Curriculum Portal

neurologyYou need to know

• Hitler's consolidation of power, 1933–1934
• The process of Gleichschaltung: bringing German political and social institutions under Nazi control.
• Governmental and administrative changes, including the removal of state autonomy.
• The banning of trade unions and creation of the German Labour Front (DAF).
• The banning or dissolution of political parties and establishment of a one-party state.
• The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service and removal of political and racial opponents.
• The relationship between the Nazi Party and traditional institutions, including the army and civil service.
• Causes and events of the Night of the Long Knives, 30 June 1934.
• The removal of Röhm and the SA leadership and the murder of other political opponents.
• The army's response and the growing power of the SS.
• The death of Hindenburg and Hitler's assumption of the powers of President in August 1934.
• The army's personal oath of loyalty to Hitler and the establishment of the Führer state.
• The 'Terror State', opposition and propaganda
• The roles of the SS, Gestapo, police, courts and concentration camps.
• Himmler's growing control over the police and security system.
• The use of surveillance, informers, arbitrary arrest and "protective custody".
• The role of the courts in enforcing Nazi policies and punishing opponents.
• The extent and limitations of Nazi terror, including reliance on public cooperation and denunciations.
• Opposition from Communists, Social Democrats, trade unionists and conservative groups.
• Religious opposition and non-conformity within the Protestant and Catholic Churches.
• Youth non-conformity, including the Edelweiss Pirates and Swing Youth.
• The difference between organised opposition, resistance and private non-conformity.
• Goebbels' control of propaganda, the press, radio, film, culture and mass rallies.
• The aims and impact of propaganda, censorship and the Hitler cult.
• The extent to which Nazi Germany had become a totalitarian state by 1939.
• Economic policies and recovery
• Nazi aims: reducing unemployment, achieving rearmament and preparing for war.
• Hjalmar Schacht's New Plan, public works, deficit financing and MEFO bills.
• The importance of rearmament, conscription and road-building to economic recovery.
• Methods used to reduce official unemployment figures.
• Hermann Göring's Four-Year Plan (1936) and the drive for autarky.
• The development of synthetic materials and prioritisation of heavy industry.
• Relations between the Nazi regime and industrial elites.
• The benefits received by major businesses from rearmament and the destruction of trade unions.
• Continuing problems: shortages, balance-of-payments pressures, debt and dependence on imported raw materials.
• The extent to which recovery resulted from Nazi policies rather than wider economic improvement.
• Social policies and the Volksgemeinschaft
• Nazi aims for young people and the roles of the Hitler Youth and League of German Girls.
• Control of education, curriculum changes and the influence of Nazi teachers' organisations.
• Nazi policies towards women: marriage, motherhood, employment and the birth rate.
• The impact and limitations of Nazi gender policies.
• Workers' loss of trade-union rights and the impact of wage and working-condition policies.
• Strength Through Joy and Beauty of Labour programmes.
• Nazi attempts to control the Protestant Churches and relations with the Catholic Church.
• The Reich Church, German Christians, Confessing Church and the 1933 Concordat.
• The meaning and aims of Volksgemeinschaft—the "people's community".
• Groups excluded from the racial community, including Jews, Roma, disabled people and those labelled "asocial".
• The benefits and drawbacks of Nazi rule for different groups.
• The extent to which Volksgemeinschaft was a reality by 1939.

• Explain how Hitler consolidated power between March 1933 and August 1934.
• Assess the importance of laws, intimidation, violence and cooperation in creating the dictatorship.
• Explain why the Night of the Long Knives strengthened Hitler's position.
• Evaluate the significance of Hindenburg's death and the army's oath of loyalty.
• Analyse how the SS, Gestapo, police, courts and concentration camps enforced Nazi rule.
• Assess the reach, effectiveness and limitations of the Nazi terror system.
• Distinguish between opposition, resistance and non-conformity.
• Explain why opposition remained divided and largely ineffective.
• Evaluate the aims, methods and impact of Nazi propaganda.
• Assess whether support, conformity or coercion best explains the regime's stability.
• Judge the extent to which Nazi Germany was totalitarian by 1939.
• Explain the aims and methods of Schacht's and Göring's economic policies.
• Assess the extent and causes of economic recovery.
• Analyse who benefited from economic policies and who experienced disadvantages.
• Evaluate the relationship between the regime and industrial elites.
• Compare Nazi policies towards young people, women, workers and the Churches.
• Assess the success and limitations of Nazi attempts to control German society.
• Evaluate the degree to which a genuine Volksgemeinschaft had been created.
• Reach balanced judgements about the benefits and drawbacks of Nazi rule.
• Analyse primary sources using content, provenance, tone, purpose and historical context.
• Evaluate historical interpretations and support conclusions with precise evidence.