Introduction: Welcome to AS 1 Germany 1919–1945
Welcome to your study notes for CCEA History AS 1 (Option 5): Germany 1919–1945! History is not just a list of names and dates; it is the story of how human decisions, economic pressures, and political ideas transformed a struggling democracy into one of the most brutal dictatorships of the twentieth century, and the catastrophic war that followed.
Don't worry if this topic feels large or overwhelming at first. We will break every major development down into bite-sized, logical steps so you can master both the core historical knowledge and the specific skills needed to excel in your Unit AS 1 exam.
Quick Exam Overview:
• Paper Code: Unit AS 1 (SHY11) – Historical Investigations and Interpretations.
• Exam Length & Weighting: 1 hour 30 minutes. It makes up 50% of your AS qualification (and 20% of your full A Level).
• Question 1 (10 marks): A short analytical essay chosen from a choice of two questions (1(a) or 1(b)). Quality of written communication is assessed here.
• Question 2 (30 marks): A compulsory historical interpretations question where you evaluate two extracts from modern historians (Interpretation A and Interpretation B) using your own contextual knowledge.
Section 1: The Weimar Republic (1919–1929)
1. The Birth of the Republic and its Constitution
At the end of the First World War in late 1918, the German monarchy collapsed and the Kaiser abdicated. In November 1918, Friedrich Ebert (leader of the moderate Social Democratic Party, or SPD) made the Ebert-Groener Pact with General Wilhelm Groener. In this agreement, the army promised to support the new government in return for the government leaving the traditional military structure intact.
In 1919, politicians met in the town of Weimar to write a brand-new democratic constitution. This Weimar Constitution had several key features:
• Universal Suffrage: All men and women over the age of 20 had the right to vote.
• Proportional Representation (PR): The percentage of votes a party won directly determined their percentage of seats in the Reichstag (parliament). While very fair, it meant small fringe parties won seats easily, making it almost impossible for one party to win an overall majority. Governments had to be formed through unstable coalitions—between February 1919 and late 1923, there were nine different coalition cabinets!
• Article 48: An emergency decree power allowing the President to rule by decree and bypass the Reichstag in a national emergency. While designed as a safety valve, it later became a dangerous tool to sideline democracy.
2. The Treaty of Versailles (1919) and Early Crises (1919–1923)
In June 1919, the Weimar government was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Germans across all political spectrums viewed it as a dictated peace (Diktat):
• Article 231 ("War Guilt Clause"): Forced Germany to accept sole blame for starting the war.
• Reparations: Fixed in 1921 at £6.6 billion (132 billion gold marks).
• Military Restrictions: Army capped at 100,000 men; Rhineland permanently demilitarised.
• Territorial Losses: Return of Alsace-Lorraine to France; loss of the Polish Corridor and Danzig.
The early Republic faced severe violent threats from both the extreme Left and Right:
• Spartacist Uprising (January 1919): A left-wing communist rebellion in Berlin, crushed by the army and the right-wing Freikorps (ex-soldiers).
• Kapp Putsch (March 1920): A right-wing military attempt led by Wolfgang Kapp to overthrow the government, defeated when workers staged a general strike.
• "White Terror" Assassinations: Right-wing extremists assassinated prominent democratic politicians, including Matthias Erzberger (1921) and Walther Rathenau (1922).
• Munich (Beer Hall) Putsch (November 1923): Adolf Hitler and the early Nazi Party attempted to seize power in Munich; the coup failed, and Hitler was imprisoned.
3. The 1923 Ruhr Crisis and Hyperinflation
In January 1923, after Germany defaulted on reparations deliveries, French and Belgian troops occupied the industrial Ruhr Valley. The Weimar government called for passive resistance (strikes). To pay the striking workers, the government simply printed massive amounts of paper money. This triggered catastrophic hyperinflation: money became worthless, wiping out the life savings of the middle class overnight.
4. The "Golden Era" and Stresemann (1924–1929)
Under the leadership of Gustav Stresemann (Chancellor in late 1923, then Foreign Minister until 1929), Germany experienced a period of relative stability:
• Currency Reform: Stresemann introduced the temporary Rentenmark in November 1923 (backed by land and industrial assets) and replaced it with the Reichsmark in 1924, ending hyperinflation.
