The Iranian Reichstag fire
I was doing some research on the Iranian Revolution last night, and came across this terrible incident, which I’d never heard of before:
On August 19, 1978, in the Cinema Rex fire, the Cinema Rex in Abadan, Iran, was set ablaze, killing over 400 individuals.
The ruling [Shah’s] government of Iran reported that Islamic militants set the fire, while the anti-Shah protesters blamed the intelligence service of the nation, SAVAK for setting the fire. Later it was disclosed that Islamic militants set the Cinema Rex fire.
The Islamists’ motivation seems to have been two-fold: to strike a blow against such modern abominations as the cinema, and to blame the Shah’s forces for the deaths. And it turns out that, although I’d never heard of the event (and my guess would be that most of you have never heard of it either), it was a potent and important motivator in helping to spark the Iranian Revolution of 1979:
The Islamists alleged that SAVAK agents were in pursuit of individuals who ran into the movie theatre locked the doors of the cinema, and a fire was started in the theatre presumably by the fugitives. Unable to escape from the building, everyone inside the cinema died as a result of the conflagration.
However, the truth seems to have been that it was four Islamists who locked the doors and started the fire.
I mention the incident because it illustrates a few things I’ve known for a while but that have become even more apparent lately. One is the depth of misinformation and/or ignorance that we have about so many events, although they could teach us valuable lessons about revolutions and history in general. The details are important, but they are the first to get lost or twisted, if they ever were known at all. Another is the duplicitous extremes to which fanatics will go, and the enormous difficulty of finding the truth.
In the title of this post, I referred to the Reichstag fire of 1933, a seminal event in the history of the Nazi takeover of Germany, exploited by Hitler in order to declare a state of emergency which gave him extraordinary powers. For the almost eighty years since the event, its provenance has been argued almost incessantly:
Historians disagree as to whether Van der Lubbe [a Dutch Communist who was executed for the crime] acted alone or whether the arson was planned and ordered by the Communists or by the Nazis, then dominant in the government themselves, as a false flag operation. The responsibility for the Reichstag fire remains an ongoing topic of debate and research.
It’s doubtful that we’ll ever know the truth. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Whatever the truth may be, it is undoubtedly correct that the Nazis were poised to take full advantage of the turmoil that ensued in Germany in the wake of the Reichstag fire, and that they wasted no time in doing so. Unfortunately, tyrannical fanatics are often well-organized, much more so than their righteous opponents, and far more willing to do whatever it takes to ascend to power and make sure they stay there.
[NOTE: Here’s more about SAVAK and truth.]
As I mentioned before, SAVAK’s issue is that they weren’t ruthless enough. If they were, Khomeini would have died when he was in their hands, rather than released and exiled to France. Thus ending the so called “mullocracy” before it began.
All the Leftist complaints about SAVAK? Only partially true. But not true enough to matter.
Ymarsakar: here’s a post I wrote some years ago on the subject on the sparing of Khomeini’s life.
Since one often cannot know the truth about individual events, it is best not to let one’s world view, and the side one takes, depend upon such isolated truths. It was (or should have been) obvious that the the Shah was bad and the Islamists were bad, and there was no reason to have a revolution just to replace one by the other, no matter who started the fire. Should one’s views of Stalin or Hitller really have been affected by the truth about Katyn? Even if the al-Durrah boy was intentionally killed by an Israeli (almost certainly this did not happen), is this a reason to support the genocidally insane Fatah over basically decent Israel?
I remember this fire. I didn’t at the time associate it with anything political–I wasn’t too political myself in those days, being the mother of a 2-year-old and one month shy of my second child’s birth. But the event itself stuck in my mind so much that it still crosses my mind now and again whenever I go to a movie. I always look at the exits, think briefly about what it would be like if a fire started and those doors down at the front of the theater wouldn’t open, leaving us all trapped in there. Interesting, now, to read of the surrounding details.
