Memories In Berlin
The Reichstag in Berlin
Many people in the world, and at least in Europe have heard of the Reichstag and will recall that it had something to do with the Third Reich of Hitler, but not as many know about its history and exact link to Hitler´s rule.
The Reichstag is the name of a building where construction started in 1882 and was created to seat the parliament. This construction did not go very smoothly because the German Emperors where not so fond of the parliament. In 1916, the words ´Dem Deutschen Volke´ -to the German people- were finally carved above the main façade and not long alter, Germany became a republic. People who are staying in Berlin Accommodation can still go to the building to read these words.
This is only a very short version of its earliest history but it is significant for the symbol the Reichstag has become – a symbol of democracy v.s. dictatorship.
The most well known history surrounding this building and the most important perhaps, is the Reichstag fire. A fire that was allegedly lit by the Dutch Marinus van der Lubbe, a communist. As said above, almost everybody knows that it has something to do with the rise of Hitler and his Nazi party but what exactly, is often not clear.
It al started in 1933 when Hitler became Chancellor and immediatly requested new elections for the Reichstag which then were to be held on 5th March of the same year. It was Hitler´s desire to become the sole ruler of the country with his Nazi party and he needed to get rid of the communist influence in the Parliament to reach this.
This point is also where the Reichstag fire comes in the picture. The fire happened on 27th February, 1933 and as soon as Hitler was told about it, he proclaimed that this was a sign from above, a sign that the communist revolution was really starting. Conveniently enough, a Dutch communist was found inside the building. After a month of campaigning against the communist influence and this ´evidence´ of communist revolution, Hitler was able to get a majority vote in Parliament to pass the ´enabling act´. It enabled him to rule by decree and thereby become the dictator he wished to be. Still today it is not clear if the Nazis’ might have been involved in setting the fire themselves, since it was a very convenient event for them, most people tend to think they did have something to do with it.
Nowadays the Reichstag is still in use and has been renovated. If you are staying in an Appartementen Berlijn when visiting the city, you should definitely go there and climb into the glass dome for a nice view of the city. From your Accommodation in Berlin you can also take a complete tour of the city, visiting spots that have to do with Germany´s history of Nazi rule.
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