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Cambridge A2 Level
History (9489)
____________________

Notes and past paper questions for:

Hitler’s Germany 1929-41

by kg

9489 History
(Cambridge A2 Level)
European option

kg

Hitler’s Germany 1929-41

Notes by kg

1

Content - ‘Hitler’s Germany, 1929-41’
Why did Hitler gain power in 1933?
GROWTH OF SUPPORT FOR NAZISM AFTER 1929
●
●
●
●

Nazism and the Nazi party from 1919 to 1933
...

Principal ideas in Mein Kampf and advocated by Hitler in the 1920s
...


Key question: What was the most important reason for the increase in support after 1929?

Reasons why support for Nazism grew after 1929
Spreading of Nazi ideas - Propaganda and speeches
Hitler’s outstanding skills, charisma, and talent as an orator and careful stage management of the
rallies by Goebbels were also vital
...
He exuded confidence and offered
the Germans a solution to their problems – his self-belief persuaded people to believe in him
...
His care
to be vague on policy issues meant that he could give the impression of offering much to all
...
The messages were simple, telling people what they wanted to hear - the
medium in which he spread propaganda was more important than the message
...

The Nazi party had developed an impressive organisation
...
This ideological hold meant that all sorts of people could support Nazism even if their
interests seemed incompatible
...
His
anti-Semitism, while not invariably supported, offered a convenient scapegoat along with the
Weimar ‘traitors’
...
By 1928, support was rising, especially in depressed rural areas
...
The army was neutral or supportive, always a major
factor in German politics
...
He had already learnt that lesson in the disaster of the Munich putsch
...

This also ensured the consent of Hindenburg in January 1933
...
Hitler
gave the impression that he was always working within the law with his huge range of skills which
he used effectively
...
His aggressive nationalism was popular, and the
underlying authoritarianism struck a popular chord
...
However, there
was no great tradition of democracy in Germany for a start, authoritarianism had deeper roots
...
He was skilled at tailoring his
message to specific audiences, attempting to appeal to both workers and bosses, men and women,
old and young, as well as farmers
...
The way in which the SA was developed and utilised was vital in both getting over the
Nazi message and preventing those of others being heard, against all political opponents, was also
vital
...
His ideas were the antithesis of those of the Weimar Republic; his 25 points written in
1920 sum up the programme of his movement and this was of relevance to many
...


Those who financed and supported Hitler - the elites

Those who financed Hitler should also bear responsibility to his success
...
Among his sources were
Hjalmar Schacht (head of the Reichsbank), Alfred Krupp (owner of the Krupp steel firm), as well as
the German car firm Opel
...
There was press
support as well as from men like Hugenburg and a willingness by key sectors such as the army, the
judiciary, and the police to turn a blind eye to the blatant Nazi disregard for the law
...


Impact of Nazi racist ideas
While Nazi racist ideas played a role in the initial campaigns of 1929-30, they were downplayed by
the Nazi hierarchy until after 1933, although they were clearly pushed hard at the lower levels by
groups such as the SA in some regions
...
There was also a strong tradition of anti-Semitism in Germany, and it was an
important element of Nationalist beliefs
...
Jewish
dominance in certain professions and business, as well as Weimar figures who were Jewish also led
to a degree of resentment
...
Many other key Nazis, such as Goebbels and
Röhm, were committed anti-Semites, and Streicher’s writings were widely read in Germany
...


4

Why did Hitler gain power in 1933?
PROBLEMS FACING WEIMAR POLITICIANS FROM 1929
HITLER’S APPOINTMENT AS CHANCELLOR
●
●
●
●

Factors explaining Weimar’s instability before 1929
Factors explaining Weimar’s growing weakness between 1929 and 1933
...

Role of the following in Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor:
○ Hindenburg
○ Weimar politicians
○ Industrial and business supporters
○ Hitler’s opponents
○ The Crash of 1929 and the subsequent depression
...
There was a focus on political
gain and not on national need
...
There was no will and ability by men like Brüning and Schleicher to take the
decisions necessary to implement them after the death of Stresemann
...
There were too many of Weimar politicians such as Von Papen
and Schleicher who felt that they could utilise Hitler to further their own ends in the final stages of
1932
...

There was a belief that Hitler could be managed and controlled due to his inexperience, and that the
Nazis’ electoral success was unlikely to last
...

Von Papen believed that an alliance with his party would bring them support in the Reichstag and
persuaded von Hindenburg to appoint him
...
He was simply not up to the task and defending
democracy and safeguarding the Jewish interest was not part of his thinking
...


