Both sources, D and E, give accounts of what the authors heard people say concerning the starting of the Reichstag fire. Since both give different views, our job as historians is to try and determine which of the two is the more reliable.

Authors Avatar

Question 1

Both sources, D and E, give accounts of what the authors heard people say concerning the starting of the Reichstag fire. Since both give different views, our job as historians is to try and determine which of the two is the more reliable.

To do this, we must first examine the sources, and the motives of those writing them. Let’s start with source D.

This source claims that the fire was the result of a communist plot. We cannot be sure when this was written, but we do know that it must have been sometime between 1933 and a936. This means that it would be unlikely for Mr. Delmer to have forgotten what had happened, and also that he wasn’t influenced by the wartime hatred of Germany. The title of his book also suggests that he has a strong relationship with the Germans, and so may have supported their ideals to a certain extent, which would have influenced his writing to make him more anti-communist (another factor to take into account was that he was British, which would again make him anti-communist). Another reason to believe that he thought well of the Germans is that he had close access to Hitler, which, I expect, wouldn’t be given to an anti-Nazi journalist. Overall, I believe this source to be fairly accurate, as my allegations of him being pro-Nazi are only speculation, and I would need to read more of his articles to be sure. I also believe the date that it was written to be important in deciding its reliability.

Source E’s reliability is hard to ascertain, as many of the clues could lead both ways. First of all, we know that he must have been a fairly high-ranking official, as he was put in charge of the report on the Reichstag fire. This gives him credibility, as it means that Goering might have shared the truth with him. However, this could also mean that he was in on an elaborate plot of Hitler’s, and wrote the piece to make the people of Europe realise how clever and cunning Hitler was, and so demoralise them. This could explain why it was published outside of Germany, so as not to turn the German people against their government. However it could also have been to stop the German government finding out about it, and “silencing” him for telling the truth. The time at which it was written makes it lose some credibility, as it makes the propaganda theory more likely, and it makes it less likely that he would go against the government. If it had been written before or after the war, it would have been more credible, as there would be no reason for him to lie about it. Again however, it might have been published at this time because he thought the Nazis went too far, and to make it harder for the Nazis to find out about it. This source is backed up by source F, which also claims that Goering took credit for the fire. On the other hand, this testimony might only have been given to reduce the general’s sentence. Overall, this source’s reliability is, at best, ambiguous. However, since I have no tangible proof that he was writing it as propaganda, I find it only fair to give him the benefit of the doubt.

In conclusion, I disagree with the statement. Even with all the possibilities of bias, I believe that they are both quite reliable sources. But the question isn’t about which source is the most reliable, but a question on the causes of the Reichstag fire. If we think about it like that, we see that source D fits in with source E, as source E says that Hitler knew about the Goering’s involvement, and the plot. If he knew, he would of course say what source D reports he said, and so this gives source E’s message more credibility.

                                            Question 2

Source K shows us Hindenburg and Hitler dressed as Romans in the foreground (Hitler bearing a swastika emblem) in the foreground, while the Reichstag is burning behind them. It is comparing Hitler to an important Roman, who is, like many important Romans, trying to gain power. The caption “The Red Peril” tells us that Hitler believes it to be the work of the communists, the threat of the time. It is trying to relate the situation in Germany to the burning of Rome in 64 AD. At the time, the emperor Nero blamed the Christians for the fire, and had them fed to the lions. The source is suggesting that Hitler will do the same with the communists, thanks to the emergency powers granted to him because of the fire.

Join now!

To learn more about these powers, we can look at source J, which has Hitler saying, “ The communist deputies must be hanged this very night. Every [supposedly, one] in league with them must be arrested”. It seems that Hitler is using the fire as an excuse to get rid of his enemies and opposition, in much the same way that Nero got rid of his enemies and opposition, the Christians, thanks to the fire in Rome. It tells us that he uses the event to force Hindenburg to give him extra powers (supposedly for the protection of people and ...

This is a preview of the whole essay