Question 6
Broadly speaking, most of the sources endorse statement A 'Van Der Lubbe was a madman and he set fire to the Reichstag all by himself, but the Nazis' genuinely believed the fire was the start to a communist uprising.
Firstly, source A which is an account by Rudolf Diels the head of the Prussian political police agrees with Statement A. The source agrees as Rudolf Diels also believes that Van Der Lubbe started the Fire alone and also that there was Communists involved. Nevertheless we still have to question the reliability of this source; first I looked at the date when this source was published which was after the second world war which was nearly 12 years after the fire took place. Therefore Diels probably would not be able to remember the incident so clearly from 12 years ago. In addition this questions the reliability of this source. Secondly, the second source which agrees with statement A is source B. Source B is a speech given by Van Der Lubbe at his trial in 1933, in this source Van Der Lubbe admits to setting fire to the Reichstag all by himself and also that there were communists involved. However this source was not totally reliable as Van Der Lubbe had mental problems and also has a history for taking the blame as he did when he worked at 'The Tielmann Factory'. Van Der Lubbe may have been told to admit that he set fire to the Reichstag Building. The next source which agrees with Statement A is source C; this is a cartoon from a British magazine showing Hindenburg talking to Hitler. The title of the source is 'The Red Peril' which is referring to the communist party, as that is the colour of their party. However it is only a cartoon and the author has clearly given his opinion therefore this source is not totally reliable. Another source which also agrees with statement A is source D, this source is a cover of a book which was written by a Nazi. The cover shows Van Der Lubbe setting light to The Reichstag building and also shows communists in the back ground. Therefore this source agrees with the statement a lot, as the Nazi's believe that Van Der Lubbe was to blame for the fire and also that communists were involved. Nevertheless we still have to question the reliability of this source, the Nazi's were known for not liking the communists therefore they were just trying to make others think the same. Source F also partly agrees with statement A. This source is a piece of evidence given by Goring in which he denies any claims that he started the Reichstag fire. Source F agrees with the statement because Goring denying the charges makes Van Der Lubbe look Guilty. Overall, there are 5 sources which agree with statement A and that Van Der Lubbe started the Reichstag Fire.
Broadly speaking, most of the sources endorse statement A 'Van Der Lubbe was a madman and he set fire to the Reichstag all by himself, but the Nazis' genuinely believed the fire was the start to a communist uprising.
Firstly, source A which is an account by Rudolf Diels the head of the Prussian political police agrees with Statement A. The source agrees as Rudolf Diels also believes that Van Der Lubbe started the Fire alone and also that there was Communists involved. Nevertheless we still have to question the reliability of this source; first I looked at the date when this source was published which was after the second world war which was nearly 12 years after the fire took place. Therefore Diels probably would not be able to remember the incident so clearly from 12 years ago. In addition this questions the reliability of this source. Secondly, the second source which agrees with statement A is source B. Source B is a speech given by Van Der Lubbe at his trial in 1933, in this source Van Der Lubbe admits to setting fire to the Reichstag all by himself and also that there were communists involved. However this source was not totally reliable as Van Der Lubbe had mental problems and also has a history for taking the blame as he did when he worked at 'The Tielmann Factory'. Van Der Lubbe may have been told to admit that he set fire to the Reichstag Building. The next source which agrees with Statement A is source C; this is a cartoon from a British magazine showing Hindenburg talking to Hitler. The title of the source is 'The Red Peril' which is referring to the communist party, as that is the colour of their party. However it is only a cartoon and the author has clearly given his opinion therefore this source is not totally reliable. Another source which also agrees with statement A is source D, this source is a cover of a book which was written by a Nazi. The cover shows Van Der Lubbe setting light to The Reichstag building and also shows communists in the back ground. Therefore this source agrees with the statement a lot, as the Nazi's believe that Van Der Lubbe was to blame for the fire and also that communists were involved. Nevertheless we still have to question the reliability of this source, the Nazi's were known for not liking the communists therefore they were just trying to make others think the same. Source F also partly agrees with statement A. This source is a piece of evidence given by Goring in which he denies any claims that he started the Reichstag fire. Source F agrees with the statement because Goring denying the charges makes Van Der Lubbe look Guilty. Overall, there are 5 sources which agree with statement A and that Van Der Lubbe started the Reichstag Fire.