“The whole truth about the Reichstag fire will probably never be known. Nearly all those who knew about it are now dead, most of them slain by Hitler in the months that followed. Even at Nuremberg the mystery could not be entirely unraveled, though there is enough evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that it was the Nazis who planned the arson and carried it out for their own political ends.” — William Sherer
The fire occurred on 2/27/33. Draconian police measures were instituted by Chancellor Hitler the following day “for the protection of the people”. The decree laid down the heavy hand of Hitler:
“Restrictions on personal liberty, on the right of free expression of opinion, including the freedom of the press; on the rights of assembly and association; and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic, and telephonic communication; and warrants for house searchers, orders for confiscations as well as restrictions on property, are also permissible beyond legal limits otherwise prescribed.”
On 3/5/33 the Nazi’s won a majority of parliament, and thus 3rd Reich was born.
“. . . the duplicitous extremes to which fanatics will go. . . .”
Never trust anyone who agitates for a “cause.”
Like betsybounds, I vaguely remember hearing about the Cinema Rex fire at the time – August ’78. I would have been on my first overseas tour, at a military radio/tv station in Japan. I probably heard about it through the news teletype at the station, no idea if anything else about it percolated through the usual news feeds. Islamic militants – yeah, it might not have made much of an impression at the time, but that is exactly the mode of operation that we have come to expect of them since.
What is the old saying about a lie being halfway around the world before truth can even get it’s boots on?
Sgt. Mom.
Not only is a lie faster, it’s difficult to refute. You can tell a lie in a short sentence. Refuting it takes paragraphs, cites of supporting data which will be obfuscated by the liar, and after much effort…the liar goes elsewhere and lies some more.
Richard, that what you said is true is undeniable. But call if God’s judgment, karma, or whatever, its a tactic only utilized by losers whose very existence depends on the lie.
Richard:
Well said. As a recent example, see the media’s demonization of conservatives following the Tucson shooting.
I have a vague recollection of the Iranian cinema fire, but I haven’t thought about it in years until this post.
I remember the fire. I remember why it happened, too. I actually thought that there were other cases at the time. Not with the same tragic outcome, of course, but I seem to remember other theaters being threatened/targeted because they were a symbol (at least in their eyes) of Western decadence. It was a nasty business. I personally believe being burned alive is the single worst way to die. I, too, still think of the fire from time to time.
Curtis.
Yeah, they’re losers. Sometimes, proving it is expensive.
I remember the story very well. If you’d have asked me yesterday I would have said that SAVAK started the fire.
This is well known fact. Revolution against Shakh was to good extent anti-pornographic. You know what ignited the first protests? The began when newspapers published a photo of Queen in mini-shirt. This was the last drop for fundamentalists and lots of their supporters.
mini-skirt, of course.
When Peter The Great began his modernization/westernization program in Russia, many people found the new European clothes he mandated for his court offensive and obscene. That is how opposition movement of Old Believers began. Many of them burned themselves alive in blockhouses (frameworks from logs) as a form of protest against Church reform, tobacco, drinking alcohol, shaving and other foreign customs. They were ruthlessly persecuted.
Isn’t the media every day filled with little reichstag attempts? These will grow and i don’t think anyone who reads this blog doubts it or holds any confidence they wont work with the current state of our citizenry.
Khomeini was condemned to death but General Hassan Pakravan felt that his execution would anger the common people of Iran.
Save one life, get rid of thousands of others in the future.
His mistake is in his calculation that “evil” happens because people get “angry” or “upset”. No, evil happens because evil master minds make it happen. It doesn’t just grow like storm clouds, naturally in time. Evil takes work. While destruction is easier and more timely than creation, it still takes work.
It doesn’t matter who it angers. All that matters is whether it is the right thing to do. And if it isn’t right then, maybe it’ll be right some years later.
Since one often cannot know the truth about individual events, it is best not to let one’s world view, and the side one takes, depend upon such isolated truths. It was (or should have been) obvious that the the Shah was bad and the Islamists were bad
Totally wrong of course.