• The Dawes Plan (1924): Reorganised reparations and secured vital short-term loans from the United States.
• Locarno Treaties (1925): Germany accepted its western borders with France and Belgium.
• League of Nations (1926): Germany was welcomed back onto the international stage as a member.
• The Young Plan (1929): Reduced Germany's total reparations burden.
Underlying Weaknesses: Beneath this apparent "Golden Era" lay deep vulnerabilities. The economic recovery was dangerously dependent on short-term US loans, the farming sector suffered from a persistent agrarian depression, and structural unemployment remained high.
Section 1 Key Takeaway:
The Weimar Republic had democratic strengths but suffered from built-in constitutional weaknesses (Proportional Representation and Article 48) and the stigma of the Treaty of Versailles. Stresemann created temporary financial and diplomatic stability after 1924, but the economy was built on fragile American loans.
Section 2: The Decline of Weimar and the Rise of the Nazis (1929–1933)
1. The Impact of the Wall Street Crash (October 1929)
When the US stock market crashed in October 1929, American banks abruptly recalled their short-term loans. The effect on Germany was catastrophic:
• Economic Ruin: Factories closed, major banks collapsed in 1931, and unemployment skyrocketed past 6 million by early 1932.
• Political Gridlock: The democratic Grand Coalition led by Chancellor Hermann Müller collapsed in March 1930 because parties could not agree on unemployment benefits.
• Rule by Presidential Decree: President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Heinrich Brüning as Chancellor. Lacking a Reichstag majority, Brüning ("the Hunger Chancellor") cut public spending and relied on Article 48 emergency decrees, effectively ending parliamentary democracy well before Hitler came to power.
2. Growth of Nazi Appeal and Mobilisation
As the economic crisis deepened, millions of desperate voters turned away from moderate parties toward radical extremes:
• Targeted Propaganda: Masterminded by Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Party tailored its messages to specific groups: the lower middle class (Mittelstand), struggling farmers, unemployed youth, and conservative elites.
• Hitler's Charismatic Appeal: Hitler travelled across Germany, presenting himself as a dynamic, strong leader who could restore national pride and defeat communism.
• Paramilitary Violence: The SA (Sturmabteilung, or "Brownshirts") engaged in violent street battles with the Communist Red Front Fighters' League, projecting an image of disciplined anti-communist strength.
• Electoral Breakthroughs: In the July 1932 election, the Nazi Party became the largest party in the Reichstag with 37.3% of the vote (230 seats). Although their vote dipped to 33.1% (196 seats) in the November 1932 election, they remained the dominant political force.
3. Elite Intrigue and the Appointment of Hitler (1932–1933)
Hitler did not seize power through an armed revolution; he was handed power legally through backroom political scheming:
• Failure of Chancellors: Brüning was replaced by Franz von Papen ("Cabinet of Barons"), who was then replaced by General Kurt von Schleicher. Both failed to create stable governments.
• "Backstairs Intrigue": Papen plotted revenge against Schleicher. He convinced President Hindenburg that Hitler could be appointed Chancellor with Papen as Vice-Chancellor, alongside a cabinet dominated by traditional conservative Nationalists (DNVP). Papen famously claimed they would "box Hitler in."
• Appointment: On 30 January 1933, President Hindenburg officially appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany.
Section 2 Key Takeaway:
The Great Depression destroyed faith in Weimar democracy and drove voters to the Nazis. However, Hitler was ultimately appointed Chancellor in January 1933 through the mistaken calculations of conservative elites who believed they could control and "box him in."
Section 3: Developments in Nazi Germany (1933–1939)
1. Consolidation of Power: Gleichschaltung (1933–1934)
Hitler did not have absolute power on 30 January 1933. Over the next eighteen months, through a process called Gleichschaltung ("co-ordination" or bringing everything into line), the Nazis systematically dismantled democracy:
• Reichstag Fire (27 February 1933): Blamed on communists, Hitler used this to persuade Hindenburg to sign the Decree for the Protection of People and State, suspending fundamental civil liberties and allowing the arrest of political opponents.
• The Enabling Act (23 March 1933): Passed by 444 to 94 votes (with only the SPD voting against), this constitutional change gave Hitler the legal power to pass laws without the Reichstag for four years.
• Banning Opposition: Independent trade unions were abolished on 2 May 1933 and replaced by the Nazi German Labour Front (DAF). On 14 July 1933, the Law Against the Formation of Parties made Germany an official one-party state.
