Topic 2 of 3Pearson EdExcel

Nazi Germany 1933-1945

Hitler's rise, the Third Reich, and the Holocaust

Hitler's rise to power:

1919: Joins DAP, renamed NSDAP (Nazi Party)

1923: Beer Hall Putsch — failed coup, imprisoned, wrote Mein Kampf

1929: Wall Street Crash → economic crisis → Nazi support rises

1932: Nazis become largest party; July election: 37.4% of vote

January 1933: Hitler appointed Chancellor by Hindenburg

Consolidating power:

Reichstag Fire (Feb 1933) → Decree for Protection of People and State (suspended civil liberties)

Enabling Act (March 1933) → Hitler could pass laws without Reichstag

Night of the Long Knives (1934) → SA leadership murdered; army swears loyalty oath

Hindenburg's death (1934) → Hitler becomes Führer

The Nazi state:

Propaganda: Goebbels controlled all media

Terror: SS and Gestapo controlled opposition

Youth groups (Hitler Youth, League of German Girls) for indoctrination

The Holocaust: Systematic murder of 6 million Jews and millions of others (Roma, disabled, political prisoners). Stages: discrimination, ghettos, Final Solution (1941), death camps (Auschwitz).

Key Points to Remember

1Hitler became Chancellor Jan 1933 after economic crisis boosted Nazi support
2Enabling Act 1933: Hitler governed by decree
3Propaganda (Goebbels) + terror (SS/Gestapo) = totalitarian control
4Holocaust: systematic genocide of 6 million Jews and millions of others

Pakistan Example

Partition of 1947 — A Comparison with Nazi Population Policies

EdExcel History students often compare persecution and population displacement. While radically different in nature and ideology, both Nazi persecution and the 1947 Partition involved mass forced migration, ethnic targeting, and state violence. Pakistani students can analytically compare how propaganda dehumanised 'enemies' in Nazi Germany with how colonial 'divide and rule' policies inflamed communal tensions in India. Understanding genocide and persecution helps evaluate modern human rights issues.

Quick Revision Infographic

History — Quick Revision