AQA GCSE History · AB

Germany, 1890–1945: Democracy and dictatorship

50 exam-style questions with answers for AB Germany, 1890–1945: Democracy and dictatorship in AQA GCSE History (spec 8145). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below. Not official AQA material.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
Describe Kaiser Wilhelm II’s powers under the German constitution. [2 marks]
Answer:
He appointed and dismissed the Chancellor (1); he controlled the army and foreign policy and could dissolve the Reichstag (1).
Question 2 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
Explain why the Reichstag had limited power before 1914. [2 marks]
Answer:
The Chancellor answered to the Kaiser, not the Reichstag (1); it could debate and approve budgets but could not control government policy (1).
Question 3 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
Define the term ‘Prussian militarism’. [1 mark]
Answer:
The dominance of the army and military values in German society and government, led by Prussian aristocrats (Junkers).
Question 4 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
Explain why rapid industrialisation caused problems for the Kaiser. [2 marks]
Answer:
It created a large industrial working class in poor conditions (1); workers increasingly supported socialism, which threatened the Kaiser’s authority (1).
Question 5 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
State two social reforms introduced under Kaiser Wilhelm II. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: extended insurance against sickness and accidents (1); old-age pensions (1); bans on Sunday working (1); industrial courts (1).
Question 6 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
Explain why the Navy Laws were important at home. [2 marks]
Answer:
They created jobs and boosted industry (1); they increased national pride and support for the Kaiser, though raising taxes caused tension in the Reichstag (1).
Question 7 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
State two economic problems in Germany by 1918. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: food shortages caused by the British blockade (1); huge debt (1); inflation (1); a shortage of goods and fuel (1).
Question 8 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
Explain why the Kaiser abdicated in November 1918. [2 marks]
Answer:
Germany faced military defeat and the navy mutinied at Kiel (1); revolution spread across Germany and the army no longer supported him (1).
Question 9 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
Define the term ‘reparations’. [1 mark]
Answer:
Compensation that Germany had to pay to the Allies for war damage; set in 1921 at £6,600 million.
Question 10 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
Explain why French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr in 1923. [2 marks]
Answer:
Germany failed to pay a reparations instalment (1); France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr to take goods, especially coal, instead (1).
Question 11 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
Explain how the occupation of the Ruhr led to hyperinflation. [2 marks]
Answer:
Workers went on passive resistance, so industry halted (1); the government printed money to pay them, making it worthless (1).
Question 12 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
State two effects of hyperinflation in 1923. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: savings became worthless (1); the middle classes were hit hardest (1); prices rose daily, so wages could not keep up (1); debtors could pay off debts (1).
Question 13 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
What was the Spartacist Uprising (1919)? [2 marks]
Answer:
A communist revolt in Berlin led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht (1); it was crushed by the Freikorps on Ebert’s orders (1).
Question 14 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
What was the Kapp Putsch (1920)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Right-wing Freikorps under Wolfgang Kapp seized Berlin (1); it failed when workers held a general strike (1).
Question 15 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
Describe the Munich Putsch (1923). [2 marks]
Answer:
Hitler and the Nazis tried to seize power in Munich (1); the police broke it up, and Hitler was arrested and imprisoned (1).
Question 16 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
Explain why the Munich Putsch helped Hitler in the long term. [2 marks]
Answer:
His trial gave him national publicity (1); in prison he wrote Mein Kampf and decided to win power through elections (1).
Question 17 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
Describe two ways Stresemann helped the German economy recover. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: introduced the Rentenmark in 1923 (1); called off passive resistance (1); agreed the Dawes Plan (1924) (1); agreed the Young Plan (1929) (1).
Question 18 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
What did the Dawes Plan (1924) do? [2 marks]
Answer:
It reduced annual reparations payments to a manageable level (1); it gave Germany loans from the USA (800 million gold marks) (1).
Question 19 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
State two international agreements that improved Germany’s position in the 1920s. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: Locarno Treaties (1925) (1); joining the League of Nations (1926) (1); Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) (1).
Question 20 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part one
Give two examples of Weimar culture. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: Bauhaus architecture and design (1); expressionist art, eg Otto Dix (1); cinema, eg Metropolis (1); cabaret and nightlife in Berlin (1).
Question 21 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part two
Explain how the Depression increased support for the Nazis. [3 marks]
Answer:
Unemployment rose to about 6 million by 1932 (1); the Weimar government seemed unable to solve the crisis (1); Hitler promised work and strong leadership (1).
Question 22 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part two
Describe the role of the SA in the rise of the Nazis. [2 marks]
Answer:
They protected Nazi meetings and intimidated opponents, especially communists (1); they made the Nazis look strong and disciplined (1).
Question 23 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part two
State three reasons for Hitler’s appeal. [3 marks]
Answer:
Any three from: powerful speeches (1); promises to tear up Versailles (1); work and bread (1); anti-communism appealed to business and the middle class (1); Goebbels’ propaganda (1).
Question 24 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part two
How many seats did the Nazis win in July 1932? [1 mark]
Answer:
230 seats, making them the largest party.
Question 25 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part two
