FIRE! FIRE! (Or how one small event can change the course of history)

Fire! Fire!

In the world of fiction, writers often use what's called an inciting incident to kick off the story and set the characters on their journey. It's that one moment that changes everything and sets the plot in motion. But as it turns out, life sometimes imitates art. History is full of its own inciting incidents – events that might seem small at the time but end up having a profound impact on the world as we know it. Just like how a chance encounter or a split-second decision can send a fictional character down a completely different path, a single event in history can be the catalyst for massive changes that reshape entire nations and alter the course of human civilization. The Reichstag Fire of 1933 in Germany is a prime example of how a seemingly isolated incident can have far-reaching consequences that nobody saw coming.

Germany had a rough go of it in the 1920s, thanks in large part to the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I. The treaty took away some of Germany's land, imposed military restrictions, and demanded substantial reparations payments. It's no wonder that many Germans were feeling pretty resentful about the whole situation.

As if that wasn't enough, the German government decided to print money like crazy to pay for war reparations and domestic expenses. The result? Hyperinflation, which basically meant that the German mark was worth less than the paper it was printed on. People's savings were wiped out, and the economy was in shambles.

Then, the global Great Depression hit in 1929, and Germany was one of the hardest-hit countries. Unemployment was through the roof, factories were closing left and right, and poverty was rampant. People were desperate for a solution.

Enter Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi party. (It’s worth noting that Hitler was absolutely fuming about the Treaty of Versailles, and that resentment ended up launching his whole political career. In a weird way, it's kind of like when President Obama roasted Donald Trump at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner. Obama cracked a few jokes at Trump's expense, and Trump was visibly not amused. Some people say that night was the moment Trump decided to run for president, just to prove Obama wrong. Who knows, maybe if Obama had gone easy on the guy, we'd be living in a totally different timeline right now). Hitler promised to restore Germany's economy and national pride, and people were starting to listen. The Nazi party even became the largest political party in the July 1932 elections, but they didn't quite secure a majority.

Fast forward to November 1932, and another election took place. President Hindenburg, who was a bit wary of Hitler, finally appointed him as Chancellor, thinking that the conservative elite would keep him in check. Something about “guardrails”. Sound familiar?

Here's where things get interesting. On February 27th, 1933, a fire broke out in the Reichstag building, which housed the German parliament. A young Dutch communist named Marinus van der Lubbe was caught at the scene and claimed he started the fire as a protest against the Nazi government.

Hitler and the Nazi Party saw this as an opportunity to push their agenda. They claimed the fire was part of a larger communist plot to overthrow the government and used this to create a sense of national emergency. President Hindenburg was convinced to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended civil liberties and allowed the Nazi government to arrest political opponents without trial.

Less than a month later, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, which gave Hitler's cabinet the power to enact laws without the consent of parliament. And just like that, Hitler became the dictator of Germany.

Now, there's some debate about whether the Reichstag fire was a false flag event or if Van der Lubbe really acted alone. He was put on trial with four other communists and found guilty of treason, despite retracting his confession. Tragically, he was executed by guillotine at the age of 24.

But regardless of who started the fire, what's important is how Hitler used it to his advantage. He was a master of propaganda and used this event to manipulate the German people into believing he was their saviour. He promised to restore the economy, rebuild national pride, and make Germany great again.

And that is how one seemingly small event can change the course of history. From March 1933 onward, Hitler was unstoppable, and the rest, as they say, is history.