Were contemporaries correct in blaming Hitler for the Reichstag Fire?

The first 200 words of this essay...

Were contemporaries correct in blaming Hitler for the Reichstag Fire?

In Germany, by the end of 1932, an election showed that the vote in favour of the Nazi party had fallen. Franz Von Papen (Chancellor in Germany at the time) and President Hindenburg were growing increasingly concerned about the Communist threat. Von Papen thought that if they appointed Hitler as Vice-Chancellor then he would support them. Hitler turned down the Vice-Chancellorship, demanding instead to be made Chancellor. Von Papen and Hindenburg assumed that it was possible to control Hitler and so on the 30th of January 1933, Hitler was sworn in. Immediately, Hitler persuaded Hindenburg and Von Papen to call an election in March, to which they agreed.

On the 27th of February 1933, the Reichstag building was set on fire. A Dutch ex-Communist, Marinus van der Lubbe, was found shirtless inside the parliament building, stripped to the waist. It is still unknown exactly who carried out the fire, but Van der Lubbe was arrested and eventually executed for the crime, after claiming sole responsibility for the damage to the building.

Hundreds of people flocked towards the building upon seeing it in flames. Hitler,