Explain how Papen and Hindenburg helped Hitler become Chancellor. [2 marks]
Answer:
Papen persuaded Hindenburg to appoint Hitler in January 1933 (1); they thought they could control Hitler with Papen as Vice-Chancellor (1).
Question 26 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part two
Explain how Hitler used the Reichstag Fire (1933). [2 marks]
Answer:
He blamed the communists (van der Lubbe was arrested) (1); Hindenburg issued an emergency decree suspending civil rights, and communists were arrested (1).
Question 27 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part two
What did the Enabling Act (1933) allow? [1 mark]
Answer:
Hitler could pass laws for four years without the Reichstag’s approval.
Question 28 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part two
State two ways Hitler eliminated political opposition in 1933. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: banned the Communist Party (1); banned other parties, making Germany a one-party state (July 1933) (1); banned trade unions (1); arrested opponents and sent them to camps (1).
Question 29 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part two
Why did Hitler carry out the Night of the Long Knives (June 1934)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Röhm and the SA wanted a ‘second revolution’ and to control the army (1); the army and businessmen were worried, so Hitler removed the threat (1).
Question 30 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part two
Explain how Hitler became Führer in August 1934. [2 marks]
Answer:
When Hindenburg died, Hitler combined the roles of Chancellor and President (1); the army swore an oath of personal loyalty to him (1).
Question 31 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
Explain how the Nazis reduced unemployment. [3 marks]
Answer:
Any three from: public works, eg autobahns (1); rearmament (1); conscription from 1935 (1); the National Labour Service (RAD) (1); removing women and Jews from figures (‘invisible unemployment’) (1).
Question 32 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
Define the term ‘autarky’. [1 mark]
Answer:
Economic self-sufficiency: producing everything a country needs without imports.
Question 33 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
State two drawbacks of Nazi economic policy for workers. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: trade unions banned (1); wages were controlled and working hours rose (1); no right to strike (1); prices rose (1).
Question 34 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
What was Strength Through Joy (KdF)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A Nazi organisation providing workers with leisure, such as holidays and concerts, to keep them loyal.
Question 35 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
State three effects of the Second World War on German civilians. [3 marks]
Answer:
Any three from: rationing from 1939 (1); Allied bombing raids, eg Hamburg 1943 and Dresden 1945 (1); labour shortages (1); refugees from the East (1); total war from 1943 (1).
Question 36 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
Describe Nazi policy towards women. [2 marks]
Answer:
Women were encouraged to focus on the ‘three Ks’: children, kitchen and church (1); loans and the Mother’s Cross encouraged large families (1).
Question 37 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
Explain why Nazi policy towards women changed during the war. [2 marks]
Answer:
Labour shortages meant women were needed in factories (1); from 1943 women were conscripted into war work (1).
Question 38 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
Describe two features of Nazi education. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: curriculum taught Nazi ideas, eg race science (1); textbooks rewritten (1); more PE (1); Jewish teachers sacked (1); teachers joined the Nazi Teachers’ League (1).
Question 39 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
Name the Nazi youth groups for boys and girls. [2 marks]
Answer:
Hitler Youth for boys (1); League of German Maidens for girls (1).
Question 40 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
What was the Concordat (1933)? [2 marks]
Answer:
An agreement between Hitler and the Pope (1); the Catholic Church would stay out of politics if the Nazis left it alone, though the Nazis later broke it (1).
Question 41 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
Who was Martin Niemöller? [1 mark]
Answer:
A Protestant pastor who set up the Confessing Church to oppose Nazi control and was sent to concentration camps.
Question 42 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
What did the Nuremberg Laws (1935) do? [2 marks]
Answer:
They removed German citizenship from Jews (1); they banned marriages and relationships between Jews and non-Jewish Germans (1).
Question 43 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
What happened on Kristallnacht (November 1938)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Nazis attacked Jewish shops, homes and synagogues across Germany (1); about 100 Jews were killed and 20,000 to 30,000 were sent to concentration camps (1).
Question 44 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
What was the Final Solution? [2 marks]
Answer:
The Nazi plan, agreed at the Wannsee Conference in 1942, to murder all Jews in Europe (1); it was carried out in death camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau, and about 6 million Jews were killed (1).
Question 45 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
Describe Goebbels’ use of propaganda. [3 marks]
Answer:
Any three from: controlled newspapers and radio (1); cheap radios (the People’s Receiver) (1); rallies, eg Nuremberg (1); films (1); posters (1); 1936 Berlin Olympics (1).
Question 46 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
What were the roles of the SS and Gestapo? [2 marks]
Answer:
The SS, led by Himmler, ran the police state and concentration camps (1); the Gestapo was the secret police that arrested opponents, using informers (1).
Question 47 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
Who were the White Rose group? [1 mark]
Answer:
Munich students, including Hans and Sophie Scholl, who distributed anti-Nazi leaflets and were executed in 1943.
Question 48 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
Who were the Edelweiss Pirates? [1 mark]
Answer:
Working-class young people who rejected the Hitler Youth, attacked its members and later helped deserters.
Question 49 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
Who were the Swing Youth? [1 mark]
Answer:
Mainly middle-class young people who rejected Nazi culture by listening to banned American jazz and swing.
Question 50 · Spec 3.2.1 AB, Part three
What was the July 1944 bomb plot? [2 marks]
Answer:
Army officers led by Stauffenberg placed a bomb at Hitler’s headquarters (1); Hitler survived and around 5,000 people were executed (1).

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