled to Berlin
and the Reichstag itself,

308
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:28,240
the scene of the crime,

309
00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:30,280
for the night-time reconstruction.

310
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:39,600
The accused passed under the window
through which Marinus van der Lubbe

311
00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:41,520
was supposed to have entered.

312
00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,480
Lined up on the steps
of the parliament building...

313
00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:56,040
..van der Lubbe couldn't even manage
to strike a pose.

314
00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:02,800
With his stopwatch in hand,

315
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:04,320
the judge nonetheless made him

316
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:06,560
walk through the corridors
of the Reichstag.

317
00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:37,960
This reconstruction,
in the presence of all parties,

318
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:40,200
upheld the conspiracy theory.

319
00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:45,280
The sight-impaired fire setter
should have taken only 14 minutes

320
00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:48,240
to reach the spot
where the fire was started.

321
00:33:48,240 --> 00:33:52,080
But his movements to the Reichstag
took at least three times longer.

322
00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:57,120
One expert affirmed,

323
00:33:57,120 --> 00:34:00,320
"Save for a miracle
or supernatural phenomenon,

324
00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:03,560
"events could not have unfolded
as van der Lubbe described them."

325
00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:10,360
A security guard confirmed
that no incendiary material

326
00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:12,160
could have been introduced
into the building

327
00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:14,320
through one of its five main doors.

328
00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:22,200
Which lent credibility to the theory
of the tunnel under the Reichstag,

329
00:34:22,200 --> 00:34:25,600
which was explored
by the examining magistrates.

330
00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:33,840
Another security guard
stated that he had heard noises

331
00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:35,120
coming from below.

332
00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:38,720
This information was critical

333
00:34:38,720 --> 00:34:41,440
and led to the witness
facing a barrage of questions

334
00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:43,320
from the judge and the attorneys.

335
00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:44,320
The allegations against the Nazis
had become plausible.

336
00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:54,120
The fire-damaged Reichstag
itself became a courthouse.

337
00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:57,840
One of its wings,
undamaged by the fire,

338
00:35:57,840 --> 00:35:59,360
was turned into a courtroom.

339
00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:07,360
From then on, the accusations
made in the Brown Book

340
00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:10,240
would hang over each examination
in the trial.

341
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:17,320
Judge Bunger
questioned Marinus van der Lubbe

342
00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:19,480
on where he stayed
the night before the fire.

343
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:34,800
(GALLERY MURMURING)

344
00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:37,800
Van der Lubbe's interpreter
stepped up.

345
00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:51,080
Sudden drama.

346
00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:52,680
Despite his torpor,

347
00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:54,840
had Marinus van der Lubbe
just confessed

348
00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:58,920
to acting on behalf of the Nazis,
as the Communists claimed?

349
00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:04,720
The radio broadcast
was suddenly cut short.

350
00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:40,480
On October 20th, the court set out
to unravel the true from the false.

351
00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:43,840
The Communists accused the head
of Berlin's Brownshirts,

352
00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:45,360
Graf von Helldorff,

353
00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:47,720
of meeting van der Lubbe
on the eve of the fire.

354
00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:53,040
Helldorff was called to the bar
for a confrontation.

355
00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:56,760
The microphones were switched off,

356
00:37:56,760 --> 00:37:58,880
but the court's
secretary's transcriptions

357
00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:00,840
allow us
to reconstruct the exchange.

358
00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:04,800
Judge Bunger questions Marinus.

359
00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:06,320
"Do you know this man?"

360
00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:10,240
Van der Lubbe, his head bowed,
doesn't react.

361
00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:13,560
Helldorff shouts at him,

362
00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:15,440
"Van der Lubbe, look up."

363
00:38:16,320 --> 00:38:17,960
Van der Lubbe looks up.

364
00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:24,280
Dimitrov exclaims,
"He recognises his master's voice."

365
00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:26,520
The court bursts into laughter.

366
00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:33,040
Dimitrov gradually grows
in assurance,

367
00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:36,120
which results in him being removed
from court on three occasions

368
00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:39,280
by Judge Bunger
for communist propaganda.

369
00:38:41,120 --> 00:38:45,680
But, on November 4th, the judge
exceptionally allows him back,

370
00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:47,535
because it's a special day.

371
00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:53,280
Minister Goering is invited
to the bar to defend himself

372
00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:55,760
from the accusations
brought against him.

373
00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:04,680
The microphones
are switched back on.

374
00:39:39,240 --> 00:39:42,080
Dimitrov directly questioned
Goering.

375
00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:44,560
The exchange
has gone down in history.

376
00:40:58,680 --> 00:41:00,560
(GALLERY MURMURING)

377
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:40,920
This decisive moment when Goering
lost ground against Dimitrov

378
00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:43,800
should never have taken place.

379
00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:47,000
The trial was turning
into a disaster for the Nazis.

380
00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:52,280
Hitler had committed the fatal error

381
00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:55,440
of providing the Communists
the tribune they dreamed of,

382
00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:58,840
and in the media spotlight
provided by Goebbels.

383
00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:07,440
A furious Goering
complained to Hitler.

384
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:11,840
"The attitude of the judges
is scandalous.

385
00:42:11,840 --> 00:42:15,320
"It's as if they're trying us
and not the Communists."

386
00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:20,480
Hitler replied,
"It's just a matter of time.

387
00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:23,880
"Soon all those old men
will be speaking our language

388
00:42:23,880 --> 00:42:26,000
"and we'll replace them with our own.

