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Historical turning point: The Reichstag fire enabled the National Socialists to legalize their terror
Photo: imago stock&people / IMAGO
Leipzig coroners examine the mortal remains of the Reichstag arsonist Marinus van der Lubbe.
"At the end of January, a corpse was exhumed in Leipzig's southern cemetery," confirmed senior physician Carsten Babian when asked by SPIEGEL.
A cervical vertebra of the corpse was severed - that fits van der Lubbe, who was sentenced to death in Leipzig at the end of 1933, decapitated there on January 10, 1934 with a guillotine and then buried in an anonymous grave.
"Die Zeit" was the first to report on the exhumation and, in its Thursday edition, describes the events of the Reichstag fire as well as historically unresolved questions.
In the coming weeks, the remains will be examined for drug residues, says Babian.
During the three-month trial against van der Lubbe, observers noted that the accused appeared apathetic.
Contemporary newspaper articles cited scopolamine, which was then used as a "truth serum," as a possible active ingredient.
Van der Lubbe confessed to the arson in court.
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Marinus van der Lubbe (undated photo)
Photo: Ullstein / dpa
The initiator of the exhumation is the Paul Benndorf Society, which takes care of the preservation and care of historical cemetery complexes.
"We wanted to find out exactly where van der Lubbe is buried so that we can put a memorial in the right place," explains Board Member Alfred E. Otto Paul.
He himself exhumed the body.
The Leipzig University Hospital bears the costs for the toxicological report.
"We do it pro bono because we find the case exciting," says Senior Physician Babian.
He expects results in a few weeks.
legalization of terrorism
The Reichstag fire on the evening of February 27, 1933 was a decisive event in German history.
A few weeks earlier, Adolf Hitler had been appointed Chancellor.
Now the Nazi propaganda spread that an alleged group of communist conspirators had set fire to the plenary hall.
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Immediately on the day after the fire, the notorious »Order of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State« came into force.
From then on, anyone could be arrested without charge, apartments could be searched and newspapers could be censored.
SA and SS imprisoned tens of thousands of political opponents in makeshift concentration camps, mistreated many, and murdered some.
This state terror made a decisive contribution to Hitler and the NSDAP being able to permanently secure their power.
It is therefore not surprising that there are various theories surrounding the Reichstag fire.
One thing in particular has been brought up again and again for decades: the Dutch anarcho-communist Marinus van der Lubbe was not the sole perpetrator, the National Socialists themselves set the fire a few days before the Reichstag elections on March 5, 1933.
However, there is no convincing evidence for this.
Many renowned researchers reject this thesis.
mpz