9-11 and the Reichstag fire: Lessons about the loss of freedom

[usregimechange]

The Reichstag fire, a pivotal event in the establishment of Nazi Germany, began at 9:14 PM on the night of February 27, 1933, when a Berlin fire station received an alarm that the Reichstag building, assembly location of the German Parliament, was ablaze. The fire seemed to have been started in several places, and by the time the police and firemen arrived a huge explosion had set the main Chamber of Deputies in flames. Looking for clues, the police quickly found Marinus van der Lubbe, naked, cowering behind the building. Van der Lubbe was a Dutch insurrectionary council communist and unemployed bricklayer who had recently arrived in Germany.

Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring arrived soon after, and, when they were shown van der Lubbe, Göring immediately declared the fire was set by the Communists and had the party leaders arrested. Hitler took advantage of the situation to declare a state of emergency and encouraged aging president Paul von Hindenburg to sign the Reichstag Fire Decree, abolishing most of the human rights provisions of the 1919 Weimar Republic constitution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire

The Reichstag Fire Decree (Reichstagsbrandverordnung in German) is the common name of the decree issued by German president Paul von Hindenburg in direct response to the Reichstag fire of February 27, 1933. The decree nullified many of the key civil liberties of German citizens.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_Fire_Decree

The nullified civil liberties included the suspension of "privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications."

Somewhat similar to Bush and 9-11 but are Americans too arrogant to believe that the same could happen here?

[usregimechange]

1. more...

While the exact circumstances of the fire remain unclear to this day, what is clear is that Hitler and his supporters quickly capitalized on the fire as a means by which to speed their consolidation of power. Seizing on the burning of the Reichstag building as the opening salvo in a communist uprising, the Nazis were able to throw millions of Germans into a convulsion of fear at the threat of Communist terror.

Ibid

[usregimechange]

2. Notice what it was called:

The decree, officially the Verordnung des Reichspräsidenten zum Schutz von Volk und Staat (Order of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State), invoked the authority of Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution which allowed the Reichspräsident to take any appropriate measure to remedy dangers to public safety.

[usregimechange]

3. Wow, we have accomplished part of article 1

The decree consisted of six articles. Article 1 suspended most of the civil liberties set forth in the Weimar Constitution — freedom of the person, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, the right of free association and public assembly, the secrecy of the post and telephone, not to mention the protection of property and the home. Articles 2 and 3 allowed the Reich government to assume powers normally reserved to the federal states (Länder). Articles 4 and 5 established draconian penalties for certain offenses, including the death penalty for arson to public buildings. Article 6 simply stated that the decree took effect on the day of its proclamation.

[usregimechange]

4. Actual text translated:

Articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124 and 153 of the Constitution of the German Empire are suspended until further notice. It is therefore permissible to restrict the rights of personal freedom < habeas corpus >, freedom of opinion, including the freedom of the press, the freedom to organize and assemble, the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications, and warrants for house searches, orders for confiscations as well as restrictions on property, are also permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed.

[Supersedeas]

17. the parallels and arguments ought to be forwarded in public hearings on

the NSA program

[JohnyCanuck]

5. The Nazification of America

The Reichstag Fire Syndrome occurs whenever a democracy is destroyed by creating a law-and-order crisis and offering as a "solution" the abdication of civil liberties and states' rights to a powerful but unaccountable central dictator. The men of wealth who put the tyrant into power are then able to reap obscene war profits.

Dr. Normal Livergood in The Nazification of America

[usregimechange]

6. Saving now, thank you...

[mikelewis]

7. That's just a conspiracy theory, everyone knows the Pols set the....

fire to warn the Germans not to attack them. Duh! You wacko liberals and your crazy ideas. Next you'll be saying that you can't knock 4 buildings down with only 3 airplanes.

[mom cat]

8. The fourth building got scared and just shook itself till it crumbled.

Actually, the parallels to the Nazi clampdown on freedoms are striking.

[QuettaKid]

9. Had a friend who lived through Nazi Germany

in summer 2002 she was telling anyone who would listen, "wait and see, bush is going to be just like Hitler....it's Hitler all over again!"

[usregimechange]

10. I think there are plenty of differences but I agree that we need to...

be mindful of the similarities.

[mom cat]

11. I believe you. It is one reason that we have to defeat Alito, as well

as win big in 06.

[OneBlueSky]

12. check out this article - "Holocaust Survivor Leaving US" . . .

http://justicefornone.com/article.php?story=20050527204356114

[OneBlueSky]

13. three things make 9/11 particularly suspicious . . .

first, none of the official conclusions are supported by the documented evidence . . .

second, the need for a "new Pearl Harbor" was specifically articulated in PNAC documents well before 9/11 . . . and . . .

third, the government has a documented record of planning attacks on US civilians to advance political agendas . . .

put 'em all together and you get one giant "WTF?" . . .

[QuettaKid]

14. 9-11 = MIHOP

without a doubt.

[mikelewis]

18. We must never speak of 9-11...

You're right of course but you musn't ever question it.

[usregimechange]

15. kick

[Cell Whitman]

16. WH reporter asked Scotty if Bush is using 911 as Reichstag fire

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=90986&mesg_id=90986