Marinus van der Lubbe

Marinus van der Lubbe was a Dutch communist convicted of setting fire to Germany’s Reichstag on 27 February 1933 and executed in 1934. His guilt and the extent of any accomplices remain subjects of historical debate.

Leiden: A city in the western Netherlands and the birthplace of Marinus van der Lubbe. Van der Lubbe was born here in 1909.
Reichstag fire: A fire that destroyed the German parliament building in Berlin on 27 February 1933. Van der Lubbe was arrested at the scene and confessed to starting it.
Holocaust denial: The false denial or distortion of the Nazi genocide of European Jews during the Second World War. Disputes about the Reichstag fire concern a specific 1933 event, not the documented Holocaust.
Civil liberties in Nazi Germany: Rights and freedoms sharply curtailed by the Nazi regime after it took power in 1933. The emergency measures following the fire dismantled protections against arbitrary state power.
Dutch Communist Party: A communist political party in the Netherlands, founded in 1909 as the Social Democratic Party. Van der Lubbe joined the party before breaking with its approach.
Reichstag Fire Decree: A German emergency decree issued on 28 February 1933 that suspended key civil liberties. The fire was used to justify this sweeping crackdown.
Nuremberg Trials: International military tribunals held after the Second World War to prosecute major Nazi leaders for war crimes. Unlike Van der Lubbe’s trial, these postwar proceedings judged Nazi leaders after the regime’s defeat.
German resistance to Nazism: Opposition to Nazi rule within Germany, expressed through political, religious, military, and civil networks. The fire intensified repression against communists and other opponents of the regime.
Council communism: A communist current that advocates workers’ councils and rejects parliamentary and party-led rule. Van der Lubbe’s later politics moved toward council communism.
Leipzig Trial: The 1933 trial in Leipzig of five men accused of setting fire to the Reichstag. Van der Lubbe was tried alongside four alleged communist accomplices.

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