Description:

ADOLF HITLER
(1889 - 1945) Fuhrer of Germany and Nazi Party leader, Hitler's bloody rise to power, his military seizure of most of Europe and North Africa and his genocidal racial policies culminated in suicide in his Berlin bunker as Russian troops approached. Fine content draft T.L.S. with corrections in Hitler's hand, 1p. large 4to., Berlin, Feb. 28, 1933, a letter of thanks to the firemen and police who responded to the Reichstag fire, sent to HERMANN GORING, likely his accomplice in the fire, as 'Commissioner of the Reich for the Prussian Ministry of the Interior', on the very day after the fire. In part: '...In yesterday's dastardly attack on the Reichstag building by Communist criminals, the speedy intervention of the Berlin fire brigade and the judicious leadership and self-sacrificial conduct of the individual firemen meant that the impending danger of total destruction of the building was within a few hours averted and the fire contained at its inception. No less important was the vigorous intervention of the police, which meant that the fire fighting was carried out without disruption and successful start made in the prosecution of this crime. I would like to take this opportunity to express my special thanks and warm gratitude to all those involved in saving the building and I would ask you, Mr. Minister, to pass on my thanks to the Berlin fire brigade and police...' Initialed by four others, one possibly Rudolf Hess. Fine condition. Hitler had been sworn in as Chancellor and head of the coalition government on January 30, 1933. His first act was to ask Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag so that he could increase the number of Nazi seats in the government. Hitler's request was granted and elections were set for March 5, 1933. Hitler's aim was to abolish democracy in a more or less legal fashion by activating the Enabling Act, whereby the Chancellor could pass laws by decree. To activate the Enabling Act required a vote by a two-thirds majority in the Reichstag, but in 1933, the Nazis had only 42% of the seats. Hitler knew if he could ban the Communist Party of Germany, and its 17% of the votes, the vote would pass. At 9:14 PM on the night of February 27, 1933, a Berlin fire station received an alarm that the Reichstag building was ablaze. The fire had 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. The police quickly found Marinus van der Lubbe, shirtless, inside the building. Van der Lubbe was a Dutch Insurrectionary council communist and unemployed bricklayer. According to the Berin police, Van der Lubbe claimed to have set the fire as a protest against the rising power of the Nazis. Hitler and Goring arrived soon after, and, when they were shown van der Lubbe, Goring immediately declared the fire was set by the Communists and soon after had the Communist Party leaders arrested. Hitler declared a state of emergency and encouraged aging president Paul von Hindenburg to sign the Reichstag Fire Decree, suspending the basic rights provisions of the Weimar constitution. Under torture, Lubbe confessed again and was brought to trial along with the leaders of the opposition Communist Party. As a consequence of the Reichstag Fire Decree, communist leaders were arrested, their buildings seized, and they were banned from the Reichstag. Finally, with additional votes coerced or purchased, the Enabling Act was passed and all power was placed in Hitler's hands.

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January 25, 2023 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $999,999 $10,000
$1,000,000 $1,999,999 $50,000
$2,000,000 + $100,000