How did the Nazis persecute minorities and run the economy before the war?
Nazi racial policy and the persecution of minorities (Jews, and other groups), the events of Kristallnacht, the policy towards the racial state, and the Nazi economy of rearmament and self-sufficiency before 1939.
A focused answer to Nazi racial policy and the economy in Edexcel's Weimar and Nazi Germany depth study, covering the persecution of Jews and other minorities, the Nuremberg Laws and Kristallnacht, the idea of the racial state, and the Nazi economy of rearmament and self-sufficiency before 1939.
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What this dot point is asking
This covers two linked features of Nazi Germany before the war: the persecution of minorities (the "racial state") and the economy (rearmament and self-sufficiency). You need Nazi racial ideology, the steps in persecution (boycotts, the Nuremberg Laws, Kristallnacht), and how the Nazis ran the economy for war. Paper 3 sets interpretation questions on how far Germans benefited from or supported the regime, so the mixed picture matters.
Nazi racial ideology
The persecution of the Jews
The racial state
The persecution was not random but part of building the racial state. Propaganda spread antisemitism, blaming Jews for Germany's defeat, Versailles and the Depression (scapegoating), which united many Germans behind the regime. Laws, terror and the SS enforced exclusion. By 1939 German Jews had lost their rights, livelihoods and safety, and many had fled, foreshadowing the still greater horrors of the war years.
The Nazi economy
Try this
Q1. What did the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 do? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. They stripped Jews of German citizenship and banned marriage or relationships between Jews and non-Jews, making persecution part of the law.
Q2. Explain why the Nazis directed the economy towards rearmament and autarky. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Hitler wanted to overturn Versailles and prepare for war, so he poured spending into the armed forces (the Four-Year Plan) and sought self-sufficiency so Germany could not be starved into defeat as in the First World War, while rearmament also cut unemployment.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel 201912 marksExplain why the Nazis persecuted minority groups in Germany in the years 1933 to 1939.Show worked answer →
The Paper 3 "Explain why" question (12 marks). Reward at least three developed reasons.
Reason one (Nazi racial ideology). The Nazis believed in a "master race" (the Aryans) and saw Jews, Roma, disabled people and others as inferior or a threat, so persecution flowed from their core beliefs.
Reason two (scapegoating). Blaming Jews for Germany's problems (defeat, Versailles and the Depression) gave Germans someone to blame and united support behind the regime.
Reason three (to build the racial state). Persecution aimed to remove "undesirables" and create a pure "national community" (Volksgemeinschaft), enforced by laws and terror.
Top band. Three developed reasons, each with detail, explaining the persecution.
Edexcel 202112 marksExplain why the Nazi government wanted to control the German economy in the years 1933 to 1939.Show worked answer →
The Paper 3 "Explain why" question (12 marks). Reward at least three developed reasons.
Reason one (rearmament for war). Hitler wanted to overturn Versailles and prepare for war, so the economy was directed towards rearmament under the Four-Year Plan.
Reason two (self-sufficiency, autarky). The Nazis wanted Germany to be self-sufficient so it could not be starved into defeat as in the First World War, encouraging home production of materials and food.
Reason three (reducing unemployment and winning support). Public works and rearmament cut unemployment, which boosted support for the regime. Conclude by linking these to economic control.
Top band. Three developed reasons, each with detail, explaining the control of the economy.
Related dot points
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Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History (1HI0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2016)