By 1932, the Nazi party was in ascendancy. Litten's mother and friends were urging him to leave Germany, but he stayed. He said, "The millions of workers can't leave here, so I must stay too".[1][11] Hitler's hatred for Litten was not forgotten and in the early hours of 28 February 1933, the night of the Reichstag fire, he was rousted from his bed, arrested and taken into protective custody.[12] Litten's colleagues Ludwig Barbasch and Professor Felix Halle were also arrested.[12]