• The Night of the Long Knives (30 June – 2 July 1934): To win the absolute loyalty of the regular German Army (Reichswehr), Hitler used the SS to execute Ernst Röhm, the leadership of the SA, and prominent conservative critics (such as Schleicher).
• Death of President Hindenburg (2 August 1934): Hitler merged the offices of President and Chancellor into one supreme title: Führer und Reichskanzler. The armed forces swore a personal oath of unconditional loyalty directly to Adolf Hitler.
2. The Machinery of Terror and Propaganda
• Terror Apparatus: Led by Heinrich Himmler, the regime relied on the SS (Schutzstaffel), the SD (intelligence service), and the Gestapo (secret state police) to hunt down dissidents. The first concentration camp, Dachau, opened in March 1933 to hold political prisoners.
• Propaganda & Culture: Joseph Goebbels headed the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (RMVP). The regime controlled the press, literature, and art, sold cheap Volksempfänger ("People's Receiver") radios so families could hear Nazi speeches at home, and used major spectacles like the 1936 Berlin Olympics to showcase Nazi power.
3. Economic, Social, and Racial Policies
Economic Policies:
• Hjalmar Schacht: Used deficit financing, government credit notes (Mefo bills), and the New Plan (1934) to reduce unemployment and finance early rearmament.
• Hermann Göring's Four-Year Plan (1936): Shifted the economy toward preparing for war and achieving autarky (economic self-sufficiency). Crucial Revision Note: Despite intense efforts, Germany remained heavily dependent on imports of key raw materials (such as oil, rubber, and iron ore) when war broke out in 1939.
Social Policies:
• Women and Family: Focused on traditional roles summarised by the slogan Kinder, Küche, Kirche (Children, Kitchen, Church). The regime offered interest-free marriage loans and awarded the "Mother's Cross" for having large families.
• Youth: Indoctrination was prioritised through state-controlled education and youth groups. Membership in the Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend) for boys and the Bund Deutscher Mädel (League of German Girls) was made compulsory in stages (1936 and 1939).
• Workers: While real wages remained low and trade unions were banned, the DAF offered perks through Kraft durch Freude (KdF) ("Strength through Joy"), providing subsidised holidays, leisure activities, and workplace improvements via Schönheit der Arbeit ("Beauty of Labour").
Ideology and Racial Persecution:
Driven by Social Darwinism and the goal of an Aryan racial community (Volksgemeinschaft), the regime persecuted minority groups, especially Jews:
• April 1933: Official nationwide boycott of Jewish-owned businesses.
• Nuremberg Laws (1935): The Reich Citizenship Act stripped German Jews of their citizenship; the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour banned marriage and sexual relations between Jews and non-Jewish Germans.
• Kristallnacht (November Pogrom, 1938): A state-orchestrated wave of violent attacks across Germany, destroying hundreds of synagogues, looting thousands of Jewish businesses, and sending roughly 30,000 Jewish men to concentration camps.
Section 3 Key Takeaway:
Between 1933 and 1934, Hitler legally and violently dismantled democracy into a one-party dictatorship. Control was maintained through a dual approach: terrifying police enforcement (SS and Gestapo) alongside pervasive propaganda and social incentives, while systematically escalating racial persecution against German Jews.
Section 4: The Impact of War on Nazi Germany and Occupied Territories (1939–1945)
1. The War Economy and the Home Front
• Economic Mobilisation: In the early war years, economic production was hindered by bureaucratic confusion and competing agencies. In 1942, Albert Speer was appointed Minister of Armaments, streamlining production and dramatically increasing war output despite heavy Allied strategic bombing.
• Total War: Following the devastating defeat at Stalingrad, Joseph Goebbels delivered his famous Sportpalast Speech (February 1943), calling for "Total War"—the complete commitment of civilian life and resources to the war effort.
• Living Conditions & Forced Labour: The home front experienced strict rationing, increasing mobilisation of German women into factories, and catastrophic devastation from Allied bombing raids. To sustain production, the regime brutally exploited millions of foreign forced labourers and prisoners of war.