Failure of opposition groups to save the system
A badly split opposition existed in the Reichstag, with no ‘National Front’ to oppose the Nazis
...
This

5

precluded any joint action, and there were major divisions within each grouping as well
...

The reluctance of the many political opponents from the Centre to the far Left to collaborate in
defeating Hitler was a major factor as well
...
The Communists and the
Socialists would not work with each other, let alone with the Centre
...


Failings of the Weimar constitution
Germany had been used to decades of authoritarian rule and a genuine democracy was a very
recent, and rather discredited, arrival
...

Hitler’s illegal methods, using the SA to break up opponents’ meetings, for example, could have
been successfully prosecuted, but there simply was not the will to do so
...
The means to
ban Hitler and his movement were there as well
...
A PR (proportional representation) electoral
system like that adopted tends to reflect political instability, however it did not cause the instability
of the period
...

This led to increased disillusionment with democracy with the reliance on emergency decrees to rule
by Brüning
...

People were increasingly pushed to the political extremes of the NSDAP and the KPD
...
Democracy in
Germany was of very recent origin and many were looking for a scapegoat on which to blame all the
failings of the previous regime
...
Stresemann's death meant
there was no leader who could command wide respect
...

Without the Depression, it can be argued that Hitler would have been more than a footnote in
German history
...
Over
6 million were unemployed and there was serious underemployment
...

The deflation of the early 1930s was even more devastating and was destroying much of the
economy
...
The government seemed unable to simply manage the economy, which was

6

also over-dependent on US loans, as both the Dawes and the Young Plans revealed
...

Even with signs of electoral gains in 1928 and a strong infrastructure, the actual electoral support
for the NSDAP was not great
...
This was vital in drawing
support away from the parties of the Centre and making both Left (Communists) and Right (Nazis)
much more appealing
...
The
growth of the far Left and the Communists raised real fears of many of the more conservative
middle class/upper class Germans, now moving into support for the strongest anti-communist party,
the Nazis, helped them to grow
...

The high point of Nazi electoral success in 1932 coincided with a peak in unemployment and
deflationary policies, which left millions lacking necessities and hope for the future
...


kg

On one hand, the Weimar politicians did not cause the Great Depression, and Germany had been hit
exceptionally hard by the US led tariff war and its recall of loans
...
On the other hand, the
Weimar government had by 1932 lost the confidence of the people; it was associated with
Germany’s defeat
...


Support/Fear of communism

The growth of support for communism in Germany, which meant that many sections of society were
seeking a saviour
...

Communism was a major factor in influencing the Church
...
It was also a significant factor in ensuring the neutrality of the army, and tacit
support in some places
...

Communism was equally significant in influencing many of the major industrialists who gave large,
and highly important, sums of money to the Nazis
...
The rise in the communist vote in Germany in the early
1930s terrified many
...

With the rise of communism further east many saw this as a terrifying threat, which partly explains
why so many in positions of authority were prepared to ignore the potential risks that Nazism
represented
...

The Reichstag fire
The Enabling Act
Destruction of the Trade Unions
Banning of other political parties
Law for the Reconstruction of the State
Night of the Long Knives
Death of Hindenburg

Key question: What was the relative importance of each of the steps listed above in the
consolidation of Nazi power?

Factors in the Nazi consolidation of power in 1933-34:
Divisions of opponents/potential opponents, lack of support in opposing Hitler
The division of opponents and potential opponents, such as the Communists, the Centre parties, and
the Socialists, to groups such as the churches and the Jewish community is a factor
...
Many key
elites, such as the Army, the Church, the major industrialists, or the academics could and perhaps
should have opposed
...
The army
elite, while possibly sympathising with some of Hitler’s views, were unlikely to work with
Communists and trade unionists
...
There was little opposition to the illegal way in which the communist leadership was quickly
locked up or fled (Stalin helped by killing quite a few of them) as it protected their own interests
...


Concessions made to the elites to ensure support

Making concessions with the elites was important
...

These groups were also not heavily taxed and were allowed to retain their cartels
...
No support was given
to even the Social Democrats and parties of the Centre
...

The nationalists were also delighted by the attack on the Versailles settlement, the departure from
the League of Nations and the disarmament talks
...

Care was taken not to offend, at least until 1936, local police forces, any part of the judicial system
or the Civil Service
...
Care was also taken not to offend either the Lutheran or the Roman Catholic churches,

8

and not to cause conflict over the Church’s role in education
...
The Nazis
placed great emphasis on this, and it was an important reason why there was such loyalty to the
regime to the bitter end
...

