The Reichstag Fire occurred on February 27, 1933, when the German parliament building in Berlin was set ablaze. The fire was quickly extinguished, but it raised suspicions and fears about political instability in Germany. In the aftermath, the Nazi Party, led by Adolf Hitler, used the incident to justify a crackdown on political opponents. The government enacted the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended civil liberties and allowed for the arrest of many communists and other dissenters, consolidating the Nazis' power in the country.