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Historical Miniatures Gaming Society

For anyone with interest in Nazi Germany, this is a great primer to the events around the Reichstag Fire, and the Fire itself. Kellerhoff's text is well-translated, and it conveys the finer points of history well. He contextualises the Fire, but also how the aftermath of Nazi Germany has coloured contemporary perception of the events.

NetGalley, Varun Oak-Bhakay

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Reichstag Fire: The Case Against the Nazi Conspiracy, by Sven Felix Kellerhoff and translated by Karina Berger, is a detailed and very convincing argument against the popular idea that the fire was a Nazi plot. Even more disturbing is what it says about the way history is sometimes done, even by established historians, when the desire to place blame outweighs, for them, the desire to seek the truth.

This reprint brings together most of the available information about the fire, the investigation, and the various conspiracy theories that surrounded it from the beginning. I am familiar with other accounts that make good cases for this being the act of a single man, but those accounts largely focus on a single perspective, bringing into the argument what fits in their larger narratives. This book tries, and succeeds quite well, in bringing everything into a narrative that is strictly about the fire, with the other narratives (Nazi, communist, workers, etc) playing supporting roles. This makes for the most convincing presentation that I have come across.

While this contains a lot of detail and makes several arguments, this is not an academic work, it is a detailed work for a broad readership, but a readership that wants to think as they read rather than just be fed a lot of information. So if your interest lies in this area, no matter what amount of formal or informal background you may have, this is accessible.

The fact that nothing seemed to support any of the conspiracy theories beyond the fact the Nazis did work it to their advantage, yet professional historians insisted on speculating as though the theories had some evidence to support them, makes one wonder just how much of history is equally misguided. We know that the "victors" write the histories, and they skew it to their benefit, but skewing and totally ignoring the facts before you are two different things.

Recommended for anyone with an interest in the early years of the Nazi regime, as well as those who may only remember the brief account of the fire likely offered in any kind of survey course.

NetGalley, Jack Messer

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

An interesting and academic look at one of the seminal events in Nazi Germany. The Reichstag building fire was the event that gave Hitler the power to truly become the dictator of Germany who destroyed so many lives.

NetGalley, Caroline Palmer