The formation of a coalition with the Nazis and the Conservatives was also perfectly legal
...
The latter was vigorously used against Nazi
opponents, and not the SA
...
The exclusion of the Communists following the
Reichstag fire was technically legal, possibly
...


kg

Although he failed to win an overall majority in the March 1933 election, he did manage to get
through the Enabling Act
...
Although initially only for four years, it abolished
local jurisdictions and later banned all other parties with the Law against the Formation of New
Parties in July 1933, which made Germany a one-party state
...
It gave the government the right to issue law by decree without Reichstag
approval – and was agreed by 441 votes to 94 (only the brave SPD voted against, the KPD
(Communists) having already been banned by the Nazis)
...
The Concordat with the Catholic Church, for example, was passed in July
1933 and in 1934 the Law for the Reconstruction of the State dissolved state assemblies and
replaced them with Reich Governors
...
The whole business of the
Reichstag fire was an obvious example of blatant illegality with a veneer of legality
...
An estimated 500 murders by the SA were used to intimidate voters in the
1933 election for the Reichstag members to agree to the Enabling Act
...

By the end of 1933 there had been some 100,000 arrests
...
The laws passed during the following year merely
formalised the existing position and served to ‘legalise’ the terror committed by the SA
...
The Night of the Long Knives had no trace of legality
whatsoever – it was just mass murder
...

Hitler took great care to ensure the loyalty of the army, and the way he dealt with the Röhm crisis
with the Night of the Long Knives demonstrated that
...


Dealing with the economic crisis
Certainly, dealing with the economic crisis of the early 1930s was an important factor
...

Re-armament and public works, as well as enrolling many into the SA, and ensuring the salaries of
the police, judges, civil servants and teachers got their support, or at least neutrality, in the early
stages
...


Use of propaganda and indoctrination

kg

Arguably his ‘economic success’ had gone by the late 1930s once Schacht had left, and its
importance diminished as his power in other areas increased and Goebbels’ brilliant propaganda
campaign took greater effect, using all the potential that media control made possible
...

The death of President Hindenburg in August 1934 allowed for a final usurpation of the Weimar
Constitution and removal of the final check on Nazi power
...


10

How was Germany governed by Hitler?
HITLER’S AIMS IN GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION - ESTABLISHING
THE NAZI STATE
●

kg

●

Hitler’s aims after his acceptance of the Chancellorship and the steps he took to ensure his total
control of Germany
...


11

How was Germany governed by Hitler?
MEANS OF CONTROL, e
...
USE OF PROPAGANDA AND USE OF TERROR
●
●

Nature and extent of Nazi propaganda and repression
...
Their use of all forms of the media, from radio to film
and to every other means at his disposal, was brilliant
...
Control of education and innovations like the Hitler Youth played their part
...
It built on the obvious progress being made in many ways
accentuated the positive rather than the threats, real as these were
...

There also had been limited economic recovery and the economic policies that the party had
adopted were unsustainable
...
This
needed to be covered up and managed effectively to ensure public support, and propaganda was a
useful tool to achieve this
...

Indoctrination, especially of the youth, was highly effective as well and played a key part in ensuring
that there was a loyal and supportive population once the situation became difficult
...

Recent studies have revealed that Gestapo numbers were not huge, and instead there was a
reliance on people actively informing the Gestapo and participating in the suppression of ‘anti-social
behaviour’
...
The message sent out by the Night of the Long Knives, using methods
employed against the SA, was clear to all as well
...

The system of terror was carefully managed to facilitate control with the use of organisations such
as the secret police (Gestapo)
...
Violence and repression accompanied the consolidation of power

12

(1933-34) was seen as highly effective under the control of Himmler and Heydrich
...
It was seen as vital to suppress dissatisfaction with the regime that was
created, as once war started extensive rationing, conscription, and other forms of state control was
needed
...
Trade unions and the Communists were terrorised, as well
as the ending of the authority of the states
...

Many of the core ideas in Mein Kampf were imposed, and Anti-Semitism became an integral, if
terrifying, feature of the Nazi state
...
There was an
authoritarian government which was aggressively nationalistic
...


Legality of the regime

kg

The legality of the regime was vital in gaining much support – the Nazis attained power legally in
the eyes of the majority of Germans
...
The Enabling Act,
which gave Hitler the power to enact laws without the involvement of the Reichstag was passed
through that institution (although there was terror in the background), which enabled him to
remove much of the opposition ‘legally’ while at the same time giving him the opportunity to take
over much of the media and areas like education
...
Notably, this included the support of many key elites, such as those in the army,
the Lutheran Churches, the industrialists, the police, the judiciary, and the civil service
...

