Edexcel GCSE History · Option 31

Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39

50 exam-style questions with answers for Option 31 Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39 in Edexcel GCSE History (spec 1HI0). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below. Not official Pearson material.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Option 31, Key topic 1.1
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 2 · Option 31, Key topic 1.1
State two strengths of the Weimar Constitution. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: all adults over 20, men and women, could vote (1); proportional representation meant seats matched votes (1); it guaranteed rights such as free speech and religion (1); power was divided between the President, Reichstag and states (1).
Question 3 · Option 31, Key topic 1.1
What was Article 48? [1 mark]
Answer:
The President’s emergency power to rule by decree.
Question 4 · Option 31, Key topic 1.2
What was the Stab in the Back myth? [1 mark]
Answer:
The claim that the army was betrayed by politicians in 1918.
Question 5 · Option 31, Key topic 1.2
State two terms of the Treaty of Versailles affecting Germany. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: War Guilt (Article 231) (1); reparations (1); loss of territory (1); army limited to 100,000 (1).
Question 6 · Option 31, Key topic 1.2
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 7 · Option 31, Key topic 1.2
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 8 · Option 31, Key topic 1.2
Who were the Freikorps? [1 mark]
Answer:
Armed groups of ex-soldiers, mostly right-wing, used by the government to crush the Spartacists in 1919.
Question 9 · Option 31, Key topic 1.2
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 10 · Option 31, Key topic 1.2
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 11 · Option 31, Key topic 1.2
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 12 · Option 31, Key topic 1.3
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 13 · Option 31, Key topic 1.3
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 14 · Option 31, Key topic 1.3
What was the Young Plan (1929)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It reduced total reparations and extended payment to 1988.
Question 15 · Option 31, Key topic 1.3
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 16 · Option 31, Key topic 1.4
Describe two ways the standard of living improved in Germany, 1924–29. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: wages rose (1); unemployment insurance was introduced in 1927 (1); over 100,000 new homes a year were built (1); working hours were shortened (1).
Question 17 · Option 31, Key topic 1.4
Describe two changes for women in Weimar Germany. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: women got the vote and over 100 were elected to the Reichstag in the 1920s (1); more women worked in offices and shops (1); 'new women' had more freedom in leisure, fashion and behaviour (1).
Question 18 · Option 31, Key topic 1.4
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 19 · Option 31, Key topic 2.1
When did Hitler join the German Workers' Party? [1 mark]
Answer:
1919 (it was renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party, the Nazi Party, in 1920).
Question 20 · Option 31, Key topic 2.1
State two aims of the Twenty-Five Point Programme (1920). [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: abolish the Treaty of Versailles (1); unite all German-speaking people in one country (1); deny Jews citizenship (1); land (Lebensraum) for Germany (1); nationalise big industries (1).
Question 21 · Option 31, Key topic 2.1
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 22 · Option 31, Key topic 2.2
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 23 · Option 31, Key topic 2.2
What was Mein Kampf? [1 mark]
Answer:
The book Hitler wrote in prison in 1924 setting out his ideas, including race, Lebensraum and hatred of Jews.
Question 24 · Option 31, Key topic 2.2
What was the Bamberg Conference (1926)? [2 marks]
Answer:
A meeting where Hitler defeated the more socialist northern wing of the party led by Strasser (1); it confirmed Hitler's total control as Führer of the party (1).
Question 25 · Option 31, Key topic 2.2
Why did the Nazis have limited support, 1924–28? [2 marks]
Answer:
The economy was recovering under Stresemann, so extreme parties attracted fewer voters (1); the Nazis won only 12 seats in the 1928 election (1).
Question 26 · Option 31, Key topic 2.3
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 27 · Option 31, Key topic 2.3
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 28 · Option 31, Key topic 2.3
Explain why support for the Communist Party grew after 1929. [2 marks]
Answer:
Unemployment rose to about 6 million, and workers wanted radical change (1); communist seats rose to 100 by November 1932, which frightened the middle classes and businessmen (1).
Question 29 · Option 31, Key topic 2.4
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 30 · Option 31, Key topic 3.1
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 31 · Option 31, Key topic 3.1
What did the Enabling Act (1933) allow? [1 mark]
Answer:
Hitler could pass laws for four years without the Reichstag’s approval.
Question 32 · Option 31, Key topic 3.1
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 33 · Option 31, Key topic 3.1
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 34 · Option 31, Key topic 3.2
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 35 · Option 31, Key topic 3.2
What were the first concentration camps used for? [1 mark]
Answer:
Holding political opponents, such as communists and trade unionists, without trial (Dachau opened in 1933).
Question 36 · Option 31, Key topic 3.3
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 37 · Option 31, Key topic 3.3
What were the Berlin Olympics of 1936 used for? [2 marks]
Answer:
To show the world Nazi Germany as modern, efficient and peaceful (1); and to show off Aryan superiority, though Jesse Owens won four gold medals (1).
Question 38 · Option 31, Key topic 3.3
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 39 · Option 31, Key topic 3.4
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 40 · Option 31, Key topic 3.4
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 41 · Option 31, Key topic 3.4
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 42 · Option 31, Key topic 4.1
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 43 · Option 31, Key topic 4.2
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 44 · Option 31, Key topic 4.2
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 45 · Option 31, Key topic 4.3
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 46 · Option 31, Key topic 4.3
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 47 · Option 31, Key topic 4.4
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 48 · Option 31, Key topic 4.4
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 49 · Option 31, Key topic 4.4
Describe Nazi treatment of people with disabilities before 1939. [2 marks]
Answer:
The 1933 Sterilisation Law forced about 400,000 people to be sterilised (1); from 1939 the T4 programme began killing disabled people (1).
Question 50 · Option 31, Key topic 4.4
Describe Nazi treatment of Roma and Sinti people. [2 marks]
Answer:
They were seen as racially inferior (1); they were restricted by the Nuremberg Laws and sent to camps (1).

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Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39

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