389
00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:29,200
"But as long as old man Hindenburg
is still alive,

390
00:42:29,200 --> 00:42:32,320
"we must take all harm
with patience."

391
00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:39,720
Hitler drew his conclusion.

392
00:42:39,720 --> 00:42:42,920
All suspicions of Nazi involvement
must be buried.

393
00:42:44,040 --> 00:42:45,880
The trial had to stop.

394
00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:51,560
Van der Lubbe had to become
the sole guilty party.

395
00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:57,440
And, suddenly, the Nazi line
joined that of the Communists.

396
00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:01,960
Just one head would roll
instead of five.

397
00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:03,920
But the results would be adequate.

398
00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:20,080
Two days before Christmas,
the court gave its verdict.

399
00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:52,480
For lack of proof, the Communists
were found not guilty.

400
00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:56,760
(LAUGHTER, CHEERING)

401
00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:05,480
The three Bulgarians were given
a hero's welcome in Moscow.

402
00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:16,280
Hitler ostensibly showed himself
to respect the court's decision

403
00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:19,320
to appear as democratic
to the watching world

404
00:44:19,320 --> 00:44:21,240
and to appease Stalin.

405
00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:34,320
Torgler met the same fate
as other German Communists

406
00:44:34,320 --> 00:44:37,680
and was arbitrarily imprisoned
for three more years...

407
00:44:41,160 --> 00:44:45,200
..before finally being freed
after cooperating with the Nazis.

408
00:44:50,960 --> 00:44:54,840
On January 10th, 1934,
at 7:28 in the morning,

409
00:44:54,840 --> 00:44:57,200
Marinus van der Lubbe was guillotined

410
00:44:57,200 --> 00:44:59,680
in the courtyard
of the Leipzig Tribunal...

411
00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:07,160
..the victim of an unjust law
that bears his name.

412
00:45:11,240 --> 00:45:14,160
His singular history, his silence

413
00:45:14,160 --> 00:45:17,240
and his incomprehensible lethargy
during the trial

414
00:45:17,240 --> 00:45:21,320
have made it impossible to determine
his exact role in the fire.

415
00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:26,840
The great Reichstag fire trial

416
00:45:26,840 --> 00:45:29,600
was meant to present the world
with communist guilt.

417
00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:34,600
Instead, it gave the illusion
that justice can prevail

418
00:45:34,600 --> 00:45:37,040
even when democracy is dead.

419
00:45:42,320 --> 00:45:47,080
In the 1933 election,
the Nazi Party, the sole party,

420
00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:49,560
gained 92% of the votes.

421
00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:54,480
Hindenburg's death in January 1934

422
00:45:54,480 --> 00:45:58,480
allowed Hitler to combine the posts
of chancellor and president.

423
00:46:01,960 --> 00:46:05,520
Germany plunged into tyranny
and prepared for war...

424
00:46:06,720 --> 00:46:08,720
..with no Reichstag to oppose it.

425
00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:18,080
The communist conspiracy theory
fizzled out in 1934.

426
00:46:22,880 --> 00:46:25,040
The Nazi plot was buried.

427
00:46:26,840 --> 00:46:29,200
The Sturmabteilung fell from grace.

428
00:46:29,200 --> 00:46:32,960
Thousands of Brownshirts
were murdered on Hitler's orders

429
00:46:32,960 --> 00:46:35,560
during the Night Of The Long Knives.

430
00:46:40,360 --> 00:46:42,320
After the Second World War,

431
00:46:42,320 --> 00:46:45,480
a turncoat Gestapo agent
would make new revelations...

432
00:46:46,800 --> 00:46:48,600
..at the Nuremberg trials.

433
00:47:17,960 --> 00:47:23,720
MAN: What happened to the 10 SA men
who carried out the Reichstag fire?

434
00:47:37,240 --> 00:47:39,880
The investigation
was never completed.

435
00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:43,920
But presumptions
concerning Goebbels, Goering,

436
00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:46,080
and the Brownshirts persist.

437
00:48:02,040 --> 00:48:06,240
Tanev would die
in Operation Barbarossa in 1941.

438
00:48:09,560 --> 00:48:12,920
Popov would spend 17 years
in the Gulag.

439
00:48:16,080 --> 00:48:19,200
Torgler would be expelled
from the Communist Party,

440
00:48:19,200 --> 00:48:21,680
accused of working for the Gestapo.

441
00:48:25,520 --> 00:48:28,920
Dimitrov would reach the high spheres
of Stalin's regime

442
00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:32,440
and become President of Bulgaria
after World War II.

443
00:48:34,080 --> 00:48:38,960
In imposing his power,
he, too, eliminated his opponents,

444
00:48:38,960 --> 00:48:40,880
just as he might have been.

445
00:48:44,600 --> 00:48:48,280
In 2008, the guilty verdict
against Marinus van der Lubbe

446
00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:50,360
was posthumously annulled.

447
00:48:52,160 --> 00:48:53,600
Until very recently,

448
00:48:53,600 --> 00:48:57,880
the theory of his sole involvement
in the Reichstag fire had prevailed.

449
00:49:00,920 --> 00:49:04,800
For decades, Marinus van der Lubbe
was seen as the perfect scapegoat

450
00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:06,960
for both Nazis and Communists,

451
00:49:06,960 --> 00:49:10,320
making him forever guilty of a crime

452
00:49:10,320 --> 00:49:14,840
that served as a pretext for Hitler
to impose his dictatorship.

453
00:49:19,800 --> 00:49:21,800
Captions by Red Bee Media
(c) SBS Australia 2023