GCSE Weimar & Nazi Germany 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What was the 'stab-in-the-back' myth (Dolchstoßlegende) that emerged after World War I?
- Germany was betrayed by Jews and socialists on the home front (Correct answer)
- German generals refused orders at the front
- The Kaiser personally surrendered without consulting the army
- Allied spies sabotaged German supply lines
Correct answer: Germany was betrayed by Jews and socialists on the home front
The stab-in-the-back myth falsely blamed Germany's defeat on Jews, socialists, and civilians who allegedly undermined the undefeated army.
Question 2: Which article of the Weimar Constitution allowed the President to rule by emergency decree?
- Article 25
- Article 48 (Correct answer)
- Article 54
- Article 231
Correct answer: Article 48
Article 48 gave the President power to rule by emergency decree, bypassing the Reichstag — a provision later abused to undermine democracy.
Question 3: What was the primary purpose of the Enabling Act of March 1933?
- To dissolve the SA and SS
- To ban all political parties except the NSDAP
- To give Hitler the power to pass laws without the Reichstag (Correct answer)
- To establish the Gestapo
Correct answer: To give Hitler the power to pass laws without the Reichstag
The Enabling Act allowed Hitler to pass laws by decree for four years without Reichstag approval, effectively ending parliamentary democracy.
Question 4: What name was given to the night of 9–10 November 1938 when Jewish businesses and synagogues were attacked across Germany?
- The Night of Long Knives
- Kristallnacht (Correct answer)
- Reichstag Night
- The November Pogrom
Correct answer: Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht ('Night of Broken Glass') saw over 7,500 Jewish businesses smashed, 91 Jews killed, and around 30,000 sent to concentration camps.
Question 5: Which economic policy did Hjalmar Schacht oversee that helped reduce German unemployment in the mid-1930s?
- The New Plan with rearmament and public works (Correct answer)
- The Dawes Plan reparations revision
- Hyperinflation currency reform
- The Young Plan debt restructuring
Correct answer: The New Plan with rearmament and public works
Schacht's New Plan directed state spending into rearmament and public works like the Autobahn, reducing unemployment from 6 million in 1933 to under 1 million by 1936.
Question 6: What was Gleichschaltung in Nazi Germany?
- The policy of racial classification
- The process of coordinating all aspects of German society under Nazi control (Correct answer)
- The rearmament programme
- The persecution of political opponents in camps
Correct answer: The process of coordinating all aspects of German society under Nazi control
Gleichschaltung ('coordination') was the process by which the Nazis brought all political, social, and cultural institutions under direct party control.
Question 7: Which event in June 1934 saw Hitler order the murder of SA leader Ernst Röhm and other potential rivals?
- The Reichstag Fire
- The Night of Long Knives (Correct answer)
- Operation Hummingbird
- The Röhm Putsch
Correct answer: The Night of Long Knives
The Night of Long Knives (also called Operation Hummingbird) eliminated Röhm and up to 200 others, securing the loyalty of the army and consolidating Hitler's power.
GCSE Weimar & Nazi Germany 2
What was the 'stab-in-the-back' myth (Dolchstoßlegende) that emerged after World War I?