Germany:Nazi control and dictatorship, 1933-39

• What happened on 27th February 1933?


  The Reichstag Fire
• Who did Hitler blame for the Reichstag Fire?

  Marinus van der Lubbe was caught on site, he was executed and Hitler then went on to blame the communists
• What was the Enabling Act?

  It destroyed the democratic power of the Reichstag, Hitler could make laws without the permission of the Reichstag 
• What did Hitler do to the Trade unions?

  He banned trade unions and made it illegal for workers to strike
• What happened on the Night of the Long Knives?

  Ernst Rohm and other senior offices in the SA were arrested, imprisoned and shot
• What happened when Hindenburg died?

  Hitler declared himself Fuhrer (supreme leader) - he now had all the powers of the President and the Chancellor
• What did Hitler make the army do?

  He made the army swear an oath of loyalty to him
• Who was in charge of the SS?

  Heinrich Himmler
• Who was in charge of the SD and Gestapo?

  Reinhard Heydrich
• What was the first Nazi concentration camp?

  Dachau, 1933
• Which groups were sent to concentration camps?

  Jews, communists, political opponents, homosexuals, prostitutes, gypsies
• What did Hitler do to the legal system?

  He abolished trial by Jury, appointed Nazi judges and set up a new People’s Court
•  What did Hitler do to the Catholic Church?

  At first he signed the Concordat with the Pope, but he then went on to ban Catholic youth activities and arrest Catholic priests
• What did Hitler do to the Protestant Church?

  He set up the Reich Church some of these churches had swastikas displayed. Not all protestants accepted this.
•  Which protestant famously opposed Hitler’s actions?

  Pastor Niemoller. He set up the PEL (the Pastor’s Emergency League) in opposition to Nazi actions
• Who was in charge of propaganda in Nazi Germany

  Josef Goebbels
• Name four propaganda tools the Nazis used

  Censorship of newspapers, rallies, radio, sport (the Berlin Olympics of 1936)
• How did the Nazis control art?

  They set up the Reich Chamber of Visual Arts, all painters and sculptors had to be members
•  How did the Nazis control literature?

  Books were censored by the Nazis and millions of books were taken from universities and public libraries and burned 
• Name two youth groups who opposed the Nazis

  The Edelweiss Pirates and the Swing Youth
• What were the 3 K’s for women in Nazi Germany?

  Kinder, Kuche, Kirche (Children, Cooking, Church)
• Name 4 policies introduced for women in Nazi Germany

  The Law for the Encouragement of Marriage 1933

  Divorce Laws

  The Mother’s Cross and Lebensborn
• Who led women’s groups in Nazi Germany?

  Gertrud Sholtz-Klink
• Name 2 Nazi youth groups

  The Hitler Youth and the League of German Maidens
• What new subject was added to the school curriculum in Nazi Germany?

  Eugenics/Race Studies
• What was RAD?

  The National Labour Service, this provided paid work for the unemployed
• What two schemes helped to reduce unemployment?

  The autobahn (motorway) project and rearmament
• What is invisible unemployment?

  Hitler did not include women or Jews in the unemployment figures
• What was Strength through Joy?

  An organisation to improve benefits for workers e.g trips, films, theatre shows
• What was the Volkswagen scheme?


  A scheme to encourage workers to put money towards buying a car
• What was Beauty of Labour?


  A campaign to improve conditions for workers, better toilets, better canteens
• Who did Hitler believe was the superior race?

  The Aryan race (portrayed as tall, blond, blue-eyed and athletic).
• What were the Nuremberg Laws?


  These laws increased persecution against Jews
• What was the Reich Law on Citizenship?

  Jews lost their right to German citizenship, they were required to wear a yellow star so they could be easily recognized
• What was the Reich Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour?


  This law forbade Jews from marrying German citizens
• What was Kristallnacht?

  The Night of Broken Glass, 1938 (the SA, SS and Gestapo attacked Jewish houses, businesses and synagogues).
• What happened in the aftermath of Kristallnacht?

  Jews were fined 1 billion marks for the damage and 20,000 Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps
• What was the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring?


  This made it compulsory for people to be sterilised if they were mentally ill, alcoholic, epileptic, deaf or blind
• What was the T4 programme?


  In 1939, the Nazis ordered that babies with severe mental or physical disabilities should be killed