Nazis In power

Question 1

When was the Reichstag building destroyed by a massive fire?

Answer 1

27 February 1933

Question 2

Who was caught on the site with matches and firelighters on the evening of the Reichstag Fire?

Answer 2

Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist

Question 3

What did Hitler and Hermann Goering claim about van der Lubbe and the Reichstag Fire?

Answer 3

Van der Lubbe was part of a communist conspiracy against the government

Question 4

How many communists were arrested on the night of the Reichstag Fire?

Answer 4

4,000

Question 5

What did Hitler pressure Hindenburg to do the morning after the Reichstag Fire?

Answer 5

Declare a state of emergency and call Reichstag elections

Question 6

Before the election of March 1933, Hitler pass the Decree for the Protection of the People and the State. What two things did this do?

Answer 6

1) Gave Hitler powers to imprison political opponents

2) Allowed Hitler to ban communist newspapers

Question 7

How many deaths were there during the March 1933 Reichstag election campaign?

Answer 7

70

Question 8

What happened to the Nazis’ number of seats in the Reichstag in the March 1933 elections?

Answer 8

Increased, to 288

Question 9

Why could the Communists not take up their 81 seats in the Reichstag after the March 1933 elections?

Answer 9

Hitler banned them using his emergency powers (Article 48)

Question 10

Why was it important that Hitler teamed up with other nationalist parties in the Reichstag following the March 1933 elections?

Answer 10

It gave him a two-thirds majority - enough to change the Weimar constitution

Question 11

What did Hitler want to destroy using the Enabling Act of March 1933?

Answer 11

The power of the Reichstag

Question 12

Under the Enabling Act, who would PROPOSE new laws?

Answer 12

The Chancellor (i.e. Hitler)

Question 13

Under the Enabling Act, who would PASS new laws - and why was this a change?

Answer 13

Hitler’s Reich Cabinet (government)

Previously, it was the Reichstag (parliament)

Question 14

For how long did the Enabling Act give Hitler the right to make laws without the Reichstag?

Answer 14

4 years

Question 15

By what margin in the Reichstag was the Enabling Act passed?

Answer 15

444 votes in favour, to 94 votes against

Question 16

Who did the Nazis arrest on 2 May 1933?

Answer 16

Trade union Leaders

Question 17

What did Hitler ban using the Enabling Act on 2 May 1933?

Answer 17

Trade Unions

Question 18

What Replaced trade Unions

Answer 18

replaced by the German Labour Front (DAF), which was controlled by the Nazi Party and served to suppress workers’ rights while enforcing Nazi ideology.

Question 19

What did leaders of the SS and army tell Hitler about Röhm in 1934?

Answer 19

Rohm was plotting to overthrow Hitler and that the SA was becoming too powerful.

Question 20

What happened to Röhm and other SA officials when they arrived at a meeting with Hitler on 30 June 1934?

Answer 20

They were Trapped and arrested. Many SA officials were shot on the spot by SS and Gestapo forces.

Röhm was taken to Stadelheim Prison in Munich.
Hitler initially hesitated to execute him and offered him a chance to commit suicide by leaving a pistol in his cell.But Rohm refused and was eventually shot by SS officers

Question 21

Give TWO examples of people shot dead in the Night of the Long Knives who were not members of the SA

Answer 21

Kurt von Schleicher-Former chancellor and a rival of Hitler.He was shot dead at his home in Berlin along with his wife by the SS

Gregor Strasser-Once a key figure in the Nazi Party, but he disagreed with Hitler’s leadership.Arrested and executed in Gestapo headquarters in Berlin

Question 22

When did Hindenburg Die

Answer 22

August 2, 1934.

Question 23

What did Hitler declare following the death of Hindenburg?

Answer 23

Declared himself as Furher combining the roles of president and Chancellor

Question 24

What did every soldier now have to do following Hindenburg’s death?

Answer 24

Swear a oath of alliegence to Hitler,Neutralising potential opposition within army

Question 25

What percentage of voters voted to accept Hitler’s position as Führer in a public vote?

Answer 25

89.9% but the Vote was not free or fair with intimidation tactics being used on voters

Question 26

Who ran the SS by 1929?

Answer 26

Heinrich Himmler

Question 27

What colour uniform did the SS wear and why?

Answer 27

Black To distinguish it from the SA ‘brownshirts’

Question 28

What role did SS officers play during the Night of the Long Knives?

Answer 28

Murdered SA leaders

Question 29

How many men were in the SS during the 1930s?

