The Nazis

Question 1

Name 3 reasons why Hitler came to power?

Answer 1

• The effects of Wall Street Crash
• No other party promised something for everyone in the way that the Nazis did
• Hitler got backing from rich businesses which he could use to fund his propaganda and his private army
• Hitler got the trust of the army by getting rid of Rohm
• People were worried about Communist so preferred to vote for the Nazis to stop Communists from taking over
• Successful propaganda
• Used Reichstag Fire to get Law for the Protection of German People through which led to Communists being imprisoned.

Question 2

Name 3 methods/examples of Nazi propaganda.

Answer 2

• Volkradios could only tune into Nazi stations
• The 1936 Olympics were used to show of how modern and organised Germany was
• Posters were frequently published with strong messages
• Films such as the Eternal Jew to try and get people to believe Nazi ideas
• Press controlled and censored (newspapers)
• Josef Goebbels Minister for Propaganda and Enlightenment
• The Nuremburg Rallies (once a year, big show of military strength and speeches given by top Nazis)

Question 3

What were the 3 main methods of the Nazis controlling the German people?

Answer 3

• Propaganda
• Force, violence and fear
• Offering benefits and improvements (most of these ended during the later part of the war)

Question 4

What was the Enabling Bill?

Answer 4

Gave Hitler the ability to pass any law for four years. This essentially made him a dictator. March 1933. (Not the same as the Law for the Protection of German people.)

Question 5

What was the Law for the Protection of German People?

Answer 5

Passed after the Reichstag fire and allowed people to be imprisoned without trial, Mainly aimed at Communists.

Question 6

What was the Gestapo?

Answer 6

The secret police. Modern research shows that there were less Gestapo agents than the population believed there to be. However, people were willing to report on each other through fear.

Question 7

What were some of the benefits the Nazis offered people?

Answer 7

• Increased employment (although not for Jewish people or women)
• Affordable radios and cinema visits
• Some people could save for a car (although very few delivered)
• Cheap holidays and cruises with the Strength Through Joy scheme
• Beauty of Labour improved working conditions such as washing facilities and cheap canteens.

Question 8

What was Volksgemeinschaft?

Answer 8

A Nazi idea about all Germans (apart from the ones they didn’t like) being part of a great community.

Question 9

Why did the Nazis target young people with propaganda?

Answer 9

They would be the next generation and they could often be more easily influenced. They could also more easily influence them through changing the school curriculum and making only Nazi youth groups legal.

Question 10

What happened to law courts in the Nazi era?

Answer 10

All non-Nazi judges were sacked and the judges always supported Nazi ideas. Anyone challenging the regime was always found guilty.