O Level History: Depth Study B, Germany 1918-45 — Revision Notes (Cambridge 2147)

These notes condense Depth Study B of Cambridge O Level History 2147, Germany 1918-45, for quick recall before Paper 1. They are arranged by the syllabus key questions: Weimar’s survival, Hitler’s rise by 1934, Nazi control, and life in Nazi Germany. Full explanations are in the Depth Study B study guide; exam-style questions are in Depth Study B practice questions.

Syllabus coverage

CAMBRIDGE O LEVEL HISTORY (2147), 2024-2026 – DEPTH STUDY B

1. Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?
2. Why was Hitler able to dominate Germany by 1934?
3. (a) How effectively did the Nazis control Germany, 1933-45? (b) What was it like to live in Nazi Germany?

Timeline

Date	Event
9 Nov 1918	Kaiser abdicates; republic proclaimed
Jan 1919	Spartacist rising crushed
June 1919	Treaty of Versailles signed
Aug 1919	Weimar Constitution in force
Mar 1920	Kapp Putsch
Jan 1923	Ruhr occupied; hyper-inflation follows
Nov 1923	Munich Putsch; Rentenmark introduced
1924	Dawes Plan
1925-26	Locarno; Germany joins the League
Oct 1929	Stresemann dies; Wall Street Crash
July 1932	Nazis become the largest party (230 seats)
30 Jan 1933	Hitler appointed Chancellor
Feb-Mar 1933	Reichstag Fire; election; Enabling Act
30 June 1934	Night of the Long Knives
Aug 1934	Hindenburg dies; Hitler becomes Führer
Sept 1935	Nuremberg Laws
Nov 1938	Kristallnacht
Jan 1942	Wannsee Conference
July 1944	Bomb plot against Hitler

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Proportional representation	Seats in proportion to votes – many parties, coalitions
Article 48	President’s emergency power to rule by decree
Diktat	“Dictated peace” – German name for Versailles
Stab in the back	Myth that the army was betrayed by politicians in 1918
Hyper-inflation	Extreme, rapid price rises (1923)
Putsch	Attempt to seize power by force
Enabling Act	1933 law letting Hitler’s government make laws without the Reichstag
Gleichschaltung	“Co-ordination” – bringing all organisations under Nazi control
Totalitarian	State that controls every aspect of life
Volksgemeinschaft	Nazi idea of a united “people’s community”

Key question 1: weakness vs survival

Weakness	Evidence of survival or strength
Born of defeat; Versailles blamed on it	Survived Spartacists, Kapp and Munich
PR, coalitions, Article 48	Stresemann’s coalitions governed 1923-29
Army and judges disloyal	Rentenmark ended inflation
Hyper-inflation 1923	Dawes, Locarno, League membership
Dependent on US loans	Cultural flowering (Bauhaus, cinema)

Verdict line: “vulnerable rather than doomed – the Depression, not 1919, destroyed Weimar.”

Key question 2: Hitler’s rise – the five-step chain

1. Depression (1929): unemployment about six million by 1932.
2. Failure of democratic government: Brüning’s decrees; no majority.
3. Nazi appeal: propaganda, Hitler’s speeches, SA order, anti-communism.
4. Votes: 12 seats (1928) to 107 (1930) to 230 (July 1932).
5. Backstairs deal: Papen and Hindenburg appoint Hitler (30 January 1933).

Consolidation: Reichstag Fire decree -> Enabling Act -> unions and parties banned -> Night of the Long Knives -> Führer and army oath.

Key question 3(a): methods of control

• Fear: SS, Gestapo, camps, informers.
• Persuasion: Goebbels, radio, film, rallies, Olympics.
• Churches: Concordat; Reich Church; Confessing Church resisted.
• Persecution: Jews, Roma, disabled people, homosexuals.
• Opposition: youth groups, White Rose, July 1944 plot – small and crushed.

Key question 3(b): who gained and who lost?

Gained (at least partly)	Lost
The unemployed – public works, rearmament	Trade unionists and political opponents
Big business – contracts, no unions	Jews – rights, property, lives
Many young people – activities, status	Women in professions
Families – loans, holidays via Strength Through Joy	Roma, disabled, homosexuals

War: rationing from 1939; bombing; total war from 1943; forced labour; the Final Solution.

Worked example: (c) plan in one box

“The Nazis controlled Germany mainly through terror.” How far do you agree? [10]

• Agree: SS, Gestapo, camps; Night of the Long Knives showed ruthlessness.
• Disagree: propaganda and popular measures (jobs, national pride) won consent; many Germans informed willingly.
• Judgement: terror for opponents, persuasion for the majority – both needed, but consent made terror effective.

Key people

Person	Role
Friedrich Ebert	First President of the Weimar Republic (1919–25)
Gustav Stresemann	Chancellor in 1923, then Foreign Minister; Rentenmark, Dawes Plan, Locarno
Paul von Hindenburg	President from 1925; appointed Hitler Chancellor in January 1933
Heinrich Brüning	Chancellor 1930–32; ruled by Article 48 decrees
Franz von Papen	Chancellor 1932; persuaded Hindenburg to appoint Hitler
Ernst Röhm	SA leader, killed in the Night of the Long Knives (June 1934)
Joseph Goebbels	Minister of Propaganda
Heinrich Himmler	Head of the SS and, from 1936, of all police including the Gestapo

Exam traps

• “Hitler was elected Chancellor” – wrong; he was appointed.
• Mixing up the Munich Putsch (1923) and the Night of the Long Knives (1934).
• Treating Weimar’s recovery as complete – it relied on American loans.
• Forgetting the war years under key question 3(b).
• Giving statistics without explaining what they show.

Frequently asked questions

How do I remember the 1932-33 sequence? Brüning (to May 1932), Papen (to November 1932), Schleicher (to January 1933), then Hitler.

What was Kristallnacht? The violence of 9-10 November 1938 against Jewish synagogues, shops and homes across Germany.

What is the Volksgemeinschaft? The Nazi ideal of a racially pure, united community replacing class divisions.

Self-test

1. Which article allowed rule by decree? Article 48.
2. Who introduced the Rentenmark? Stresemann’s government, 1923.
3. How many seats did the Nazis win in 1928? 12.
4. When did Hindenburg die? August 1934.
5. Name a youth opposition group. Edelweiss Pirates (or Swing Youth).

Official syllabus

Cambridge O Level History (2147) syllabus for examination in 2024, 2025 and 2026 – cambridgeinternational.org (Depth study B).