Totalitarianism — Hitler's Germany
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Question
What was Article 48 of the Weimar constitution?
Answer
A clause letting the president rule by emergency decree, bypassing the Reichstag — meant to protect democracy in a crisis, but later used to undermine it.
Question
Name the four pillars of Stresemann's Golden Era recovery.
Answer
Rentenmark (1923, fixed the currency), Dawes Plan (1924, US loans), Locarno Treaties (1925, secured borders), Young Plan (1929, cut reparations further).
Question
What triggered the end of the Golden Era in 1929?
Answer
The Wall Street Crash — US banks recalled short-term loans to Germany, collapsing the recovery that depended on them.
Question
How did Hitler legally become chancellor?
Answer
Appointed on 30 January 1933 by President Hindenburg, persuaded by Franz von Papen that Hitler could be controlled within a coalition cabinet.
Question
What did the Reichstag Fire Decree (Feb 1933) do?
Answer
Suspended civil liberties and allowed mass arrests of communist opponents, following the Reichstag Fire blamed on a Dutch communist.
Question
What did the Enabling Act (March 1933) achieve?
Answer
Let Hitler's cabinet pass laws without Reichstag approval for four years — the legal end of German democracy.
Question
What happened on the Night of the Long Knives (June 1934)?
Answer
Hitler ordered the murder of SA leader Röhm and other rivals, ending the SA's power and securing the army's loyalty.
Question
What was the Hitler Oath (August 1934)?
Answer
After Hindenburg's death, Hitler merged the presidency and chancellorship into 'Führer'; the army swore personal loyalty to him.
Question
Compare Schacht's New Plan (1934) and Göring's Four-Year Plan (1936).
Answer
Schacht's New Plan cautiously controlled trade/currency to fund rearmament; Göring's Four-Year Plan pushed aggressive self-sufficiency (autarky) for war-readiness by 1940, sidelining Schacht.
Question
What was Volksgemeinschaft?
Answer
The Nazi vision of a unified, racially 'pure' German 'people's community', excluding Jews, Roma, disabled people, and other groups labelled 'undesirable'.
Question
How did the Nazis use propaganda to build a cult of personality?
Answer
Goebbels used mass rallies (e.g. Nuremberg), radio, and film (e.g. Riefenstahl's documentaries) to present Hitler as Germany's saviour.
Question
Give one piece of evidence for AND against the idea that Nazi control was 'total'.
Answer
For: Gestapo/SS surveillance and banned rival parties/unions. Against: churches retained some independent influence, and much compliance came from genuine popularity, not just fear.
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Full study notes for Totalitarianism — Hitler's Germany
Topic 13.8 hub
European totalitarianism (1918–1941)
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