There was quite widespread interest in and support for the police and the SS, and the repression
affected ‘out groups’ such as the socialists and Jews much more than the bulk of the German people
who refrained from political activity and offered compliance
...
There was also an intelligent
management of relations with the churches
...
Having convinced the
Germans that Versailles was a massive attack on Germany, Hitler proceeded with policies which
overturned it
...


13

The German people feared communism and appreciated what Hitler was doing to restore Germany’s
position on the international stage
...


Economic factors
Solving unemployment (which had gone radically downwards) and control of the media ensured that
the economic implications of some of the job creation measures and methods were not examined
closely and had been carefully covered up
...

By reducing unemployment by a mix of spending on public works, rearmament, conscription, driving
Jews out of employment and excluding women from the workforce as much as possible, the Nazis
managed to fulfil a promise and offer a degree of hope to the German people
...


kg

If there had not been a very visible reduction in unemployment and a resultant degree of social
stability, the elites who supported the Nazis would not have continued to endorse and support them
...

○ Reasons for, and policies towards, political opponents such as the Communists
○ Reasons for, and policies towards, the Jews
○ Reasons for, and policies towards, a range of other minorities such as Gypsies, homosexuals
and the mentally disabled
...


kg

The purge of Jews from all areas of public life started in 1933 as did the rapid rise of anti-Semitic
propaganda
...


15

How was Germany governed by Hitler?
AIMS OF, AND DEVELOPMENTS IN, FOREIGN POLICY
●
●

Aims of Hitler’s foreign policy
...


Key question: Was Hitler’s intention always war?

Aims of Hitler’s foreign policy
Hitler had a variety of motives in the period:
●

●
●
●
●

Revising the Treaty of Versailles
○ `From 1933 he wanted German equality and revoked the Treaty of Versailles, left the
World Disarmament Conference and then the League of Nations
...


kg

Foreign policy developments:
●

His foreign policy was also designed to increase his own popularity at home, at least in the
early years and finally he wanted to make Germany economically self-sufficient using Autarky
from 1936 to allow war to be followed as a policy
...


●

1935 saw the Saar Plebiscite and the Anglo-German Naval Treaty

●

1936 the reoccupation of the Rhineland, a decisive step, which showed that neither France
nor Britain would stand up to him at this stage
...
The RomeBerlin-Tokyo Axis
was an anti-Soviet alliance and the Hossbach Memorandum of 1937 set out his future plans
...

Hitler in his foreign policy was playing on the Pro-Appeasement policies of Britain and France
whilst regaining territory taken at the Treaty of Versailles
...
The Pact of Steel with Italy might be mentioned here too
...
In 1941 Germany launched Operation
Barbarossa which had racial and economic and political motives
...
A compromise position, that Hitler did have a clear vision, but was prepared to
be flexible within it, is also possible
...
1935 saw the Saar Plebiscite and the
Anglo-German Naval Treaty, 1936 the
reoccupation of the Rhineland, a decisive step,
which showed neither France nor Britain would
stand up to him at this stage
...

The Nazi-Soviet Pact might also be
considered to be an example of
inconsistency, given his earlier actions
...
The Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
was an anti-Soviet alliance and the Hossbach
Memorandum of 1937 set out his future plans
...

Hitler in his foreign policy was playing on the
Pro-Appeasement policies of Britain and France
whilst regaining territory taken at the Treaty of
Versailles
...
This latter was a Faustian pact
between two dictators who distrusted each other
...


September 1st and the invasion brought war and
then Hitler’s aims were to quickly conquer
Western Europe which he did apart from Britain
...


17

How effective were Hitler’s economic policies
CHANGING PRIORITIES OF ECONOMIC POLICY
●

Economic situation in Germany in 1933, emphasising the role that the economy had played in his
acquisition to power
...

○ Hitler’s economic objectives in the years 1933-39
...


Key question: To what extent did Hitler have coherent economic aims in the years
1929-1936?

Hitler’s economic aims
Rearmament for a future war
The mobilisation of the economy for a future war was more of a priority for Hitler who was explicit in
his view that the economy is there to serve the state and not the other way round
...
He was concerned less with deficit finance and public works
than more orthodox plans for recovery through trade and private enterprise
...

Rearmament was a key policy with Mefo Bills to fund
...
Rearmament was a
key policy, as it underpinned Hitler’s foreign policy aims, but he also wanted to solve
unemployment
...

