‘The Reichstag fire was more important than the Night of the Long Knives for Hitler’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. (10)

Both the Reichstag Fire and the Knight of the Long Knives were of great importance to Hitler in hi journey towards his consolidation of power. Whereas one can be seen as the straw on the camels back to Hitler's consolidation, the other can be seen as the framework towards the final triumph.

The Reichstag Fire was an important turning point in Hitler’s consolidation of power. This incident brought the Nazis many advantages and some disadvantages. When the police managed to enter the building they found a man named Marinus Van Der Lubbe, who was a Dutch communist. The fact that he was a communist enabled Hitler to use this against the communists and have 4,000 communist leaders imprisoned days before the elections. During this period of terror for Germany the police could do anything, more specifically the Nazi police. Hitler made the most out of this situation; he used the police to intimidate voters and to disrupt communist party meetings. The fact that a communist was found burning the Reichstag building made all of this possible for Hitler, although it has been argued that the Nazis might have started the fire and that Van Der Lubbe was framed for the crime. Shortly afterwards Van Der Lubbe was tried and executed.

In addition, it allowed Hitler to persuade Hindenburg to pass the “Enabling Act”, which suspended all the articles in the constitution, which guaranteed personal freedom. The Enabling Act gave the chancellor the ability to pass decrees without having to consult the Reichstag before; this was the beginning of his dictatorship. Even though the Nazi party had the support of the nationalists, they never were able to get the majority of seats in the Reichstag to be able to change the constitution.