2O Democracy and Nazism: Germany, 1918–1945 – The Nazi Dictatorship, 1933–1939 (A-level only) — AQA A-Level History

The Nazi Dictatorship (1933–1939) covers the critical six-year phase during which Adolf Hitler converted an emergency chancellorship into a durable totalitarian regime. It explores the legal, institutional, and violent mechanisms of Gleichschaltung, including the Reichstag Fire Decree, the Enabling Act, and the purging of the SA during the Night of the Long Knives.

Furthermore, this topic examines how power operated in practice through the SS-police complex, Joseph Goebbels' propaganda apparatus, and the exclusion of racial and political outsiders. Understanding this period is essential for evaluating whether Nazi Germany functioned as an efficient intentionalist dictatorship or a chaotic polycracy driven by cumulative radicalisation.

• →Gleichschaltung: The systematic process of 'coordination' whereby political parties, trade unions, local government (Lander), and civic institutions were subordinated to Nazi control between 1933 and 1934.
• →Polycracy and Cumulative Radicalisation: The structuralist model demonstrating that Nazi governance was composed of competing, overlapping party and state bodies, causing policies to become progressively more extreme as subordinates sought to 'work towards the Fuhrer'.
• →Dual State (Normative vs Prerogative): Ernst Fraenkel's concept explaining the coexistence of the traditional legal/bureaucratic state (Normenstaat) with the arbitrary, unchecked power of the Nazi Party and SS apparatus (Massnahmenstaat).
• →The Volksgemeinschaft: The racially exclusive 'people's community' used by the regime to manufacture social solidarity, demand total ideological loyalty, and justify the persecution of Jews, Roma, political dissidents, and 'asocials'.

• Explain how the Enabling Act (March 1933) provided the legal foundation for governmental change by allowing the cabinet to enact laws without Reichstag approval.
• Detail the process of Gleichschaltung (coordination) in administrative changes, such as the abolition of state assemblies and the purging of the civil service.
• Analyse the steps taken to establish a one-party state, including the banning of the KPD and SPD, and the voluntary dissolution of right-wing and centre parties before the July 1933 decree.
• Evaluate the Night of the Long Knives (June 1934) as a turning point that neutralised the SA threat, secured the allegiance of the regular army (Reichswehr), and established murder as a legitimate tool of state.
• Assess the impact of Hindenburg's death (August 1934), specifically how it removed the final constitutional check on Hitler's power and led to the army's personal oath to the Führer.
• Analyse the structure and function of the 'Terror State', specifically the overlapping roles of the SS, the Gestapo, and the SD in monitoring and eliminating perceived enemies.
• Evaluate the Nazification of the justice system, including the creation of the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) and the removal of judicial independence to serve Nazi ideology.
• Assess the extent, effectiveness, and limitations of opposition, distinguishing between active resistance (e.g., underground political networks) and non-conformity (e.g., listening to foreign broadcasts or youth swing groups).
• Examine the aims, methods, and impact of Nazi propaganda under Goebbels, focusing on the use of radio, film, the press, and public spectacles to manufacture consent and the Hitler Myth.
• Debate the extent of totalitarianism in Nazi Germany, contrasting the regime's aspirations for total control with the realities of polycratic inefficiency and the persistence of minor non-conformity.
• Evaluate the success of Schacht's New Plan in stimulating job creation and managing foreign exchange.
• Analyse the shift in economic priorities marked by Goering's Four Year Plan and the drive for autarky.
• Assess the symbiotic but unequal relationship between the Nazi state and industrial elites like Krupp.
• Critically examine the 'economic miracle', noting the role of statistical manipulation in unemployment figures.
• Assess the effectiveness of the Hitler Youth and education system in indoctrinating young people during the 1933–1939 dictatorship.
• Evaluate the contradictory nature of policies towards women, contrasting ideological goals with economic realities.
• Analyse the impact of the DAF and KdF on workers' living standards and morale.
• Examine the regime's failure to fully coordinate the Catholic and Protestant churches.
• Weigh the perceived benefits of the Volksgemeinschaft against the severe drawbacks of Nazi rule, such as repression and exclusion.

• 💡When evaluating Hitler's consolidation of power, weigh the importance of legal measures (like the Enabling Act) against the use of violence and terror (like the Night of the Long Knives).
• 💡Use the concept of 'pseudo-legality' to explain how the Nazis used existing constitutional mechanisms to dismantle the Weimar Republic from within.
• 💡Connect Hindenburg's death directly to the army oath; this demonstrates an understanding of how the military became personally bound to Hitler rather than the state.
• 💡When discussing the 'Terror State', highlight the synergy between the Gestapo and the general public; the reliance on civilian denunciations is a sophisticated point for evaluation.
• 💡Use the 'Hitler Myth' as a specific example of the impact of propaganda, showing how it helped maintain regime popularity even when specific Nazi policies were unpopular.
• 💡In essays on totalitarianism, contrast the theoretical model of a totalitarian state (total control) with the structuralist view of Nazi Germany as a chaotic, polycratic system.
• 💡Contrast Schacht's focus on balanced recovery and export trade with Goering's aggressive push for rearmament and autarky.
• 💡Use specific examples of industrial elites, such as IG Farben or Krupp, to illustrate big business cooperation.
• 💡When evaluating the 'degree of recovery', distinguish between macroeconomic growth and the actual living standards of ordinary Germans.
• 💡Use the concept of Volksgemeinschaft as a framework to evaluate the success or failure of specific social policies between 1933 and 1939.
• 💡Contrast the propaganda image of a classless, unified society with the reality of persistent social divisions and terror.
• 💡Highlight the tension between ideological goals (e.g., women at home) and practical necessities (e.g., the need for female factory workers).
• 💡When assessing opposition, always distinguish between active political resistance aimed at overthrowing the regime (Resistenz), institutional non-cooperation (e.g. the Confessing Church), and low-level social protest or everyday grumbling (Meckern).
• 💡Deploy contemporary data and precise statistics, such as the proportion of voluntary Gestapo denunciations (over 80% in some regions) or the decline of Reich Cabinet meetings (ceasing entirely after 1938), to substantiate structural arguments.

