Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918 to 1939, is the modern depth study that focuses on the origins of the Weimar Republic, the challenges it faced and to what extent it overcame those challenges. The course also investigates why and how the Weimar Republic was dismantled by the Nazis and replaced by a Nazi dictatorship. You will focus on crucial events during this period, and study the different social, cultural, political, economic and military changes that occurred.

This study enables you to understand the complexities and challenges that the democratic Weimar Republic faced and how it was transformed into a one-party state under the leadership of the Nazis. You will investigate themes such as democracy, revolution, dictatorship, government, propaganda, censorship, economy and society. This course will enable you to develop the historical skills of causation and consequence, and encourage you to analyse and evaluate contemporary sources as well as interpretations of the time period.

Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918 to 1939 is split into 4 key topics:

• ❖ Topic 1 looks at the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1929. You will study the origins of the new republic, the political and economic challenges it faced and to what extent it recovered between 1924 and 1929. You will also study how society changed during the 'Golden Years.'.
• ❖ Topic 2 looks at the early development of the Nazi Party, the failed Munich Beer Hall Putsch and how the Nazi Party was reorganised afterwards. You will also study the political developments during the Great Depression and why and how Hitler became chancellor of Germany.
• ❖ Topic 3 looks at how Hitler and the Nazis dismantled the Weimar democracy, piece by piece, and created a one party dictatorship. You will study the ways in which the Nazis tried to control the hearts and minds of the German people using propaganda and censorship to control all aspects of life.
• ❖ Topic 4 looks at life in Nazi Germany and the Nazi policies towards women, children, education and the unemployed. You will study how living standards changed. The persecution of different minorities will also be explored.

Some of the key individuals studied on this course include:

• ❖ Adolf Hitler.
• ❖ Friedrich Ebert.
• ❖ Paul von Hindenburg.
• ❖ Gustav Stresemann.
• ❖ Rosa Luxemburg.
• ❖ Wolfgang Kapp.

Some of the key events you will study on this course include:

• ❖ The effects of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany.
• ❖ The French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr, 1923.
• ❖ The impact of the Great Depression on Germany.
• ❖ Hitler becoming chancellor.
• ❖ The creation of the Nazi police state and the setting up of the Gestapo.
• ❖ The establishment of the Hitler Youth and the League of German Maidens.
• ❖ The Nazi persecution of the Jews such as the Nuremberg Laws.

Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-1939 is paper 3 where you have a total of 1 hour and 20 minutes to complete. There will be 3 exam questions which will assess what you have learnt. Question 3 will be broken down into a, b, c and d. You answer all questions.

• ❖ Question 1 is worth 4 marks. This question will require you to make two inferences from a source that answers the question asked. You will need to support each inference with relevant detail from the source. This could be in the form of a quote, detail from a visual source or by paraphrasing what the source states.
• ❖ Question 2 is worth 12 marks. This question will require you to explain why an event occurred. You need to identify three reasons, support each one with accurate and relevant factual detail that is precisely selected and then clearly explain how each cause made the event happen.
• ❖ Question 3a is worth 8 marks. This question asks you to explain how useful two sources are for a specific enquiry using the content of the source, the provenance of the source and your own contextual knowledge.
• ❖ Question 3b is worth 4 marks. This question asks you to identify the main difference in the views of two historical interpretations on a specific topic. You have to support the main difference with details from both interpretations.
• ❖ Question 3c is worth 4 marks. This question asks you to suggest one reason why the views of the two historical interpretations might be different. You have to support the main difference with details from both interpretations and you could can use the sources from question 3a to help you answer the question.
• ❖ Question 3d is worth 16 marks and an additional 4 marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar. This question asks you to explain how far you agree with one of the interpretations. In your explanation you have to evaluate both interpretations, using your own knowledge of the historical context to come to your conclusion.