Modern World Depth Study: Life in Nazi Germany 1933-45

A depth study of Nazi Germany

A depth study looks closely at a short period and asks how and why life changed. This module studies life in Nazi Germany from 1933, when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor, to 1945, when the Second World War ended. In these twelve years the Nazis turned Germany from a democracy into a dictatorship. They removed other political parties and passed new laws that gave Hitler complete power. They controlled people in two main ways: through fear, using the police and the courts, and through persuasion, using propaganda. Life changed for young people, women and workers, and the regime persecuted the groups it targeted, above all Jewish people, a persecution that grew during the war into the mass murder known as the Holocaust. Some Germans opposed the regime. This module covers how the Nazis gained and kept control, how life changed, and how the war affected the home front. The events are set out plainly and treated with the seriousness they deserve.

Depth study words

Learn what each of these means before you use it.

Control by fear, control by persuasion

The Nazis kept power in two ways at once. Read across the columns.

How a depth study explains change

A depth study rewards explaining change, not just listing it. When you study a short period like this one, ask what caused a change and what its consequences were. Take the Enabling Act: the cause was the wish to rule without the Reichstag, and the consequence was that Hitler could pass laws alone, which opened the way to a one-party state. For any development, link it back to a cause and forward to a result. An answer that follows this chain of cause and consequence reaches the higher marks, while a list of facts on its own does not.

Match the body to its role

Why the Enabling Act mattered

In March 1933 the Enabling Act was passed. Why was it so important for the hold Hitler had on power?

• It let him make laws without the approval of the Reichstag, so he no longer needed parliament
• It made him the King of Germany for life
• It gave every German the right to vote freely
• It ended all forms of government in Germany

Controlling young people

Select the TWO ways the Nazis controlled young people.

• Boys joined the Hitler Youth, which taught Nazi ideas
• Lessons in school were used to promote Nazi beliefs
• Children were free to join any political party they chose
• Schools were closed down completely

How long the dictatorship lasted

Nazi rule lasted from 1933, when Hitler became Chancellor, to 1945, when the war ended. Subtract to find how many years the Nazi dictatorship lasted.

Order the road to total power

Put these steps by which Hitler gained total power in order, earliest first.

• Hitler became Chancellor in 1933
• The Enabling Act let him make laws alone
• Other political parties were banned
• After the President died, Hitler took total power as leader

Complete the history facts

In 1933 Adolf Hitler became _____ of Germany. The Enabling _____ then let him make laws without the Reichstag. The secret police who tracked down opponents were the _____. The minister in charge of newspapers, radio and film was _____.

Match the group to how life changed

Spot the true history facts

Tap the TWO statements that are true about Nazi Germany.

• The Enabling Act let Hitler make laws without the Reichstag
• Trade unions were banned and replaced by the German Labour Front
• Germany held free multi-party elections throughout Nazi rule
• The Nazis encouraged newspapers to print many different opinions

Reason like a historian

Read each case and choose the best response, with a reason.

• You must explain how the Nazis kept control through fear. Which body would you name?
• You want to explain one consequence of banning other political parties. What was it?
• Writing about how the regime shaped opinion, which method fits propaganda?

Explain how the Nazis controlled Germany

A friend has to explain how the Nazis gained and kept control of Germany, and does not know where to start. Explain how the Nazi regime controlled Germany between 1933 and 1945.

• Explain how Hitler gained total power, naming the Enabling Act
• Explain how the regime controlled people through fear
• Explain how the regime controlled people through propaganda
• Explain how life changed for young people, women or workers
• Finish by explaining a cause and a consequence of one change, to show depth-study reasoning