• Error: Claiming Hitler became a dictator immediately upon being appointed Chancellor in January 1933. Correction: Emphasise that his power was initially limited by Hindenburg and a coalition cabinet; the consolidation took 18 months, culminating in August 1934.
• Error: Confusing the SA (Sturmabteilung) with the SS (Schutzstaffel) during the Night of the Long Knives. Correction: Specify that the SS, led by Himmler, carried out the purge against the SA leadership, led by Röhm.
• Error: Stating that the Enabling Act legally abolished the Reichstag. Correction: Note that the Reichstag continued to exist but was rendered powerless, serving merely as an audience for Hitler's speeches.
• Error: Assuming the Gestapo was a massive, omnipresent force with agents on every corner. Correction: Explain that the Gestapo was actually relatively small and relied heavily on voluntary denunciations from ordinary citizens to function effectively.
• Error: Conflating 'non-conformity' with 'opposition' or 'resistance'. Correction: Distinguish between non-conformity (behaviour that deviated from Nazi norms, like Swing Youth) and active political opposition aiming to overthrow the regime.
• Error: Stating that propaganda successfully brainwashed the entire German population. Correction: Note that the impact of propaganda was uneven; it was highly successful in reinforcing existing prejudices but less effective in changing deeply held religious or class loyalties.
• Claiming unemployment was solved entirely by Nazi policies; correction: acknowledge that recovery began under Weimar and figures were manipulated by removing women and Jews from the register.
• Stating that autarky was fully achieved; correction: explain that Germany still relied heavily on imports for key raw materials like oil and rubber by 1939.
• Assuming industrial elites were completely controlled by the state; correction: note that while regulated, elites retained private ownership and actively profited from rearmament.
• Stating that all women were successfully removed from the workplace; correction: note that female employment actually rose between 1933 and 1939 due to rearmament labour shortages.
• Claiming the Churches were completely destroyed; correction: explain that while heavily persecuted, the Churches remained the only major institutions not fully coordinated by the regime.
• Assuming the Volksgemeinschaft was fully realised; correction: argue that class divisions persisted and the community was largely held together by propaganda and terror rather than genuine unity.
• Confusing the 1928–1933 collapse of democracy with the 1933–1939 dictatorship period; correction: ensure social policies are analysed within the context of the established Nazi regime (1933–1939).
• The Gestapo operated as an omnipresent force watching every citizen: In reality, the Gestapo was remarkably small (e.g. fewer than 50 officers in Frankfurt or Dusseldorf) and relied overwhelmingly on voluntary public denunciations to detect nonconformity.
• Hitler spent long days drafting domestic policies from his desk: Historical evidence shows Hitler avoided detailed administrative paperwork, woke up late, spent extended periods at the Berghof, and preferred giving broad verbal directives rather than signing formal cabinet legislation.
• The Night of the Long Knives was solely an attack on the SA: While Ernst Rohm and approximately 200 SA leaders were killed, Hitler also exploited the purge to assassinate prominent conservative figures, including former Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher and Gustav von Kahr.

1. 1Day 1-3: Map out the timeline of consolidation from January 1933 to August 1934, detailing the legal acts, the elimination of parties/unions, and the Night of the Long Knives.
2. 2Day 4-6: Analyse the machinery of the totalitarian state, contrasting the SS-police system (Himmler, Heydrich) with Goebbels' Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda.
3. 3Day 7-9: Evaluate the social impact of the regime across specific demographics (industrial workers, women, youth, churches) and assess the nature and limitations of opposition.
4. 4Day 10-12: Master the historiographical debate between Intentionalists (Bracher, Hildebrand) and Structuralists (Broszat, Mommsen, Kershaw) regarding the polycratic nature of the state.
5. 5Day 13-14: Complete timed essay plans and source evaluation exercises using authentic contemporary sources (e.g. SOPADE, Gestapo Lageberichte).

• 📋Compulsory Three-Source Evaluation (Component 2O): Assessing the value of three contemporary extracts for an enquiry into a specific aspect of Nazi rule (e.g. working-class opposition or church relations).
• 📋25-Mark Depth Essays: Evaluative essays assessing statements on the consolidation of power, the effectiveness of terror versus propaganda, or the extent of Hitler's personal control over government.