Weimar and Nazi Germany-Nazi Control and Dictatorship

Question 1

When did hitler become chancellor? what was a limitation of this?

Answer 1

January 1933, a limitation of this was that there were only two other nazi’s in the government

Question 2

List 3 details about the reichstag fire

Answer 2

• the reichstag was set on fire by a dutch communist
• goering claimed that it was a communist plot to overthrow the government
• about 4000 communists were arrested

Question 3

Give 2 outcomes of the reichstag fire

Answer 3

• hitler persuaded hindenburg to pass the emergency decree for the protection of the people, which gave hitler more powers
• hitler called for another election. during the campaign he used his powers to ban communist meetings and imprison opponents

Question 4

Explain 2 events that happened in march 1933

Answer 4

• the enabling act was passed, giving hitler the right to make laws without consulting the reichstag for 4 years
• during the march 1933 elections, hitler got 288 seats, however he needed 2/3rds if the seats to change constitution therefore he banned 81 communists

Question 5

Apart from NOLK, list 3 ways hitler got rid of political opposition

Answer 5

• trade unions were banned
• set up regional parliaments and took over civil service
• opposition either shut down themselves or got banned, by july 1933 Germany was a 1 party state

Question 6

List 3 details about the night of the long knives

Answer 6

• It occured in june 1934
• rohm, leader of SA, and some other men were plotting to overthrow hitler and take lead
• an evening meeting was called, in which rohm and other SA leaders were murdered by the SS,400 people were killed

Question 7

Give 3 details about hitler’s last steps to becoming fuhrer(august 1934)

Answer 7

• hindenburg died
• hitler merged both chancellor and president together to become fuhrer, there was a vote and hitler got 90% of the vote
• the army had to swear an oath of allegiance to hitler

Question 8

Give 3 details about each of these elements of the police state
a) SS b)SD c) Gestapo d)Concentration Camps e) Judges

Answer 8

a) controlled by himmler, hitler’s bodyguards, involved in rallies
b) security service, set up in 1931, spied on known opponents
c) 30,000/ 80 million were members, tapped phones spied on others, did not wear uniforms and followed up reports about general public acting up
d) in remote areas away from public attention, ways of dealing with what the nazi’s belived to be undesireables, first established march 1933
e) no more trial by jury - all were done in secret, all judges were members of the nazi party, no right of appeal

Question 9

Give 4 reasons why there was limited opposition to the nazi party

Answer 9

• many nazi policies were popular e.g emphasis on the family and focus on the youth
• occasionally, unpopular policies are dropped
• many people were greatful to have a job and a better standard of living, so put up with nazi policies
• repressive policies were hidden from the general public i.e concentration camps were in remote areas and w there was lots of censorship

Question 10

List 4 details about church opposition

Answer 10

• the confessing church was set up to oppose the reich church (1934), aout 6000-8000 pastors joined
• the pastors emergency league (1933) was set up to oppose the reich church
• some individual pastors openly criticised hitler but were sent to concentration camps
• 400 catholic priests were imprisoned at dachau

Question 11

what is the concordat, when was it made?

Answer 11

the concordat was an agreement between hitler and the pope allowing hitler to take power in germany as long as he left the catholic church alone, catholic church also agreed not to criticise hitler. 20 June 1933

Question 12

Give 2 reasons why hitler called the night of the long knives

Answer 12

• there were tensions between the army leaders and the SA, and hitler wanted to reassure them that the SA was not a threat-he would need the army’s help for further invasions
• Rohm wanted to combined the SA and the army, many disagreed with this, including hitler because he was worried that it would give rohm too much power

Question 13

What was the reich church

Answer 13

a church set up in 1936 that supported the nazi government. Wore swastikas and crosses to show their loyalty to hitler, some churches even had swastika banners

Question 14

List 4 details about youth opposition

Answer 14

Edelweiss Pirates
-mostly lower income , would do similar activites to the hitler youth (camping ,hiking etc)
- mocked hitler youth members, did anti nazi graffiti and songs,boys grew long hair
Swing Youth
-mostly middle and upper classes,would import american music illegally
-girls wore lots of makeup and short skirts- mimicking American fashion

Question 15

List 3 details about propaganda in nazi germany

Answer 15

• when hitler made speeches they had to be broadcast in cafes and factories and on the streets via loudspeakers
• in movies, heroes were often aryan in appearance, and jewish people were depicted as deceitful and greedy
• berlin olympics 1935-way for the nazi’s to show off ‘aryan superiority’, germany won 33 medals, and the stadium fit over 110,000 people (largest in world)

Question 16

List 3 details about censorship

Answer 16

• no foreign radio stations, so people could not recieve alternate views
• 2500 writers were banned and there were book burning ceremonies e.g in 1933 when books written by jews such as Freud and Eintstein were removed and publicly burned
• books could not be published without approval from the chamber of culture

Question 17

List 3 details about the arts

Answer 17

• jazz music was banned, because it was originated amongst black musicians, and Mendelssohn was banned because he was part jewish
• bauhaus art style was disliked
• art was preferred that had a romanticised view of germany, with emphasis on the family country life and loyalty