2. Dissent, Non-Conformity, and Active Resistance
Examiners want you to distinguish between low-level non-conformity/grumbling (known as Resistenz) and active political resistance intended to overthrow the regime:
• Youth Opposition: The White Rose Movement, led by Munich University students Hans and Sophie Scholl, distributed anti-Nazi leaflets before they were captured and executed in 1943. Working-class youth groups like the Edelweiss Pirates rejected Nazi discipline and engaged in brawls with the Hitler Youth.
• Religious Opposition: Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen publicly preached against the Nazi secret "T4" euthanasia program (which murdered disabled individuals), forcing the regime to pause its open execution. Protestant leaders such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemöller actively opposed Nazi interference in the church.
• Military and Conservative Resistance: The most serious attempt to remove Hitler was the July 20, 1944 Bomb Plot (Operation Valkyrie), led by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. The bomb failed to kill Hitler, leading to the brutal execution of thousands of conspirators.
3. Racial Policy and the Escalation to the Holocaust
During the war, Nazi anti-Semitic policy escalated from forced emigration and ghettoisation to industrialised mass murder:
• Ghettos and Mass Shootings (1939–1941): Following the invasion of Poland (1939) and the Soviet Union (1941), millions of European Jews were enclosed in overcrowded, starving ghettos. Behind the invading German army, mobile killing squads (Einsatzgruppen) carried out mass shootings of over one million people.
• The Wannsee Conference (20 January 1942): Chaired by SS leader Reinhard Heydrich, top Nazi bureaucrats met in a Berlin suburb to coordinate and organise the administrative logistics for the "Final Solution" (Endlösung)—the systematic murder of all European Jews.
• Extermination Camps: The regime constructed dedicated death camps equipped with poison gas chambers in occupied Poland, including Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Belzec, Sobibor, Chelmno, and Majdanek, murdering approximately six million Jewish people alongside hundreds of thousands of Roma, political prisoners, and Soviet POWs.
Section 4 Key Takeaway:
The pressures of total war radicalised the Nazi regime. While Albert Speer reorganised war production, resistance remained fragmented and isolated. Tragically, the regime turned its administrative and industrial power toward the mass murder of European Jewry in the Holocaust.
Section 5: CCEA AS 1 Exam Strategy and Common Pitfalls
How to Tackle Question 1 (10 Marks: Short Analytical Essay)
• Focus and Directness: You have a choice between Question 1(a) and 1(b). Answer the exact question asked in the opening sentence.
• Structure: Aim for 2–3 well-developed analytical paragraphs with precise supporting evidence (dates, names, statistics), followed by a clear, reasoned conclusion.
• Quality of Written Communication: Use clear historical vocabulary and connectives (e.g., consequently, furthermore, on the other hand).
How to Tackle Question 2 (30 Marks: Historical Interpretations)
• The Golden Rule: Interpretations A and B are modern historians' arguments, NOT primary sources from the 1930s! Never evaluate them based on when the historian was writing or whether they were "biased because they were not there."
• Step-by-Step Approach:
1. Identify the core thesis and arguments in Interpretation A. Use your own contextual knowledge to explain where it is strong and convincing, and where it has limitations or omissions.
2. Identify the core thesis and arguments in Interpretation B. Use your own knowledge to evaluate its strengths and limitations.
3. Compare the two interpretations directly and provide a sustained, justified conclusion explaining which interpretation is more convincing overall.
Top 4 Common Pitfalls to Avoid in the Exam
• Pitfall 1: Assuming Hitler had absolute power on 30 January 1933.
Reality: Hitler was head of a coalition with only three Nazis in the cabinet. Consolidation was a step-by-step legal and violent process that took until Hindenburg's death in August 1934.
• Pitfall 2: Claiming the Nazi economy achieved complete autarky.
Reality: While rearmament accelerated, Germany remained heavily dependent on imports of key raw materials like oil and iron ore in 1939.
• Pitfall 3: Treating German resistance as a united, massive movement.
Reality: Resistance was divided by class and politics, and most opposition took the form of passive grumbling or non-conformity (Resistenz) rather than active plots to remove Hitler.
• Pitfall 4: Treating Question 2 extracts as eyewitness accounts.
Reality: Always analyse them as secondary historical arguments, testing their claims against the historical facts you have learned.
Final Word of Advice:
Keep your timelines clear, memorise the specific names of key laws and treaties, and always link your facts directly back to the question being asked. You have all the tools needed to succeed!