Answer 29

240,000

Question 30

What role were the SS expected to play in the future of Germany?

Answer 30

Creating ‘racially pure’ Germans for the future by marrying ‘racially pure’ wives

Question 31

What happened to 60,000 members of the SS between 1933 and 1935 and why?

Answer 31

Expelled Suspected of being gay or alcoholics

Question 32

What was the purpose of the SD?

Answer 32

To act as a security force for the Nazi Party, monitoring its opponents

Question 33

Who was made leader of the SD?

Answer 33

Reinhard Heydrich

Question 34

What was kept in the SD’s card index?

Answer 34

Details of everyone it suspected of opposing the Nazi Party or the German government, at home or abroad

Question 35

Where was the SD’s card index kept?

Answer 35

At the Nazi Party’s headquarters in Munich

Question 36

Why could ordinary Germans not tell the Gestapo apart from other members of the public?

Answer 36

They did not wear a uniform

Question 37

Who became leader of the Gestapo in 1936, replacing Himmler?

Answer 37

Reinhard Heydrich

Question 38

The Gestapo set up networks of ordinary people to identify suspects. What name was given to these people?

Answer 38

Informants

Question 39

How many people did the Gestapo arrest for political offences in 1939 alone?

Answer 39

160,000

Question 40

What did a new law in 1936 say about the Gestapo?

Answer 40

they could operate outside the control of the courts

Question 41

Give THREE things that the Gestapo could do to offenders

Answer 41

1)Arrest and Detain Without Trial 2)Torture and Interrogate 3)Deport to Concentration Camps

Question 42

What did it mean to be locked up ‘under protective arrest’ in Nazi Germany?

Answer 42

Under protective arrest in Nazi Germany was a euphemism for indefinite imprisonment without trial. It meant that the Gestapo could detain individuals—often political opponents, Jews, Communists, or other so-called "enemies of the state"—without any legal proceedings. they had no Legal Rights and were often sent to concentration camps

Question 43

When and where was the first Nazi concentration camp opened?

Answer 43

Dachau March 22 1933 located in southern Germany near to the city of Munich

Question 44

Where was the first concentration camp for women opened in 1933?

Answer 44

Moringen, opened in October 1933

Question 45

Why were concentration camps located in isolated areas?

Answer 45

Secrecy and Control – Remote locations kept the atrocities hidden from the general public and foreign observers, allowing the Nazis to operate without interference. Easier Security and Fewer Escape Attempts – Being far from major cities reduced the chances of prisoners escaping or receiving outside help. Harsh Conditions and Forced Labor – Camps were often placed near quarries, forests, or industrial sites where prisoners could be exploited for hard labor under brutal conditions. Psychological Impact – Isolation increased fear and helplessness among prisoners, making resistance less likely.

Question 46

Give THREE examples of people who could be put in a concentration camp

Answer 46

-Political Opponents -Jewish People -Other Persecuted Groups – Slavic people, LGBTQ+ individuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and disabled individuals

Question 47

What was abolished in the law courts by Hitler?

Answer 47

Jury | This means all legal decisions were controlled by state, No fair trials

Question 48

What court was set up to hear all cases of treason (offences against the state)?

Answer 48

Hitler set up the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) in 1934 ## Footnote This court had no appeals process and was notorious for delivering harsh sentences, including the death penalty, often based on flimsy or fabricated evidence.

Question 49

How many death sentences were there for political offences in: 1930-32 1934-39

Answer 49

1930-1932 (Before Nazi Rule): 8 death sentences. 1934-1939 (Under Nazi Rule): 534 death sentences.

Question 50

Who became the Nazi Party’s head of propaganda in 1930?

Answer 50

Joseph Goebbels

Question 51

What position did Goebbels take in Hitler’s government in 1933?

Answer 51

The Minister of People’s Enlightenment and Propaganda

Question 52

Who kept a register of acceptable newspaper editors and journalists under the Nazis?

Answer 52

The Reich Press Chamber

Question 53

How were newspaper editors affected by a law passed in October 1933?

Answer 53

It made them responsible for material published in their newspapers that went against the government

Question 54

How many newspapers did the Nazis close down in 1935?

Answer 54

1,600

Question 55

What happened to German radio stations from 1933?

Answer 55

They were put under Nazi control

Question 56

What was the People’s Receiver?

Answer 56

A cheap radio that had just one station and a limited range

Question 57

What percentage of households owned a People’s Receiver by 1939?

Answer 57

70%

Question 58

How many broadcasts of Hitler’s speeches were transmitted by radio in 1933?

Answer 58

50