How did the Nazis turn Germany into a dictatorship and a terror state after 1933?
The Nazi consolidation of power in 1933 to 1934, the Reichstag Fire, the Enabling Act and the Night of the Long Knives, the creation of a one-party state, and the role of the SS, Gestapo and concentration camps in controlling Germany.
A focused answer to the Nazi seizure of total power in OCR's Living under Nazi Rule depth study, covering the consolidation of 1933 to 1934, the Reichstag Fire, the Enabling Act, the Night of the Long Knives, the one-party state, and the role of the SS, Gestapo and concentration camps.
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What this dot point is asking
This is the opening of OCR's Paper 3 world depth study, Living under Nazi Rule 1933 to 1945. You need to explain how the Nazis turned Germany from a democracy into a one-party dictatorship in 1933 to 1934, and how they then used terror (the SS, Gestapo and concentration camps) to control the population. Because the depth study uses source and interpretation questions, learn this in enough detail to evaluate evidence about Nazi power.
The consolidation of power, 1933 to 1934
The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act
The one-party state and the Night of the Long Knives
The terror state: SS, Gestapo and camps
Try this
Q1. What did the Enabling Act of March 1933 allow Hitler to do? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. To make laws without parliament or the President for four years, the legal foundation of the dictatorship.
Q2. Explain why the Night of the Long Knives strengthened Hitler's power. [Short explanation]
- Cue. It destroyed the SA and murdered rivals such as Rohm, removing a threat from within the party and pleasing the army, which soon swore a personal oath of loyalty to Hitler.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR SHP 20194 marksDescribe two features of the Nazi police state.Show worked answer →
The world depth study opener (4 marks, two features, 2 marks each). Reward two distinct, developed features.
Feature one. The Gestapo (secret state police) could arrest people without trial on suspicion of opposing the regime, and relied heavily on ordinary Germans informing on one another.
Feature two. The SS ran a network of concentration camps where political opponents, and later many other groups, were imprisoned without trial, used for forced labour and often brutally treated.
Top marks. Two separate features, each with a precise supporting detail.
OCR SHP 20218 marksHow useful are Sources A and B to a historian studying how the Nazis used terror to control Germany?Show worked answer →
The world depth study source utility question (8 marks, AO3). Judge usefulness through content and provenance, focused on Nazi terror.
Content. Explain what each source shows about terror, for example a Gestapo arrest, a concentration camp, propaganda about the SS, or fear among ordinary Germans.
Provenance. Weigh nature, origin and purpose. A Nazi source may exaggerate the regime's power to intimidate; a victim's or opponent's account may stress fear and brutality; the date affects what is known.
Judgement. Conclude how useful each is for understanding Nazi terror, balancing what it reveals against its limits, rather than just calling a source biased.
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