MODERN HISTORY GERMANY ESSAY PLANS

*Was popular support for Hitler the main reason for the lack of effective opposition to the Nazi regime in the years 1933-45?

P1 - Hitler related to his audience well- he shared their fear of communism as well as hatred of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler was charismatic and he won people over by strength of personality.

P2 - intimidation and violence against any who spoke out against the party. - Reichstag fire decree- allowed imprisonment of anyone who spoke out against the party.

P3 - shared political beliefs with many nationalists -their belief in the supremacy of the German race +
Hitler's hatred of Jews struck a chord with many people - they were a convenient. scapegoat, to be blamed for all Germany's problems.

P4 - opposition still present - The White Rose group was formed by students at Munich University. They published anti-Nazi leaflets, but were discovered and executed in 1943. + Some Catholic priests opposed Hitler. In 1937, the Pope's message 'With Burning Concern' attacked Hitler as 'a mad prophet with repulsive arrogance' and was read in every Catholic church.

**Was the use of terror the main reason for the survival of the Nazi regime in the years 1933-45? Explain your answer.

P1- Terror, Gestapo/secret police, had own legal system, didn't wear uniform, people never sure who part of and who not so less likely to oppose, **, Hitler's bodyguards, political police and ran concentration camps, the People's Court, tried people accused of being traitors to the Third Reich, use of terror important in survival of regime as scared people into not opposing it
P2 - Censorship, radio, 25 March 1933 Goebbles had all radio stations controlled by government 4 October 1933 decree making content of paper responsibility of editor and crime to publish anything that could weaken the Third Reich/harm German economy, culture or people, meant Nazis could control what people saw so only see good things meaning less likely to oppose and increase support for regime
P3 - 1933-45 over 50,000 non-Jewish people sent to camps for political crimes, severe deterrent to political protest, helped with survival as put people off opposing regime for fear of being put in concentration camp, also helped survival as wouldn't face opposition from other political parties meaning couldn't be taken out of power through people voting them out making survival much more likely
P4 - propaganda. hitler sympathised with his followers. he was good at being passionate and presented himself as just what german needed/wanted.

*How accurate is to say that the system of government in Nazi Germany in the years 1933-39 was significantly different than that of the Weimar Republic?

P1 - very accurate. weimar was a democracy with a constitution that allowed basic rights, such as free speech, association etc, while nazi germany was a dictatorship that stripped germans of their basic rights. decree for the protection of the state suspended civil rights

P2 - Civil service present in both, did administrative work and drafted policies/made suggestions to government in Weimar but was completely ignored in Nazi, Federal government remained same throughout both which passed laws for everyone

P3 - Structure of government significantly different. role of elections also different, Weimar = president elected every 7 years whilst Hitler removed elections completely after coming into power

P4 -both used private armies, Weimar = used by political parties to help keep peace (centre party, german democratic party, social democratic party, Nazi = SA/**/Gestapo for Hitler to control people, used in very similar ways in form to control people and keep peace.

**Was the main reason for popular support for the Nazis in the years 1933-45 the party's use of propaganda? Explain your answer.

P1 - exaggerated popularity and success of the party. for example a Nazi reported Hitler's chancellorship. propaganda was used to indoctrinate the German people. newspapers, radio controlled by Nazis - cencorship

P2 - the Nazis mainly used intimidation and violence to sustain popularity. they had laws such as the decree for the protection of the german state and people - allowed hitler to arrest political opponents more freely.

P3 - 1936 Olympics - used to portray German strength and superiority. Germany came first winning 33 gold medals and 89 overall. Hitler used this as an opportunity to assure people everywhere that he was not to be feared, especially after the more recent nlk.

P4 - Hitler successfully related to his audience - genuine support. people felt a fear of communism + long term bitterness of the tofv as well as the impact of the great depression pushed people towards extremist parties.

*Nazi consolidation of power was primarily due to the use of terror and violence. How far do you agree with this judgement?

P1 - NLK - violent murder of the SA hitler feared they were too faithful to their leader Rohm. it has been difficult to pin point the exact number of people that died that night, but one thing is for sure, it strengthened hitler and defined him as Germany's supreme administer of justice. he didn't have any legal grounds to issue this

P2 - Hindenburg's death - did not involve violence from the Nazis and yet was a key part of why hitler was able to consolidate his power. Hindenburg's death opened up the door to an all-powerful title - fuhrer. combination of president and chancellor.

P3 - intimidation and violence to gain votes in the first place - march elections that saw the Nazi gain 92 more seats than before gaining an overall 288 seats.

P4 - Reichstag fire - if we don't indulge in the popular theory that the Nazis started the Reichstag fire, they used the communist's violence as an asset and launched the decree for the protection of the german people and state the next day.

*How accurate is it to say that Hitler's rise to becoming a dictator was achieved by legal means?

P1 - legal - becomes chancellor - was offered vice-chancellor but argued his way to chancellor. he seized the opportunity, but did not do so illegall, he used his skills as a politician.

P2 - reichstag fire - speculated that the nazis could have started the fire themselves. this would be an illegal move however, they were never found guilty of this as a communist marinus ven der lubbe was found guilty. at his trial he acted strangely, staring at the floor, slept and spoke little. speculated he was influenced/manipulated by the nazis

P3 - hindenburg's death. came as somewhat of a suprise shock, as he was old. hitler immediately created an all powerful title of fuhrer for himself that combined the roles of president and chancellor.

P4 - violence and intimidation to gain votes at the march election 1933. worked as it saw a 10% increase but still.

*How significant was the contribution of Adenauer in the establishment of a stable political base in the FRG in the years 1949-89?

P1 - stable - kept coalition govt working till 1957. without would have faced similar problems to Weimar of coalitions not working together and agreeing on policies.

P2 -Didn't create a stable base, appointed weak ministers who he treated more as advisors rather than political equals, made hard to make good/strong decisions so didn't help in creating stable political base as couldn't work effectively

P3 - focused on securing relationships with West allowing them to become self-governing faster and to rebuild economy though did hold back uniting Germany did help create stable base as helped relations with other countries and economy which had cause problems in the past, without his actions these issues could have risen up again which would not have created a stable base for Germany

P4 - allowed ex-Nazis into government which created potential for them to continue pushing Nazi ideologies, how Weimar was taken over before so risks stable political base as general fear of uprising again