Reducing unemployment

The rise in unemployment was a major reason for the growth in support for Nazism and could not
be ignored when Hitler gained office and power
...
This was achieved by the creation of a
Reich Labour Service, compulsory military service from 1935, removing women from the workforce
and offering families loans provided the wife stayed at home
...

Measures such as the reduction of women workers and Jews in employment and policies towards
department stores had ideological aims and while might have created some jobs did not play a
major role in unemployment which was falling in any case as a result of a cyclical upturn
...
Also, in the period before war preparation
became a much more central and overt aim, economic policy was directed towards more than

18

simply providing direct projects to reduce unemployment
...
However, it is more plausible to see
these policies being driven by concern about the dependence of the Reich on foreign imports which
had been seen as one of the reasons for the loss of the war
...
The
large department stores were never closed, and Big Business and Reich Food Estate did not reduce
its influence, which annoyed farmers because this limited what they could charge for their crops
...


19

How effective were Hitler’s economic policies
RESPONSES TO THE GREAT DEPRESSION
●

Hitler’s management of the economy in the period 1933 to 1939
...
Economic policy assisted the Nazis to
consolidate their power as well after 1933 – this could be seen as another success
...
There were real achievements in the early years – but that
had little to do with Nazi policy
...
The New
Plan of 1934, although risking areas like living standards and housing, did look like solving the
balance of payments and import problems
...
Immediate moves by restricting women in work, mandatory
conscription and anti-Semitic measures gave the impression of action to protect male workers – but
the extent to which this caused the fall in unemployment is arguable
...

No unemployment (full employment levels achieved)

There were certainly signs of an economic miracle and to have achieved full employment with stable
prices by 1936 was impressive
...
The birth rate rose sharply as well in contrast to what was
happening in both France and Italy
...
There were somewhat belated measures to protect agriculture and ensure
hereditary properties were not broken up by forced sales or foreclosures
...
They
provided jobs, but not much else
...
The bitter poverty and sense of despair and of being at the
mercy of fluctuations in the capitalist system did not reappear and to that extent Nazi policies can
be seen as effective even if the price tag was huge
...
Initially the
focus was on easing the worst effects of the depression and pandering to the anti-communist
feelings of the major industrialists who had provided so much vital backing to the Nazis
...
Beyond autarky and rearmament, Hitler had little to
suggest in terms of economic policy
...
With the departure of Schacht in
despair at the lack of coherent thinking and irrational thinking between self-sufficiency and the focus
on expansion and war, his ideas and warnings were ignored and replaced by the fantasies of Goering
and the Four-Year Plan
...

Mismanagement, no rational economic thinking

Arguably mismanagement became the order of the day if viewed from the long-term perspective
...

The implications of autarky and self-sufficiency, and the preparations for what had become known as
a ‘war of plunder’ meant that rational economic thinking had vanished
...

Administratively Germany was remarkably inefficient
...
Its relationship with national and local
governments was erratic and led to duplication and waste
...

There was a chaotic overlap between ministers and the conflicting jurisdictions given to Goering and
others with the management of the economy – now the responsibility of several overlapping
admonitions
...

The anti-Semitic drive eliminated a highly productive sector of the economy
...
Many of the
methods utilised to raise employment, such as pushing women out of the labour market and
conscription, led to later problems
...


21

Poor living conditions
Not all of the recovery depended on Nazi policy though the propaganda claimed credit for recovery
for well-publicised public works like the autobahn programme – even this was largely made by hand
as using machines would have not employed so many men
...

Failure by 1939
By 1939, it had clearly failed to attain its ill-thought-out objectives
...
The fact that the economy reached its peak of productivity
well into the war under the guidance of Speer, indicates perhaps a lack of success on the part of the
Nazis in the early years
...
The German
war machine ran out of lorries and fuel in front of Moscow in 1941 for example, which perhaps
demonstrated the true degree of incompetence
...


22

How effective were Hitler’s economic policies
KEY POLICIES IN AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY
●
●

Key policies and their impact in agriculture
Key policies and their impact in industry

Agriculture
Agriculture

kg

Agriculture was seen as very important and followed a ‘blood and soil’ policy
...