Basically the truth is this.
Certain methods preclude certain ends. If the goal of an improved Iran is achievable, it is only achievable by building something better. Carter, Khomeini, and the Shah were 3 general players, with secondary players being Russia and Sunni Islam.
Amongst the top 3, the Shah had an idea of where to go and was making the attempt to create a better future. Carter was, well, Carter. Sitting on the fence pretending he’s doing good. Khomeini, rather than overseeing ruin, actively set out to create it. That was consistent with his methods before, during, and after the troubles of Iran.
People who don’t notice the differences there, have an epistemological problem. Not going to be solved any time this century for them.
Sgt. Mom
the Liar is comparable to the position of a Marine assault force. In attacking, they have the initiative, surprise, and momentum on their sides.
So the reason the lie goes around farther, is because it got a leg up on the competition. As Richard says, you need to do some work to “portray” the truth, so to speak. How do you portray the truth? Well, first, you have to respond to the lie, then create your own narrative. While you are doing that, the lie is convincing people because there’s nothing there that counters it.
So far, distributed network blogging and internet forums have mitigated some of the “surprise” advantages of normal propaganda arm operations such as classically done by the media or the KGB. It’s not a finishing blow to them, but it does curtail a lot of their former effectiveness.
In a nutshell, it helps a lot after Tucson for people to STOMP on the lies immediately using distributed internet networking and information sharing. A lot.
It DOES NOT MATTER if you know the truth about Tucson or not, or whether you have a proper “narrative” in store. You have to react immediately to the lie, and STOMP It into the mouths of the propagandist. IF you don’t put up a fight, people will take the lack of “argument” to be the proof that the first case was true. Don’t let hat happen. It doesn’t matter if you “know the truth about Tucson on Day1”. All that matters is you get up and shut up the Left.
That’s about it, essentially. It’s very comparable to the OODA loop theory by Colonel Boyd and several military stratagems that use surprise as a force multiplier. React now, don’t think. When surprised, act now. Don’t think about irrelevant things. When ambushed, act now, stop thinking about what to do next. You don’t need to look around to see how many enemies are. How they are attacking you, or why you got surprised. Just act. As in ATTACK them.
The shock value of propaganda is that it shocks, literally paralyzes, people that are being accused. In their minds, they are surprised and thinking “that can’t be true” and attempting to “figure out” what is going on.
Well, when a unit is ambushed and if they try to “figure out” how the enemy ambushed him, guess what’s going to happen to the unit? They’re going to sustain some significant casualties.
My opinion on the Reichstag fire, but not Cinema Rex, is most events represent an opportunity to be seized by the most prepared or aggressive group – here think Hilter et al. Re groups like the muslim brother and the fundmentalist in Iran, these people can encourage the “true believer” to do extreme things and blame others as it just doesn’t seem logical that someone would commit sucide so readily. Hopefully, we have learned!
Richard Aubrey wrote
“Not only is a lie faster, it’s difficult to refute. You can tell a lie in a short sentence. Refuting it takes paragraphs, cites of supporting data which will be obfuscated by the liar, and after much effort…the liar goes elsewhere and lies some more.”
You just described Israel’s position vis a vis the Palestinians.
Bob. I suppose I did. Among myriad others.
makes it easier to hide the repetitions of history of key parts are left out… its the larger idea not the smaller one. its not that its a fire, in this kind of building, its that its a crisis of a certain kind which then can be used a certain way. a tool.
I’m still waiting for Obama to get to work on making his own fire.
In the animated movie “Persopolis,” written and directed by an Iranian, she makes the point that under the Shah there were 3,000 political prisoners, while under the mullahs there are 300,000.
Oh yea, don’t forget Pinochet.
They did to him, what they did to the South Vietnamese, Rhodesia’s white leadership cadre, and the Shah of Iran. The last one at least.
Except they tried, but failed. They FAILED.
Chile’s economy after Pinochet resigned was enormous in growth and prosperity.