The annual commemoration of anti-fascist volunteers who fought fascism in Spain now includes a key contribution from Italian comrades
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90 years ago – a key moment in the rise of the Nazis
JOHN ELLISON assesses the significance of the Reichstag fire, for which communists were blamed in the early days of Hitler’s dictatorship
FRAME-UP: Firemen work on the burning Reichstag, 1933
The Islamic Republic’s suddenly weakened regional position exposes the nation to grave threats from US imperialism
DONG XUE explains why US tariffs hold no significant threat to China
ANSELM ELDERGILL asks whether artificial intelligence may decide legal cases in the future, in place of human judges, and how AI could reshape the legal landscape
Like pieces on a chess board, centrist parties lose ground as they accommodate rather than challenge far-right agendas — socialists must play things better, warns MATT KERR
Yanis Varoufakis and Jeremy Corbyn laid out a roadmap for peace, justice and equality as they celebrated the legacy of inspirational socialist Tony Benn, reports LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
The NEU’s annual conference promises heated debate, with motions on international politics, curriculum reform and union amalgamation likely to provoke strong reactions and challenge the status quo, writes Education for Tomorrow editor ROBERT POOLE
ON FEBRUARY 27 1933, 90 years ago, Berlin’s parliament building, the Reichstag, was set alight, less than a week before polling in national elections was due.
National Socialist Party leader Adolf Hitler, appointed chancellor four weeks earlier by president Paul von Hindenburg, seized the moment to declare total war on democratic processes and political opponents, and in the hope of maximising electoral support for the Nazi party.
In Britain, the next day, Labour’s Daily Herald reported the fire, “said to have started in five or six places at once,” and the cause of which was “a complete mystery.”
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