a country where the government uses the police and security forces to control every part of people’s lives through fear, surveillance and arrest

a place where large numbers of people are kept as prisoners in extremely bad conditions, especially for political reasons

information collected by a government or security organisation to identify threats and control opposition, often using spying or surveillance

a police force that works in secret to spy on, arrest, and punish people who are seen as enemies of the government, often using illegal methods

public accusations made by ordinary citizens to Nazi authorities, reporting others for disloyalty to the regime; these reports, often driven by personal motives, fuelled widespread fear and paranoia

The Nazi police state

History

Germany before the First World War

Industrialisation, social reform and the growth of socialism

Germany’s naval ambitions before the First World War

The First World War and the German Revolution

The Weimar Republic

Early unrest and the Treaty of Versailles

The putsches of 1919-23

1923, the Ruhr and hyperinflation

Economic recovery under Stresemann

Stresemann's international achievements

Weimar culture 1924-29

The growth of unemployment and rise in support for the Communist Party

The growth in support for the Nazi Party

How Hitler became Chancellor of Germany

The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act

Hitler's creation of a dictatorship

The Nazi Party and religion

Goebbels and propaganda in Nazi Germany

Opposition and resistance to Hitler and the Nazi Party

Women in Nazi Germany

Young people in Nazi Germany

Employment in Nazi Germany

Work and life in Nazi Germany

The Nazi economy and WW2

Nazi racial ideology and the treatment of minorities

The persecution of Jews

The Final Solution

In this unit pupils undergo a period study that provides an unfolding narrative which tells a story about a period that shaped the world we live in today. They look at the key events, developments, people and stories that defined the chosen period.

Period Studies

Discriminatory behaviour or images, whether on the grounds of race, gender, disability, religion or belief or sexual orientation, or otherwise.

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Historic or outdated representations of people that may portray inequality or injustice.

Subjects which particular individuals may be sensitive to, eg, adoption, migration, bereavement or death, divorce, poverty, deprivation.

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Depiction or discussion of violence or fighting, including threats of violence or the aftermath of violence.

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

a country where citizens vote for new laws by popular referendum

a country where only military leaders are allowed to govern

a country where police forces control society through fear and surveillance

They spied on citizens and gathered information.

What role did the SD (Sicherheitsdienst) play in the Nazi police state?

As Nazi Germany’s secret police, the {{}} used fear, surveillance, and denunciations to control the population, despite having only a small number of officers.

They brought all terror organisations under Himmler’s command.

They were appointed by the Weimar government to restore order.

They won national elections and gained new powers.

How did the SS gain full control of the Nazi terror system by 1939?

their refusal to take part in Nazi propaganda

What worried Hitler and senior leaders about the SA by summer 1934?

The SA posed a serious threat in 1934 because they wanted to take over the army with a people’s force and promoted {{}} ideas that alarmed wealthy businessmen who had funded the Nazi Party.

head of the SS, seeking to expand its power

head of the Gestapo, with military ambitions

vice-chancellor who publicly criticised SA violence

Match each Nazi figure to their role in the power struggle against Röhm.

that the President might hand power to the military to stop the SA

What did General von Blomberg and the army leadership warn Hitler in June 1934?

Hitler gained the army’s personal loyalty

Hitler showed he was willing to murder even close allies.

Hitler's image as a peaceful leader was strengthened.

What were the key consequences of the Night of the Long Knives?

After Hindenburg’s death, Hitler merged the roles of President and Chancellor, giving himself the title of {{}} .

The Nazi police state

Lesson outcome

Content guidance