8 Shocking Crimes That Were Secretly Committed By Governments

1. The Reichstag Fire

Arguably the most famous government-inspired atrocity, simply by virtue of it being the only one currently on most National Curriculums, The Reichstag fire was one of the key catalysts in Adolf Hitler's ascension to power. Some 6 years before the Second World War - February 1933 to be precise - the Reichstag, home of the German parliament, and the building at the very heart of the country's political infrastructure, was burned down in an arson attack.

A young Dutchman named Marinus van der Lubbe was arrested at the scene, claiming that he was acting on behalf of communism to "take revenge on capitalism". One of the first political figures to arrive at the scene was, conveniently, Prussian Interior Minister Hermann Goering who immediately outlined plans to "quell an uprising" and ordered the arrests of several notable communists. With the general population relieved to see justice being swiftly done, little was made of the convenience of the suspect's confession, the speed at which his fellow supporters were apprehended, or the government's eagerness to blame them.

From there, the coalition of the Nazis and the German Nationalist People's Party capitalised and, masquerading under "emergency powers" suspended the Communist's right to assembly and freedom of speech. Removing, in the process, their most vocal political opposition in the run up to the war. Goering would deny involvement for the remainder of his life, but several witnesses during the Nuremberg Trials would later testify to his, and the party's involvement.