About Marinus van der Lubbe
Marinus van der Lubbe (Dutch pronunciation: [maːˈrinʏs fɑn dər ˈlʏbə]; 13 January 1909 – 10 January 1934) was a Dutch communist who was tried, convicted, and executed by the government of Nazi Germany for allegedly setting fire to the Reichstag building – the national parliament of Germany – on 27 February 1933. During his trial, the prosecution argued that van der Lubbe had acted on behalf of a wider communist conspiracy, while left-wing anti-Nazis argued that the fire was a false flag attack arranged by the Nazis themselves. In 2008, nearly 75 years after the event, the German government granted van der Lubbe a posthumous pardon. There he learned to speak some German and founded the Lenin House, where he organised political meetings. He had a criminal record for several attempted arsons. While working, van der Lubbe became acquainted with the labour movement; in 1925, at age 16, he joined the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) and its youth section, Communistische Jeugd Holland.
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