The Reich Entailed Farm Law prevented smaller farms being broken up and was unpopular with
farmers because it prevented the creation of more efficient larger farms
...
The
conduct of foreign policy changed from traditional diplomacy to a more aggressive and threatening
form and behind it was the geopolitical aim of achieving living space for a new racial state
...
The example of the First World War had
shown that dependence on resources from outside the Reich had made Germany vulnerable to
blockades
...


kg

Thus, in Hitler’s mind, foreign policy aims and the means to achieve them were inextricably
linked to economic policy
...
Reassuring foreign policy moves like the Treaty with Poland in 1934 and the Anglo
German naval agreement helped to develop a context in which trading links and investments could
grow
...
Hitler did not try to invade Austria in 1934 and was not
supportive of Japanese expansion
...
Schacht’s orthodoxy was replaced by the Four-Year Plan and as there seemed little chance
that foreign powers would stop rearmament, German industry pushed forward and there were more
restrictions on prices, wages, imports, and the allocation of raw materials
...
The economic benefits of the Nazi Soviet pact might be considered
...
It was unlikely that economic
development which was so geared to serve foreign policy ends could be sustained without gains
from foreign conquests so in a sense the economy was having an impact on foreign policy as well as
vice versa
...


24

How far did society change because of Hitler’s regime?
REASONS FOR, AND IMPACTS OF, POLICIES TOWARDS WOMEN AND
CHILDREN
●

Impact that Nazi policies had on all aspects of social life in Germany, and on:
○ women
○ children
○ the family
○ education

Policies towards women and the family
Advantages

Failures

A return to some degree of prosperity and a
reduction in unemployment did benefit both
women and young people
...
The
evidence is that they voted for him when able to
...
War was to
reveal the need for women’s employment and
Germany suffered as a result not only of the
‘stay at home’ tradition but also from a skills
shortage which women could have fulfilled
...
Boys needed to be as hard as steel and relentlessly obedient and committed to the racial
and military aims
...
Both boys and girls needed to be able to put the Volk and its needs as
expressed by the racial state before private lives and considerations
...

It is easier to outline the structures and methods the control of the curriculum, the racial
segregation, the youth movements, camps, rallies, propaganda and the establishment of a cult of
youth, with far more opportunities for responsibility for younger people and support by the party for
those who embraced the ideals but were not strong in school subjects
...
This is due to a variety of reasons
...
This group of
Youths carried out some very similar activities to
the Hitler youth group such as singing, however
the Edelweiss Pirates’ songs were criticising the
Nazi regime and mocked their ideas of the
German superpower
...

Goebbels’ ability to convince and indoctrinate

25

many of the young people of Germany that
Nazism provided them with a future and needed
their unconditional loyalty was impressive and
ensured their loyalty to the regime until its bitter
end
...
In 1939, it
became compulsory to attend the Hitler Youth,
and they took what the children wanted such as
group activities, hiking, camping and singing and
added in extra activities such as marching,
learning about Nazi policies and practising
military exercises
...


In fact, other anti-Hitler Youth groups were set
up, such as the ‘swing’ movement, where a
group of teenagers who rebelled against the
Nazi regime, by listening to banned music from
the US and England and dressed in a more
western fashion
...

In the Hitler Youth itself, there was frustration
and a sense of being exploited, and in practice
there was much boredom and disillusion with
the regime, due to the tedious pushing of
complex ideology
...
The creation of elite party schools did
not reach the majority of youngsters and the
requirements of military and labour service were
not always welcome
...


kg

Many did relish the stress on physical activities
against formal learning, and the freedom from
traditional restraints of home or dull jobs
...
Many
girls relished the traditional values and also found
in the party unexpected opportunities for
responsibility
...


As the Nazis needed to control each aspect of a
child's life to have full hold on the child, they
realised that it was a necessity to control a child's
home or family life, in many cases this meant
isolating a child from his/her family
...
This is because the children grew
up being controlled by Nazi forces and therefore
found such things as routine household checks
normal, whereas older family members found it
an invasion of privacy
...

Much has been made of opposition groups, but
these were often more the result of wartime
breakdown of discipline than of principled
resistance
...


During the late 1930's the number of members in
the Hitler Youth group drastically increased
however as the war progressed the number of
enrolments dropped as the group became more
war centred rather than leisure activities
...
This further contributes

26

to the success of Nazi youth policy
...
They altered textbooks to include Nazi history and Nazi views of History
...
The Nazi’s also managed to glorify the military in each school subject
...


27

How far did society change because of Hitler’s regime?
POLICIES TOWARDS RELIGION
●

Key aspects of Nazi policy towards the Church

Key question: Did the Churches in Germany collaborate or resist?

