1933 Reichstag fire verdict nullified

German prosecutors said they formally overturned the conviction of a Dutch communist who was executed after the Nazis accused him of setting fire to the Reichstag parliament building in 1933.

Marinus van der Lubbe, a bricklayer, was convicted of arson and high treason in December 1933 and executed Jan. 10, 1934. The federal prosecutor’s office said it formally “declared that the verdict . . . is overturned” on Dec. 6. It said the conviction was overturned automatically under a 1998 law allowing for the rehabilitation of people convicted under the Nazis.

Historians debate whether Van der Lubbe set the Feb. 27, 1933, fire, which came just a month after Adolf Hitler’s rise to power and was followed by the suspension of civil liberties. Some believe the Nazis set it themselves to give Hitler an excuse for his crackdown.