Edexcel IGCSE History: Germany, Development of Dictatorship, 1918–45 — Revision Notes

Quick-recall notes for Depth Study 3 of Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History 4HI1 Paper 1, “Germany: development of dictatorship, 1918–45”. The full explanation is in the Germany study guide; exam-style questions on Weimar and Nazi Germany are in the Depth Studies practice questions.

Syllabus coverage (4HI1, Depth Study 3)

Key topic	Core content
1. Weimar’s establishment and early problems	Abdication, revolution 1918–19, constitution, Versailles, Spartacists, Kapp, Ruhr, hyperinflation
2. Recovery, 1924–29	Stresemann, Rentenmark, Dawes, Young, US loans, League, Locarno, Kellogg-Briand
3. Rise of Hitler to January 1933	DAP/NSDAP, Munich Putsch, reorganisation, Depression, methods, SA, Papen, Schleicher, Hindenburg
4. Nazi Germany, 1933–39	Reichstag Fire, Enabling Act, Long Knives, Führer; control; social, racial and economic policy
5. The Second World War	Ghettos, Einsatzgruppen, Final Solution; Home Front; opposition; end of the Reich

Timeline

Date	Event
9 Nov 1918	Kaiser abdicates; republic proclaimed
11 Nov 1918	Armistice
Jan 1919	Spartacist uprising; National Assembly elected
June 1919	Treaty of Versailles signed
Aug 1919	Weimar Constitution adopted
Mar 1920	Kapp Putsch
Jan 1923	French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr
Nov 1923	Hyperinflation peaks; Rentenmark; Munich Putsch
1924	Dawes Plan
1925	Locarno Treaties; Hindenburg elected president
1926	Germany joins the League of Nations
1928	Kellogg-Briand Pact; Nazis win 12 seats
1929	Young Plan; death of Stresemann; Wall Street Crash
Sept 1930	Nazis win 107 seats
July 1932	Nazis win 230 seats — largest party
Nov 1932	Nazis fall to 196 seats
30 Jan 1933	Hitler appointed chancellor
27 Feb 1933	Reichstag Fire
Mar 1933	Enabling Act
30 June 1934	Night of the Long Knives
Aug 1934	Hindenburg dies; Hitler becomes Führer
Sept 1935	Nuremberg Laws
Nov 1938	Kristallnacht
Sept 1939	War begins; rationing
Jan 1942	Wannsee Conference
Feb 1943	White Rose leaders executed; “total war” speech
20 July 1944	July Bomb Plot
30 Apr 1945	Hitler’s suicide; surrender in May

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Article 48	President’s power to rule by emergency decree
Proportional representation	Seats in proportion to votes — many parties, weak coalitions
Diktat	“Dictated peace”: German view of Versailles
Stab in the back	Myth that the army was betrayed by politicians in 1918
Hyperinflation	Prices rising out of control, 1923
Rentenmark	Temporary currency that ended hyperinflation
SA	Nazi stormtroopers, led by Röhm
SS / Gestapo	Elite guard under Himmler / secret state police
Enabling Act	Gave the cabinet power to make laws for four years
Gleichschaltung	Bringing all organisations into line with Nazi control
Volksgemeinschaft	The Nazi ideal of a racially pure “people’s community”
Einsatzgruppen	SS death squads in the occupied East
Final Solution	Nazi plan to murder all European Jews

Nazi control at a glance

Method	Examples	How successful?
Terror	SS, Gestapo, concentration camps, informers	Silenced most open opposition
Propaganda	Goebbels, rallies, cheap radios, film, Olympics	Strong among the young and those who gained work
Censorship	Book burning (May 1933), controlled press	Limited what Germans could know
Winning support	Falling unemployment, Strength Through Joy	Many accepted the regime; workers’ wages remained low
Churches	Concordat (1933); Reich Church; arrests of critics	Partial — Churches remained the largest independent institutions

Worked example: two effects

Explain two effects of the Depression on Germany, 1929–32.

1. Mass unemployment — US loans were recalled and firms collapsed, so unemployment rose to about six million by 1932; this made millions of voters willing to listen to extremist promises of “work and bread”.
2. Political breakdown — coalitions could not agree on cuts, so chancellors such as Brüning governed by Article 48 decrees; democracy was already being bypassed before Hitler took office.

Common mistakes and exam traps

• Getting the order of 1933–34 wrong: Fire → Enabling Act → banning of parties and unions → Long Knives → Hindenburg’s death → Führer.
• Saying Hitler was elected to power. He was appointed chancellor by Hindenburg; the Nazis never won a majority in a free election.
• Over-crediting Stresemann. His recovery relied on short-term American loans — a weakness exposed in 1929.
• Ignoring the extract’s author. In the impression question, work from the extract’s words.
• Treating Weimar’s problems as one block. Separate political, economic and foreign-policy problems in essays.
• Running past 1945. Post-war Germany is not part of this depth study.

Frequently asked questions

Which date marks the start of the dictatorship? Most answers use the Enabling Act (March 1933) for legal dictatorship, and August 1934 for Hitler as Führer with total power.

How did unemployment fall so fast? Public works such as the autobahns, the Labour Service, rearmament and conscription — and statistics that left out women and Jews dismissed from work.

Was there effective opposition? It existed (Edelweiss Pirates, White Rose, July Plot) but never threatened the regime until military defeat.

Source

Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History (4HI1) specification, Issue 5, February 2026, Paper 1, Depth Study 3.