Policies towards the Churches
Successes

Failures

One aim was to neutralise any opposition from
the churches, particularly the Catholic church as
its political Zentrum party was needed for support
for the Enabling Law and then was dissolved with
the other parties
...
In a wider aim of ending all
alternative allegiances to the Nazi movement
and eroding values in Christianity which went
counter to the ideology of racial violence,
expansionist war and unrestrained force to
achieve ends untainted by compassion, there
was more variable success
...


kg

The Concordat which followed was a short-term
success in gaining the acceptance of the
hierarchy for the dictatorship
...


The tradition of cooperation with the state by the
Evangelical church made it less pressing, but a
general aim was the coordination of organisations
in the Reich
...

While utmost war could be waged against the
Jews, more care had to be taken with Christians
...


The German Christian movement was not
successful in dominating protestant religion and
critics emerged here, too, though often like
Niemoller they were suppressed
...
Army chaplains
were important, and religion was needed when
civilian suffering increased through allied
bombing and heavy casualties in the East
...
Some groups notably the Jehovah’s
Witnesses would not conform and suffered
persecution
...
g
...
Refer to October
2023 Paper 42 question once it comes out for this topic
...
Given the endorsement of Hindenburg initially, Hitler did represent the establishment
and legitimacy, and there was a tendency to support the government of the day
...

There was no real tradition of a ‘loyal’ or legitimate opposition in German politics, and the tendency
was to support established authority
...

Hitler came to power ‘legally’

kg

Hitler had taken great care to come to power ‘legally’ using legal methods and waited to show his
true hand after he had the backing of the Enabling Act which gave him vital powers
...

Popular policies (foreign policy, reducing unemployment)

The promise of a return to a higher national status was very appealing
...
For many
Germans, there were genuine benefits in that unemployment dropped rapidly, the fear of
communism had gone, rearmament saw industrialists’ profits rise and the army got its benefit in
terms of expansion (and the SA leadership killed!)
...
The feeling that there was now a strong government capable of dealing with
the issues facing Germany was very popular
...
Elites, such as the army officers and the
industrialists, agreed with many parts of what he said he would and did do, from rearmament to
dealing with the unions and Communists
...

Remilitarisation was also very popular with influential groups such as the army and the industrialists
like Krupp who got the arms contracts
...
The ending of the
disorder on the streets was also welcomed by the population
...
Groups such as the Roman Catholic hierarchy, the industrialists such

30

as the Krupp family, and small farmers were all handled by the Nazis so that they were at least not
openly critical to the regime
...
By dealing with this issue in the 1930s and
reversing the alleged humiliation of Versailles, they appealed to the masses and the elite
...
This not only convinced the young, but also persuaded the vast majority of German
people that the Nazis were a beneficial force for them and Germany
...
There were many memories of
what had happened to show the failings of the previous Weimar Republic
...
Control of the media, such as newspapers or radio, rallies
such as those in Nuremberg, or sporting events such as the 1936 Olympic Games were examples of
the widespread nature of propaganda during this time
...

A police state soon existed and dissidents in any form, from trade unionists to priests, soon found
that any form of dissent was treated with state endorsed brutality (using the SA, SS, Gestapo, SD,
concentration camps, etc)
...

The Gestapo and the SS had awesome powers and seemed to have endorsement by a compliant
judiciary with the wishes of the regime
...
The Nazis also were able to effectively manage elections
before and after 1933, helped of course by the huge sums of money and support from men like
Hugenberg
...


Extent of opposition in Nazi Germany
Opposition came from both the Left and Right and there was no chance of any possible agreement
or concerted action there
...
The biggest group was the Communists and Stalin destroyed its leadership on at least
two occasions
...
The Right was bitterly divided between

31

monarchists, nationalists, self-servers, and those who believed they could manage Hitler and use
him for their own ends and those who ultimately were prepared to adopt Nazi ideas and support
Hitler openly (e
...
, Von Papen)
...
Despite the 1933 Reichskonkordat, the Church did not remain entirely silent in
their criticism of the Nazis
...

When the regime sensed potential opposition, such as from the Church over the euthanasia
programme, it backed away
...
Rearmament meant a bigger army and lots of weapons manufactured at a profit
...


kg

The army which, despite some care taken, remained a focus for opposition, leading to the plot of
1944
...

Many of the elites also simply tolerated the regime for what they got out of it
...
It is worth noting that the principal plots to oust Hitler
came from the army, a group who gained most from his rule
...
4 questions from
9389 removed (incl
...


