How did the Nazis control Germany through terror, propaganda and persecution?
The Nazi police state, propaganda and persecution 1933 to 1939: control through the SS, Gestapo and concentration camps, Goebbels' propaganda and censorship, the control of young people and women, and the persecution of the Jews leading to the Nuremberg Laws and Kristallnacht.
A focused answer on the Nazi police state, propaganda and persecution 1933 to 1939, covering the SS, Gestapo and concentration camps, Goebbels' propaganda and censorship, control of young people and women, and the persecution of the Jews.
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What this dot point is asking
This dot point covers how the Nazis controlled Germany through terror, propaganda and persecution, 1933 to 1939. You need to explain the police state (the SS, Gestapo and concentration camps), Goebbels' propaganda and censorship, the control of young people and women, and the persecution of the Jews leading to the Nuremberg Laws and Kristallnacht. As a Unit 2 depth study, weigh how the regime kept control.
The police state: SS, Gestapo and camps
Propaganda and censorship
Controlling the young and women
The persecution of the Jews
Try this
Q1. What were the Nuremberg Laws of 1935? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Laws that stripped German Jews of their citizenship and banned marriage and relationships between Jews and non-Jews, a major escalation of legal persecution.
Q2. Explain how the Nazis used both terror and propaganda to control Germany. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Terror came from the SS, Gestapo and concentration camps, which arrested and intimidated opponents, while Goebbels' propaganda and censorship controlled the press, radio and film so Germans heard only the Nazi message, building both fear and consent.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC Wales (Unit 2)4 marksDescribe two features of the Nazi police state.Show worked answer →
The describe question (AO1). Reward two distinct, developed features, each with one supporting detail.
Feature one. The Gestapo, the secret police, spied on the population using informers, and could arrest people without trial on suspicion of opposition.
Feature two. The SS ran a network of concentration camps where opponents, including communists, were imprisoned, used for forced labour and often brutally treated.
Top marks. Two distinct features, each developed with precise detail.
WJEC Wales (Unit 2)8 marksExplain why the Nazis persecuted the Jews in the 1930s.Show worked answer →
The explain question (AO1 and AO2). Reward a developed analysis of reasons, each supported and linked to the outcome.
Reason one. Nazi ideology was deeply antisemitic: Hitler taught a racial theory that the Jews were inferior and to blame for Germany's defeat and economic problems.
Reason two. Scapegoating: blaming the Jews gave Germans a target for their anger and united support behind the regime.
Reason three. Step-by-step radicalisation: from boycotts in 1933 to the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 and the violence of Kristallnacht in 1938, persecution grew steadily harsher.
Top band. Link each reason to the persecution, and judge how it escalated through the decade.
Related dot points
- The founding of the Weimar Republic and the problems it faced from 1919 to 1923: the Treaty of Versailles and the 'stab in the back', political extremism from left and right (the Spartacist uprising, the Kapp Putsch), the 1923 crisis of the Ruhr occupation and hyperinflation.
A focused answer on the unstable early years of the Weimar Republic 1919 to 1923, covering the Treaty of Versailles and the stab in the back, extremism from left and right, and the 1923 crisis of the Ruhr and hyperinflation.
- The Stresemann era of recovery 1924 to 1929: ending hyperinflation with the Rentenmark, the Dawes and Young Plans and American loans, the Locarno Pact and League of Nations membership, the cultural flourishing of the Weimar years, and the underlying weaknesses of the recovery.
A focused answer on Germany's recovery under Stresemann 1924 to 1929, covering the Rentenmark, the Dawes and Young Plans, Locarno and the League of Nations, the cultural flourishing, and the weaknesses beneath the recovery.
- The rise of the Nazis to power 1929 to 1933: the impact of the Wall Street Crash and the Depression, the appeal of Nazi propaganda and the SA, the weaknesses of Weimar democracy, and how Hitler became chancellor in January 1933 through political scheming.
A focused answer on the rise of the Nazis 1929 to 1933, covering the Wall Street Crash and the Depression, the appeal of Nazi propaganda and the SA, the weaknesses of Weimar democracy, and how Hitler became chancellor in January 1933.
- Hitler's consolidation of power 1933 to 1934: the Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act, the banning of other parties and trade unions (Gleichschaltung), the Night of the Long Knives, and Hitler becoming Fuhrer on the death of Hindenburg in August 1934.
A focused answer on how Hitler consolidated power 1933 to 1934, covering the Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act, the banning of parties and unions, the Night of the Long Knives, and Hitler becoming Fuhrer in August 1934.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC GCSE History (Wales) specification (3100) — WJEC (2017)