1

Why did Hitler gain power in 1933?
PROBLEMS FACING WEIMAR POLITICIANS FROM 1929 - N/A
GROWTH OF SUPPORT FOR NAZISM AFTER 1929

1
...
‘The main reason for Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor was the popularity
of Nazi ideas
...
Assess the importance of Nazi racist ideas to their electoral success by
1933
...
How important were Nazi ideas to Hitler’s rise to power by January 1933? October 2021 / 42
5
...
’
Discuss this view in relation to the period 1929-33
...
‘The main reason for the growth in Nazi support between 1929 and 1932
was the growing economic crisis in Germany
...
- 9489 March
2022 / 42
HITLER’S APPOINTMENT AS CHANCELLOR

1
...
’ Discuss this view
...
‘Weimar politicians must bear the responsibility for the Nazi rise to power by
1934
...
To what extent did Hitler become Chancellor because of the failings of
Weimar’s leaders? - May 2019 / 43
4
...
‘Weimar politicians were mostly responsible for Hitler’s rise to power in
January 1933
...
- 9489 March 2023 / 42

2

6
...
’ How far do you agree with this judgement? - May 2016 / 43
7
...
’ Evaluate
this view
...
‘Fear of communism was the main reason for Hitler being appointed
Chancellor in January 1933
...
‘Popular support led to Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor
...

- 9489 Specimen 2021
10
...
To what extent do economic factors explain the fall of the Weimar
Republic? - October 2021 / 41
CONSOLIDATION OF POWER, 1933-34
1
...
’ How far do you agree? - October 2015 / 43

kg

2
...
- May 2018 / 43
3
...
’
How far do you agree? - May 2019 / 42
4
...
’ How far do
you agree? - May 2020 / 43
5
...
’ Evaluate this view
...
Analyse the view that Hitler’s consolidation of power in 1933-34 was a ‘legal
revolution’
...
‘The “Führer Principle” was the most important principle in Nazism
...
g
...
‘It was the use of propaganda that allowed Hitler to retain power
...
How successful were the Nazis in imposing their ideas on the German
people? - October 2018 / 43
3
...
’ How far do these factors
explain Hitler’s domination of Germany after 1933? - October 2018 / 41

kg

4
...
- October 2020 / 42
5
...
’ How
far do you agree? - October 2020 / 43
6
...
’ Discuss this view
...
‘Economic recovery was the principal reason for the Nazis remaining in
power after 1933
...
‘Racism was at the heart of Nazi domestic policy
...
Analyse the reasons why the Nazi Party followed a policy of persecution
against the Jews and other minorities
...
Assess the aims of Hitler’s foreign policy in the period 1933-41
...
‘Hitler’s foreign policy between 1933 and 1941 followed a clear plan
...
- 9489 May 2023 / 42

4

3

How effective were Hitler’s economic policies?

CHANGING PRIORITIES OF ECONOMIC POLICY
1
...
- 9489 May 2021 / 42

2
...
’

Discuss this view
...
‘The government of Nazi Germany was characterised by economic and
administrative inefficiency
...
- October 2015 / 42
2
...
’ How far do you agree? - May 2017 / 43
3
...
’ Discuss this view of the conduct of Nazi
economic policy between 1933 and 1941
...
How successful were Nazi economic policies? - October 2017 / 43
5
...
- 9489 October 2022 / 41
KEY POLICIES IN AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY - N/A
IMPACT OF FOREIGN POLICY ON THE ECONOMY

1
...
- 9489 May 2022 / 41

5

4

How far did society change because of Hitler’s regime?

REASONS FOR, AND IMPACTS OF, POLICIES TOWARDS WOMEN AND CHILDREN
1
...
‘Nazi youth policies were a failure
...
- 9489 October 2021 /
42
3
...
- 9489
May 2022 / 43
POLICIES TOWARDS RELIGION
1
...
- 9489
October 2022 / 43
LIFE UNDER THE NAZI REGIME, e
...
STANDARD OF LIVING, CONSUMER GOODS,
LEISURE TIME - N/A

kg

LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR THE NAZI REGIME

1
...
’ How far do you agree? - May 2016 / 42
2
...
‘The main reason why Hitler faced so little opposition was because he
brought real benefits to the German people
...
‘Hitler’s control over Germany was based largely on popular support
...
Assess the reasons why there was little effective opposition within Germany
to Hitler’s rule
...
‘His opponents were leaderless and divided
...
‘It was a popular dictatorship
...
Analyse the reasons for limited opposition to the Nazi regime within
Germany in the period 1933-41
...
‘Hitler’s social policies were inconsistent and incoherent
...
To what extent did the Nazis change German society? - October 2017 / 42

kg

3
...
’ Discuss this view of Nazi
Germany between 1933 and 1939

---